Leadership Knowledge

Ethical standards and implications can make or break a company today” example, Enron. “In late 1999, several years before the high-profile revelations of corporate misconduct that began emerging in and after 2001,” a survey of employee perceptions of organizational and leadership integrity discovered that 76 percent said they had observed violations of the law or company standards in the past twelve months. Clearly, U. S. employees are witnessing ethical and legal misconduct at work. Thus, a crisis in integrity leads directly to a crisis in trust. Integrity is a business imperative.

Prior to the “Scientific Revolution,” mysticism was an integral and unquestioned part of human beliefs. The North Star has spiritual and mythical significance. Alternately called the Fire Star and the Chief Star by different groups. Integrity is clearly the Chief Star of today’s business leaders because it creates a context for everything they do. Integrity’s definition has evolved over the years but today its primary meaning as a “steadfast adherence to strict moral or ethical code” is widely acknowledged. Ethics is a key quality in long-term leadership success.

Globalization is our passport to business opportunity. Corporations exist in an ever-connected global community. Global citizenship enables leaders to transcend geographic boundaries. However, globalization is controversial today, viewed by many as un-American.

Everyone ages, but we all know people who never seem to get old. Sure, they have wrinkles and gray hair, but because they also have a sparkle in their eyes and active, open minds, we tend not to perceive them as “old.” How do these people retain their youthful countenance? “Often, it is their interest in the world, their curiosity. They have discovered a wellspring of renewal that drives passion, alertness, and spirit. It is a love of learning.” Business cannot hope to prosper in a foreign country, “be it Romania, China, or Peru, without an appreciation for the values, beliefs, social mores, politics, tastes, and fears of the people in that country. Philosophy, history, and literature can provide the access to thoughts and feelings of a culture.”

Business is but one aspect of life’s experience, hardly distinct or isolated from the environment in which it functions. “Business success depends upon people and therefore upon awareness of politics, social trends, attitudes and values, and a myriad of other expressions of human emotions, fears, drives, and desires. Literature and philosophy are the best sources for appreciating whatever universals might exist among people over time and place. Literature and history allow for a more time sensitive and culturally determined appreciation of the human condition.” The author’s father obtained his PhD from the University of Chicago in 1969.

In 1865, an Oxford mathematician named Charles Lutwidge Dodson self-published a flight of fancy which has entranced both children and adults ever since. “Writing as Lewis Carrol, Dodson created an excellent parable for all aspiring leaders” by the title, “Alice In Wonderland.” Historically, the integrity of corporate leaders has often been questioned. “The Robber Barons of the late 19th century, men such as Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Cornelius and William Vanderbilt, and J. P. Morgan, were accused of building great personal fortunes by unsavory means. Interestingly, the widespread use of the derogatory label dates to the 1930s and the era of the Great Depression, which is often blamed on the manipulations of business leaders or poor government responses. During both world wars, corporate leaders were accussed of profiteering.”

She ends with this quote, often attributed to Dale Carnegie: “Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get.” It is her hope that this book helps you find both, in business and in life.
Rating: 3 / 5

There are important connections between success, business ethics, and financial strengths: connections illustrated in Fit In Stand Out: Mastering The Fiso Factor. Author Blythe McGarvie is a leadership expert who has taught effectiveness for many years: during the course of her teachings she discovered a basic lesson: in order to be a successful leader you must both fit in and stand out. The two are not opposites necessarily, as chapters here demonstrate: McGarvie reveals a FISO Factor program which helps business professionals learn how to achieve both.

Rating: 5 / 5

There are important connections between success, business ethics, and financial strengths: connections illustrated in Fit In Stand Out: Mastering The Fiso Factor. Author Blythe McGarvie is a leadership expert who has taught effectiveness for many years: during the course of her teachings she discovered a basic lesson: in order to be a successful leader you must both fit in and stand out. The two are not opposites necessarily, as chapters here demonstrate: McGarvie reveals a FISO Factor program which helps business professionals learn how to achieve both.

Rating: 5 / 5