Welcome to March, in which we once again celebrate National Ethics Month. My lesson to the industry is not based upon the traditional "right versus wrong" approach but rather a path that applies ethics to the practical issues insurance folks face every day: right versus right.
Why? Because from a real world application point of view, what do we gain from beating "don't do wrong, do right" examples into the ground? The true need for ethical training lies with those who need to know that being ethical will require some of the hardest decisions they've ever made: the "right versus right" crossroads.
What Would You Do?
For example, consider a young SeaBee in September of 1942. It started with an idealistic sign-up, then a journey from the familiar farms of the Midwest to the coast of California. Months of basic training and a long voyage over the Pacific Ocean brought him to an anchorage off an obscure island called Peleliu, now part of the island nation of Palau. The men are lined up on the deck, preparing to descend into waiting landing craft. Noting how the craft are tossing and bouncing on the tall waves, he crystalizes a few thoughts:
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With the equipment he is carrying, if that landing craft overturns, no amount of swimming experience gained in Midwest lakes will matter.
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The firing from the beach is getting heavy, and he already has seen several landing craft blasted from the water. For many of those soldiers, their war was over.
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Although they all suspected that the weeks of bravado expressed by fellow soldiers were often a mask to cover natural fears of the unknown, the masks are all off now. The total terror beginning to appear on the faces of those around him likely mirrors his own.
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He wants to be brave, but he is finding that thoughts of his wife and two infant daughters back home cannot be waved aside. For all the banter and bull sessions on the voyage here, he realizes this is the first time he truly understands that he may never see them again.
Then comes the order to go into the craft. What would you do? Although the "right" answer may seem obvious, consider for a moment: Which right answer?
Is it right for him to follow orders? Is it right for him to honor his loyalty to his "band of brothers" and fight for each other to all get home? Is it right for a father of young children to want to be there for them, to see them grow up? Is it right to protect his young wife from becoming a financially destitute young widow? Is it right to honor what is commonly accepted to be the No. 1 human instinct—survival?
Clearly these are all "right" answers. But there is one catch: He has to choose just one, knowing full well that his choice may mean that the others will be lost forever.
Can you now see why "right versus wrong" is not only an impractical goal of ethical training, but also focuses on the weakest form of ethical conundrum? Our SeaBee has listed no "wrong" choices above. True ethical decisions are difficult, painful, and must be made without knowledge of whether they will work out for the best.
This story is true. When it comes to a subject as crucial as ethics, I don't believe in theoreticals. In this example, my Dad had no idea when he got into that craft if he was going to survive the trip to Peleliu beach, much less the horrors of what the Museum of the Marine Corps now calls "the bitterest battle of the war for the Marines." Yet he had a decision to make, and he made it.
The Choice, not the Result
One other key point: Whether a decision is truly ethical or not is measured by the decision, not the result. Although my Dad survived, thousands of his fellows who made the exact same decision never saw home again. Does that mean they made the wrong choice? Of course not.
When you are facing ethical decisions in your life, focus on the choice, not the results. All of us have done and will do the right thing, only to find someone (or many someones) angry at us for it. That right decision may cost us a sale, a contract or a client. That doesn't make the decision wrong. Which leads us to the key goal of all ethical behavior: Not that everyone always will agree with you, but that they will respect your decision.
It's easy for folks to like you when they agree with what you do. But if they can hate your decision, yet still respect you for it? Well done, my ethical friend, well done!
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