Ethics Violations and Potato Chips – You Can’t Have Just One!

When it comes to ethics violations, like the fundraising ones we have all read about recently, it’s difficult to understand how anyone could have perpetrated the violation and especially difficult to understand how the many people connected to them looked the other way. But understand we must, if we are to prevent future egregious acts.

As a human being we must eat and drink to survive, so it’s easy to talk about our shared humanity in terms of food. Potato chips are a case in point! The creators of potato chips and other snacks have been able to craft a product that humans find irresistible. You can’t just have one. single. potato chip. Well, I can’t.

Those potato chips sing to me all day long. I dream about them. I want them for BREAKFAST! (they go so well with bananas and that’s healthy)

You get that, right?

Ethics temptations can be equally persistent. And our rationalizations can be just as lame.

“I’ll do it just this once.”
“My supervisor isn’t saying anything, so I guess it’s okay.”
“I don’t get paid enough to deal with this mess.”
“I’m chronically underpaid!! No-one will miss this little bit. I deserve it.”

I wish I could remember the name of the attorney who presented to my local AFP Suncoast luncheon on ethics a while ago. He was fantastic because he could tell us about real situations. About how a politician might start with a little expense report padding, that goes unnoticed, and then accepts an illicit gift, that goes unnoticed, until ten years later a whistleblower reports on incredible corruption.

We are all astonished and then the politician has the gall to tweet that he didn’t do anything wrong! After all, he had been doing these kinds of things for ten years and no-one complained.

How is that possible?

It’s possible because you can’t. have. just. one.

I can hear the words now: “This research is so important. We are saving lives! Mr. Prospect already has the money. We would be wrong not to use it to help people.”

It starts small. The gift comes in and nothing happens. Another gift comes in. Nothing happens. Mr. Prospect makes people uncomfortable, but technically does nothing wrong. We are saving lives! We are changing the world! Nothing bad happens. Another gift… until BAM! Whistleblower. Journalist. Headlines. Fallout.

We are the frog being cooked in boiling water! It’s getting warmer, but slowly. Yes, it’s uncomfortable, but it creeps up on us and by the time the problem is undeniable – we are already in deep.

That’s when the whistleblower jumps out of the pot.

That’s when I throw away the half-eaten bag of potato chips.

Because you can’t. have. just. one. ethics. violation.

Or can you?

There is a psychological “trick” that is often successful at nipping badness in the bud. It certainly would not hurt you to try it.

Focus on the risk, not the reward. State explicitly what could be lost.

Mr. Prospect has these problems. If we accept a gift, we could have these bad things happen, just like nonprofit X had happen two years ago.

Just don’t expect it to go over well. The lure of millions of dollars is very strong. If you’re lucky, leadership will override the in-house research and send it to someone like me.

I accepted an assignment to profile an individual where I was asked to look specifically at any possible sexual harassment. This was long before the #MeToo movement had gained traction. The individual wanted to make a large gift and in-house research told them he was a risk because of sexual harassment claims.

It was pretty easy for me because I was not an employee of the organization risking my job security. And there were very clear, very public court cases and judgments against the individual as well as plenty of other public accusations. I boldly itemized each one and was careful to avoid value-laden words. “Just the facts” was plenty!

Recognize the humanity in ethics violations.

The usual response to egregious ethics violations is outrage and shame. As it should be! But talking about the humanity behind the actions is important if you want to create a culture that is resistant to corruption.

Yes, we need to acknowledge just how wrong that behavior is. And, yes, we need to talk about the very practical ways in which all of us can speak up early on, speak up persistently, and keep our jobs.

Bring those ethics horror headlines to your staff meetings. Generate discussion. Empathize with all parties. Step into the shoes of the violators – who are people just like you. Protect yourself and your organization now and in the future.

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