"At a time
when our moral fiber is challenged, this inspiring collection of
interviews and personal triumphs inspire Americans who want to see our
nation turn itself around and become a beacon for the world."
Mark
Victor Hansen
Co-creator,
#1 New York Times best selling series
Chicken
Soup for the Soul
Since
the first edition of this book was
published, many significant unethical events have occurred in the
world. I need not elaborate
at this time on the indiscretions of some government officials,
some corporate executives, some members of the clergy,
some educators, and unfortunately some high school and
collegiate students. I
emphasize some because not all is bleak – there are many
parents, teachers, religious and business leaders making strong efforts
at conducting themselves in a manner consistent with the moral values
that make this a great nation.
This new
edition is a marvelous compendium and a valuable reference
tool. Len Marrella has
added new examples and a completely new chapter he calls “Show Me the
Way.” This is an
important addition for it is instructional and actually teaches readers
how we as individuals can develop exemplary character.
Probably
the best endorsement for the book is the fact that for the past three
years the United States Military Academy at West Point has sent a copy
of In Search of Ethics to the homes of
every new cadet for reading prior to their arrival at West Point.
The Academy strives to be the premiere institution in the world
in developing leaders of character and for these last years has begun
the process with this book. Other
schools (high school through college) and businesses are following West
Point’s lead in using In Search of Ethics to train
people of all ages and experiences.
It
is my view that In Search of Ethics is a very effective
tool for parents, teachers, clergy of all faiths, and business leaders.
It should be a major contributing force in dealing with the
challenge of developing leaders of character.
Dana Mead
Retired
Chairman & CEO
Tenneco
and Chairman of the MIT Corporation
In
Search of Ethics: Conversations with Men and Women of Character by
Len Marrella, DC Press (Sanford, Florida), 255 pages.
Book Review by Bruce K. Bell
“Character
is the absolute cornerstone for successful leadership.
There are other attributes of a good leader, but without character
the leader’s ultimate impact will be negative and harmful to most.”
Len Marrella (USMA, 1957) examines both personal and organizational
ethics in this volume, but as he attests in the preface, it is really a
study in both ethics and leadership.
Marrella argues early on that “many leaders aren’t leading with
character. . . . Is it
possible that there is a connection between the moral meltdown and the
leadership vacuum?”
Marrella’s
research complements a growing body of research that examines the
deterioration of American values and ethical behavior.
James D. Hunter’s recently-published The
Death of Character, for example, explores the disintegration of moral
and social conditions in this country.
In 1998, former Secretary of Education William Bennett decried The
Death of Outrage: Bill Clinton and the Assault on American Ideals.
Even some 30 years ago Richard Means outlined many of these same
arguments in The Ethical
Imperative: The Crisis in American Values.
Marrella may confidently take his place with these other social
critics as a result of his fine work.
The organization of In
Search of Ethics is particularly interesting, since the majority of
the book is filled with interviews of ten diverse and unique individuals,
each of whom Marrella identifies as a man or woman of character.
From a major industry leader to a former university president, from
a successful basketball coach to a medical secretary, and from a United
States Representative to the founder of a homeless shelter, each
demonstrates some specific characteristic that marks him or her as a
person of character. According
to Marrella, character is
“that which constitutes a person’s nature and guides decisions and
actions. A person of
character,” he posits, “seeks the truth, decides what is right, and
has the courage and commitment to act accordingly.”
Before introducing the reader to the ten “moral exemplars,”
Marrella offers a brief but compelling assessment of the national moral
landscape. Then
following the section highlighting those ten men and women of character,
Marrella suggests what he terms “The Ethics Solution,” a way back from
the pitiful condition outlined in the early chapters.
His
assessment of the moral environment in this country is necessarily
disturbing, as he cites studies about cheating in school, stealing in
business, and rampant misbehavior in public office.
Americans, he argues, know what our values ought to be, but we have
learned to rationalize our misconduct.
Consequently, the country is in what Marrella describes as “a
moral and spiritual decline,” although his chapter title, “The Moral
Meltdown,” paints a much grimmer picture.
For example, one survey of American employees found that
35-45% of respondents report having witnessed
lying to supervisors or falsification of information in correspondence or
records. Almost 30% observed
theft and about 25% had seen misuse of organizational assets.
When asked if they reported their observations, almost invariably
the answer was: ‘No! . . . . Nobody
cares about business ethics.’
Marrella contends that
people from a wide variety of cultures cherish similar values and ethical
standards, although there is a gulf in this country between the values we
espouse and our ethical actions. Americans
from virtually all backgrounds agree that cheating is wrong, and yet
cheating is rampant, he argues.
In his conversations with the people who make up the major portion
of his work, Marrella probes those inconsistencies.
One of the exemplars, Norman Augustine of Lockheed Martin, was
particularly concerned about the breakdown of the American family and the
lack of genuine equality enjoyed by all citizens in this country.
Among the best parts of Augustine’s chapter was a speech he
delivered in 1992 on “Ethics in America.”
That speech summarized both Augustine’s and Marrella’s view
that “not only does one have to know the right thing to do, but one must
have the moral fortitude to do it.”
General Fred Franks is another individual highlighted in
Marrella’s book, suggesting his personal rules of living: “to work
hard, because there are no real shortcuts in life,” and “to build a
future every day and don’t mortgage your future with an instant
gratification mentality.”
One observation from the moral representatives chosen by Marrella
is the high number who cited either a father or mother as a role model.
Earl Hess of Lancaster Laboratories illustrates this, commenting,
“My most significant hero and role model was my father. . . .
My dad was hewn out of a rock of granite whose primary constituents
were character and integrity.” Similarly,
College Basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski says that “the people who most
influenced my life are my parents and the teachers and nuns who taught
me.” Marrella includes a
virtually unknown medical secretary, who adds, “I attribute [my success]
to the work ethic that was instilled in me by my mother.”
In addition to the ten men and women of character, Marrella
contributes a brief chapter on “The Moral Organization,” where
developing character is paramount. Discussing
USMA, he spends most of that chapter examining the Honor Code.
“Persons who accept the Spirit of the Code think of the Honor
Code as a set of broad and fundamental principles, not a list of
prohibitions. In deciding to
take any action, they ask if it is the right thing to do.”
Clearly, Marrella has been influenced by his own role as the USMA
Class of 1957’s vice chairman of the Cadet Honor Committee.
In the book’s final
section, Marrella seeks to explore “The Ethics Solution,” where he
searches for a way back from the moral decay of current American society.
While he points the reader to Larry Donnithorne’s The
West Point Way of Leadership for a discussion of the Military
Academy’s method of developing leaders of character, he falls short of
demonstrating convincingly how to instill character in the workplace.
His suggestion is that leaders “communicate a vision based on
shared values, promoting trust, and fairness.”
Such a commitment to communicate is wise on several levels, but it
may be inadequate to develop an employee committed to ethical excellence.
Perhaps
because of the importance of parents as role models to the ten moral
exemplars, Marrella does spend a significant amount of time discussing how
families may help children to become caring adults.
“Parents,” he argues, “must create environments in our homes
that facilitate ethical behavior.”
For parents of young children in particular, his chapter on
“Ethics and Children” is uniquely helpful.
Citing the work of Steven Carr Reuben, he holds that “listening,
and listening with your eyes as well as your ears, is a way of showing
respect and love for the person speaking.”
Such action by a loving parent may go far in developing that
ethical, caring young adult.
Students of personal and organizational ethics, as well as others
concerned with ethical conduct in American society, will find a wealth of
valuable material in this small volume.
If Marrella does not describe a technique for instilling character
into employees or followers, it may be that techniques are simplistic and
unrealistic. That may be the
overarching conclusion of the ten men and women of character who know
their values and live them confidently each day.
Note:
Bruce K. Bell, Ph.D., is dean of the School of Business and
Government at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia.
He retired as a lieutenant colonel from USMA in 1996.
Whether
in the health care professions, law, business, the military, government
or any of a thousand professional positions in today's increasing
complex and demanding world, ethics or the lack thereof, is playing an
ever increasing role in today's world.
Our professional organizations demand we seek continuing ethics
education annually and the absence of ethics in business, government and
among our leadership is one of the leading concerns in society today.
Like
many of my colleagues I have struggled with the various approaches to
education on ethics. It is
often difficult to relate to the examples given of ethical dilemmas
presented as learning tools. Len
Marrella has taken a very different approach in a text that is required
reading at West Point. He
takes us to the fundamentals of understanding the nature of ethics and
guides us in the development of ethical character.
This is not an easy task.
Len
begins in Chapter One by helping us understand "The Moral
Meltdown" that we are experiencing in the world today.
Reviewing research from the Josephsen Institute for Ethics,
Reader's Digest, Who's Who Among American High School Students, the
Ethics Resource Center, the Society for Human Resource Management, to
name a few, he helps us appreciate that our ethical dilemma begins with
what we are teaching, or not teaching our children.
The ethical meltdown extends into our business environment but
the author helps us appreciate that it has not just invaded the
boardroom but impacts the decisions worker's make daily in the their
business routine. As the
author quotes of Emerson, "What your are doing speaks so loudly
that I can't hear what you are saying".
In
Chapter Two he takes us back to an Ethical Baseline.
From relearning basic definitions to taking us on a tour of moral
philosophers we have the opportunity to begin to form a framework for
developing a baseline understanding of ethics, morals, principles,
values, integrity, character, end based thinking, rule based thinking,
and care based thinking. It
is only through developing this baseline framework that the reader can
begin the process of developing ethical and moral character and use the
moral exemplars presented in the book to further the process of
development.
Section
II of the book begins the process of exploring different Moral Exemplars
through carefully crafted interviews with a business CEO, an Army
General, an Olympian, a University Coach, a College President, a member
of the House of Representatives, a medical secretary, a volunteer, and a
religious leader. Through
these interviews we are given the opportunity to explore business
ethics, honor, idealism, sacrifice, values, character, integrity, truth,
responsibility, humility, and commitment to character.
Perhaps the most important aspect of Dr. Marrella's lessons on
ethics and moral character is the positive approach he takes in guiding
us through each of these areas. By
presenting Moral Exemplars we not only understand the concept he wishes
to communicate but we are given and uplifting interview that helps us
appreciate the subtleties of each of these ideals.
Section
III: The Ethics Solution presents Leadership and Ethics, Values in the
Workplace, and Ethics and Children.
It makes suggestions on where we go from here and in the final
Appendix presents the Lockheed Martin Code of Ethics and Business
Conduct. Perhaps we can all
take a lesson from Raising Ethical Children quoted by Len Marrella in
Chapter Sixteen. In the
Chapter a ten step program for raising your child in an ethical
environment is provided. For
those who are parents it is an excellent approach that gives promise to
our future. At the same
time it gives thought to how we might use these same ideas as a guide to
our own present. Ideas for
how we might set an ethical and moral pace for our colleagues in our
office and professional organizations.
In
the final chapter Dr. Marrella states, "as
a nation we are in a moral free fall."
He explores the disconnect between the values professed by
our nation and the behaviors we demonstrate.
Remember Emerson's quote, "What your are doing speaks so
loudly that I can't hear what you are saying".
So
how do we get from where we are to where we want to be.
I strongly recommend reading Dr. Marrella's In Search of Ethics:
Conversations with Men and Women of Character and find the answers for
yourself. I have done so
more than once and in each reading I find more answers and more positive
ideas from this book. I
have found no more valuable resource on Ethics.
I fully understand why it continues to be required reading at
Unites States Military Academy at West Point.
So
why is this book important for the Life Care Planner.
That answer should not be so difficult to fathom.
We face ethical and moral decisions ever day in our work.
In that fashion we are not so different from any of the
professions listed in the first paragraph of this review.
Yet in many we ways there are differences.
Few professionals face the pressures to succumb to ethical and
moral slights of hand as the Life Care Planner.
Pressure from the plaintiff attorney, the defense attorney, the
insurance carrier or our confirmed belief that in the patient's
perspective or the defense perspective.
In such an environment, where tens of millions of dollars are
often at stake, and where incredibly articulate individuals are prepared
to dissuade you from a careful analysis of factual data standing your
moral and ethical ground can often be difficult.
Dr. Marrella's text can help you find that ethical and moral
baseline. It provides
grounding and perspective. For
those who are looking for a better understanding of what it takes to
keep to the moral and ethical high ground this is a must read.
For those who are already in a moral and ethical free fall there
may be no help.
Paul
M. Deutsch Ph.D., CRC, CCM, CLCP, FIALCP, LMHC
Paul
M. Deutsch & Associates
Oviedo,
FL
In Search of Ethics: Conversations with Men and Women of Character,
by Len Marrella, West Point '57, sounds as if it was written quickly
to take advantage of the current scandals, but the author actually
began research for it years ago, when he first thought that society
would not survive in the 21st century if guided by the immoral
behavior flaunted in the second half of the 20th century. His book
highlights several men and women with different careers and concerns
reflecting on the meaning of an ethical life. The list includes a
retired CEO of a major corporation, a college president, a university
basketball coach, a pastor, a rabbi, an Olympic champion, and a member
of the House of Representatives. All of them - as all of us - are
"works in progress" and not paragons of virtue, and their
discussions are meant to inspire efforts in others to achieve success
by making hard choices without compromising integrity. West Point
freshmen must write an essay on honor using this book as a source for
defining that concept.
Len Marrella wrote his book to counteract with he calls the
"numbing down," the flattening out of sensitivity to vice
and virtue. Many parents and public leaders have failed to live up to
standards they want children to cultivate. We've heard lots of kids
who take drugs say, "What's the big deal? I see my parents doing
it."
Len Marrella wants to show young people that professional and
personal success does not require lying, cheating, or stealing, and
that American democracy is self-cleansing: "We do have the
mechanisms to change our political leaders, to adjust our economy and
to commit to our values."
There's no scarcity of immoral tales demonstrating the consequences
of vice. It's nice to read inspiring ones, too.
Suzanne Fields
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
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