Preface
Iwas recently in Gillette, Wyoming, getting ready to present a citywide Office Ethics Workshop, and I was delighted to see a group of employees from a local mining company enter the room. Several rugged-looking coal miners dropped themselves into the front row, arms crossed, and looked me over with a what-the-heck-am-I-doing-here attitude!
Nevertheless, they soon warmed up. They were great contributors, especially to the lively discussions at the tables about “real-world” case studies. One miner’s comments were particularly poignant. He cornered me during a coffee break to profusely thank me for the session. He went on to say that he and his buddies hadn’t wanted to come to the workshop and wondered why their boss had insisted they attend. Then, tears welled up in his eyes, and he said, “Nan, at about 11:00 this morning, you hit on the exact ethical dilemma I have been struggling with for months. And now I know how to proceed!”
I was surprised and, of course, wanted to hear more. But he was gone before I could ask him what his dilemma was, and, later on, we were surrounded by attendees that made it difficult for him to share. Though the moment had passed, the pained look in his eyes stayed with me.
This coal miner personifies what I believe to be our collective reality today: everyone faces ethical dilemmas from time to time, even when their “office” is in the bowels of the Wyoming mountains.
My first book, You Want Me To Do WHAT?: When, Where, and How to Draw the Line ...
