Ethics Resource Center

Published: February 18, 2009

One Vision of Ethics
By Phillip B. Goldberg, Vice President/Development, ERC

A little more than ten years ago, I turned away from almost a 20-year career in government and the military and immersed myself in the study of ethics from a Jewish perspective.  I returned to school, eagerly studying the Hebrew Scriptures (the Torah) and other ancient texts.  I was looking for answers to the big questions: Why do bad things happen to good people? Why be good?

After several years of serious study, and countless conversations with Jewish and non-Jewish clergy and academics, I fixated on a spiritual practice known in Hebrew as “Mussar” (pronounced moo-sar). The Mussar movement began in the 19th century in Eastern Europe and was led by a rabbi named Israel Salanter.  The Hebrew word is used in the first chapter of Proverbs and literally means ethical instruction or ethical conduct.

Mussar is a path of contemplative practices and exercises that have evolved over the past thousand years. My Mussar study and practice helped me to break through a serious battle with depression and PTSD brought about by my mother’s untimely and tragic death at the relatively young age of 60 and my own experiences with military combat.

Living an ethical life became a daily, if not hourly, practice. Where I wanted to lash out verbally in anger against someone, I instead forced myself to stop, think, and respond quietly and calmly. Where my appetite for material items seemed to be insatiable, I withheld and lived within my means. When I found myself rationalizing about a behavior, I bit hard on the impulse. And I began to acknowledge my mistakes, and learned not to repeat them.

I continue to live a very structured life, and often joke that I am ten of the most boring people I know.  But when I look at the larger picture – at a worldview – I am thankful that I have not engaged in some of the deleterious behaviors that have landed many people my age and younger, as well as a number of acquaintances, in prison for long periods of time.

We have all observed unethical and illegal behavior, whether it is insider trading, sexual harassment, or even taking home a ream of copy paper from the office supply closet.

The attitude of “I won’t get caught. I am smarter than they are,” which we have all most recently been witness to, is at the very least worrisome. Bernard Madoff ruined many individual lives and destroyed a number of well-known and prestigious organizations.  Corporate lying and greed has damaged the world economy and is causing tens of thousands of jobs to be lost.  Our own government has engaged in the creation of specious rules and regulations that either encourage or turn a blind eye to dubious behavior.

Ethics is not just knowing the difference between right and wrong.  Ethics is a behavior that needs to be modeled. One cannot purport to be ethical without living an ethical life.  Ethics starts at the very top. President Obama has made ethics a priority, as have his cabinet secretaries. Corporations and government agencies have codes of ethics and conduct.  Those codes need to be more than a piece of paper that employees sign: leaders and supervisors need to set the example for employees. Employees must use the resources available to them to report misconduct without fear of intimidation or retaliation. (But, first, as mentioned above: bosses, supervisors and employees must adhere to the rules defining what is allowed and what is not allowed.)

And so it is that I now find myself in the role of Vice President for Development at the Ethics Resource Center.  I am responsible for partnering ERC with individuals, corporations, foundations and other entities that share the vision of creating a culture where individuals and organizations act with integrity. I was drawn to ERC because it is a nationally recognized leader committed to assisting government and industry achieve high ethical standards and practices.

In a time when ethics is one of the world’s most valuable commodities, public, private and government institutions depend on the Ethics Resource Center for information and insight far beyond their own centers of leadership.

Since its inception, ERC has relied on individual and corporate funding to meet the majority of its funding needs.  Your support helps to advance ERC’s mission of strengthening ethical leadership worldwide by providing leading-edge expertise and service through research, education and partnerships.  ERC fills a unique niche in developing, optimizing and applying leading-edge research to set the standard for creating strong ethical cultures in government, industry and nonprofit organizations.

Facing an unprecedented array of challenges, corporate and government leaders have – for more than eight decades – appreciated ERC’s hands-on approach that has helped them create or improve their ethics programs.  With additional support, ERC’s menu of programs can be expanded.

ERC’s unparalleled combination of research and counseling has positioned us for a bright future. Through its multifaceted capabilities, ERC pledges to provide a substantive, value-added improvement in the quality of ethics programs.

Upholding this tradition requires that resources keep pace with changing needs. Philanthropic motivations vary, but often-cited reasons for giving include a desire to give back and to make a difference, an investment in the future, a belief in the overall mission or in a specific project or program of the ERC, or a challenge for others to give.

Your support is needed at this critical time. I look forward to working with you, as a partner, in the near future.  And, on behalf of ERC’s president, Dr. Patricia Harned, and ERC’s Board of Directors, I express my gratitude for your past and future support.

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Phill Goldberg joined ERC in November 2008.  He can be reached at 571-480-4416 or by email, phillip@ethics.org.

In This Issue

• The Policy Report By Paula J. Desio, ERC Chair on Ethics Policy
  - New Rules for Federal Contractors: You Must Disclose Wrongdoing
  - Federal Whistleblower Rights Increase Under the Stimulus Law
  - Criminal Liability: What’s on the Horizon?
  
• Guest Column By Andrea Bonime-Blanc
  Governance, Risk, Ethics and Compliance: Time for a Seat at the Executive Table
• Column By Patricia J. Harned, Ph.D. President, ERC
• One Vision of Ethics by Phillip B. Goldberg, ERC Vice President/Development
• January 2009 Fellows Meeting