A preview of the unpublished book A CIVILIZATION WITHOUT A VISION WILL PERISH: AN INDEPENDENT SEARCH FOR THE TRUTH by David Willis
LESSONS LEARNED BY THE AUTHOR (Part 5)
Greed
Enron was one of the largest bankruptcies in the history of the United States. The International Herald Tribune of July 6, 2006 had an article Lay, ex-Enron chief, dies before his sentencing for fraud noting that “Kenneth Lay, the former chairman and chief executive of Enron who was convicted of fraud and conspiracy in the collapse of the giant energy company, died Wednesday at his home in Aspen, Colorado. He was 64. Lay was convicted on six counts of fraud and conspiracy and four counts of bank fraud. Each count carried a maximum sentence of 5 to 10 years, so he faced the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison. The financial crimes that Lay and Jeffrey Skilling – who succeeded Lay as chief executive and presided over Enron during its implosion – were convicted of committing came to symbolize the corporate excess and greed of the 1990s. The company’s name became synonymous with corporate malfeasance.” The chapter on Business looks at the new models of doing business.
Ethics
In The Ethics of Management LaRue Tone Hosmer, Professor Emeritus of Corporate Strategy and Managerial Ethics at the School of Business Administration University of Michigan, tells us that “we have seen almost daily revelations of apparent ethical violations by persons working for large global companies. Students will have to deal with these issues soon after graduation, yet at the same time, the opportunities to ‘stand out by standing up’ are equally great. Students have to learn how to convincingly present their moral point of view to jointly serve their companies, protect their careers, and improve their societies. Ethics is essential for leadership and leadership is also essential for ethics. Somebody has to be willing to stand up and say, ‘This is what we should do, and this is why we should do it.’”
Ethics: The one big thing
A number of people have come forward with ‘the one big thing’ which is the cause of all our troubles. In fact our lack of ethics is that ‘one big thing’. Until we live the Golden Rule – treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves – our civilization will continue down the slippery slope to oblivion. Jonathan Barnes and Antony Kenny in Aristotle’s Ethics include these words: “Human knowledge, according to Aristotle, divides into disciplines or ‘sciences’. These sciences group under three main heads: the contemplative, the practical, and the productive.” “Aristotle’s ethical treatises are works of practical science. What this means is that the characteristic aim of studying ethics is not the acquisition of knowledge about action but action itself – we study ethics, according to Aristotle, not in order to know what good men are like, but in order to act as good men act.” Chapters are devoted to Ethics and to Leadership.
I was reminded of my mortality
My plans for retirement in 2004 were frustrated by being diagnosed with cancer shortly after I stopped working. This was another life-transforming experience as it reminded me of my mortality and that there were certain questions that I needed to answer but I had placed on the back burner due to the pressure of work and raising a family. Questions such as “What is life all about?” and “Why was I born and given this wonderful gift of life?” and “Should I be doing more for those less fortunate than myself?”
An introduction to the Bahá’í Faith
Friends had invited me to their house for firesides to hear interesting speakers and I learned a little about the Bahá’í Faith. We attended a summer school where Christine had an accident and was rushed to hospital where we lost our fourth child. Sitting at her bedside I reflected on the events of the week and was moved to declare myself Bahá’í when we returned the following day. That was around the turn of the millennium and it was a decision of the heart. It was another of my life-transforming experiences.
A decision of the heart and the mind
Being trained as an engineer a decision of the heart did not come easily and since that time I have been studying the Bahá’í writings to determine whether my decision can also be one of a scientific, searching and critical mind. Suffice to say that I have found that the Bahá’í Faith is a model of transparency; that it is not afraid of the toughest questions; and that it has become a very important part of my life. The chapters on Religion and The Bahá’í Faith helped me clarify my thinking on issues that have troubled philosophers and searching minds since the beginning of time.