Employment Learning Innovations & Workplace Culture Blog

Complexity Squashes Ethics – Fight Back with Simplicity

Stephen M. Paskoff March 22, 2010 No Comments

We’ve made ethics, compliance, and daily behavioral standards too complex. By trying to convey too much, we accomplish too little. We need to simplify messages, repeat them to make them memorable, and cut through the clutter of information that confuses rather than clarifies our objectives. That’s my simple message; the rest of what follows is “proof.” We are all flooded with information, more than any

More about Bad Docs

Stephen M. Paskoff March 15, 2010 No Comments

Bad doctors lose patients they shouldn’t, cause avoidable complications, distract team members who may deliver the wrong medication, or cause others to keep quiet when they should speak up about problems. I’m not talking about physicians who lack clinical skills, though some may. Rather, these bad docs may have great and even extraordinary talents. But they scream, berate, physically intrude, threaten, and demean team members

When the Law's Not Enough to Fix the Problem

Stephen M. Paskoff March 8, 2010 No Comments

The pharmaceutical firm that keeps selling a profitable medication though its researchers know it has significantly adverse side effects The hospital that tolerates physicians’ abusive behavior though aware of the distraction their conduct causes during day-to-day practice The automobile manufacturer that conceals a discovered defect that could cause fatalities rather than absorb the costs of expensive product recalls Organizational disasters have resulted recently from each

Confidentiality Has Its Limits (At Times, That Is)

Stephen M. Paskoff March 1, 2010 No Comments

“We’ve completed the investigation, and the matter has been resolved.” “Did you verify what I told you? Has he/she been disciplined? Will this stop? What happens next?” “All I can tell you is that this has been resolved; if you have further issues, please let us know. We are required to keep our findings and actions confidential. I’m sure you understand.” This sort of conversation

In Honor of Dr. King

ELI, Inc. January 15, 2008 No Comments

Today is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday — he would have been 79 — and as the upcoming holiday celebrating the man and his achievements approaches, I’m reminded of something he once said that is a driving force behind what we’re all hoping to accomplish in the workplace: “Morality cannot be legislated, but behavior can be regulated.” ELI’s offices will be closed on Monday

Workplace Training: The Canine Example

Stephen M. Paskoff January 2, 2008 No Comments

Memphis Rae, our newest family member, is an 8-month-old German Shepherd puppy who we found through the Georgia Shepherd Rescue. She’s a great looking dog, very bright and mostly friendly, and gets along with our whole family, including Monroe, a gentle, regal Shepherd also from Georgia Rescue, who is about 2 1/2. But Memphis barks at strangers. That’s off-putting now; it will get worse if

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Complexity Squashes Ethics – Fight Back with Simplicity

More about Bad Docs

When the Law's Not Enough to Fix the Problem

Confidentiality Has Its Limits (At Times, That Is)

In Honor of Dr. King

Workplace Training: The Canine Example