Professional Ethics

“an Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Thousand Cures”

What’s Professional Ethics all about?

Here’s one way to describe it:

1. If you are an elected, appointed, or hired public official (or if you practice a profession), we—the society at large—expect you to live up to certain Ground Rules . . . ground rules of Professional Ethics.                                 
2. The problem is these ground rules are unwritten ground rules.  The only time we can articulate it is to tell you a particular ground rule after you have broken it.

It’s not very fair, but that’s the long and the short of it; that’s how it works.  The penalties for public officials or professionals exercising poor judgment on issues of ethics tend to be severe. Make a serious ethical mistake and your career may be finished, and your program or agency may get wiped out.

The Seminar on Professional Ethics

The subject matter is both difficult and important. In fact, to the degree it can be done in a classroom . . .

. . . The course’s main objective is to teach you judgment when virtually nothing is clear.

At the end of this course, you will have developed:

Judgment in how to deal with the different kinds of professional binds you will find yourself in now and then

     

                                             

Judgment in how to anticipate some of the downright unfair pressures people will put you under

 

                                                                 

Judgment about how to anticipate—and deal with—the temptations that are perfectly predictable for your particular field

 

                               

Judgment in steps you can take to prevent being in an ethical bind

           

Judgment in how you can deal with these situations—even if you can’t prevent them outright

             

                                             

Judgment in how to coach your staff on dealing with issues of ethics, so you can immunize them from errors of professional ethics

This training is designed to immunize you against judgmental errors in the area of professional ethics. The course is based strictly on real-world cases . . . Cases out of the newspapers . . . Cases were professionals were confronted with ethical binds, unethical pressures and temptations.  These cases will familiarize you with the real-world faces of ethics issues . . . Real-world cases of bad ethical judgment, as well as good ethical judgment . . . (One can learn from both. )  That’s how we can help you get your sea-legs in exercising judgment in decisions involving professional ethics.

Without training on this subject, you’re bound to repeat these errors yourself.

You don’t have to be stupid to make ethics mistakes.  The professionals whose lives you see destroyed in the mass media every day are not dumb!  Just check their record, their accomplishments!  Neither we, nor you are any smarter than those who make ethical blunders. You, and we, are equally as likely to make similar ethical mistakes if the conditions are right— unless, of course, you have studied the subject! 

Your ordinary common sense will not keep you from making errors of an ethical nature.

It’s not that simple! In fact, it’s treacherously complicated!  Judgment in issues of professional ethics is a whole other ball game.

If you’re not going to be just another public official, but a truly successful public official . . . If you are not just going to work in a profession, but serve with distinction . . . Get immunized . . . Protect yourself from these very real and very damaging miscalculations.

Learn how to have superb judgment when others make career-ending mistakes!

It’s a couple of days of hard work, but it sure beats having to tell your mother that you don’t know why CNN and The New York Times keep mentioning your name; . . . Telling her not to worry, . . . Telling her that you have done nothing wrong, . . . Telling her that you don’t know why this nightmare is happening to you . . .