You can’t be ethical until you’ve fully examined and understood both sides of any issue.
Few things in life are black and white. That’s why we have to learn to Grapple with the Gray.
This episode's ethics challenge:
Upon arriving at the grocery store, Sonny remembered that this was a “green” store that charged extra to supply shopping bags, and he had neglected to bring his own bags. Not wanting to pay for more bags, he stepped outside and helped himself to one of the many cardboard containers that were stacked up outside for recycling. He put the carton in his shopping cart and filled it with his groceries as he shopped.
On his way out of the store, Sonny found himself blinded by the flash of camera lights and face to face with a microphone.
“Congratulations!” a man said in a booming voice. “You’ve been chosen as the Pepsi customer of the day.”
Unbeknownst to Sonny, this camera crew prowled the city daily to bestow prizes on random Pepsi customers as they emerged from their shopping adventures.
“That’s great,” said Sonny. “But I didn’t buy any Pepsi products.”
“Of course, you did,” replied the man with the microphone. “You have a Pepsi carton right there in your shopping cart.”
Only then did Sonny realize that the box he had grabbed from the front of the store was emblazoned with the Pepsi logo. Sonny immediately began explaining the mistake, but neither microphone man nor his crew seemed the least bit interested. They put a Pepsi baseball cap on Sonny’s head, handed him a $100 gift card, and vanished as quickly as they had appeared.
Should Sonny keep the gifts?
Meet this week’s panelists:
Solomon Ezra Berezin is a health and performance coach, using nutrition, meditation, and mindfulness to develop a mindset for success.
Jeff Koziatek is a certified speaker and peak performance coach, helping professionals to navigate change, sharpen focus, avoid burnout, and make a difference.
Mary Kutheis is a certified executive coach, Axiogenics coach, and author of Making Minutes Matter: a guide to being content with how you spend your time.