Work Place Ethics in Two Different Cultures.

I watched the erstwhile anchor of Hardball on MSNBC, Chris Matthews, as he apologized profusely (during an interview) for his “inappropriate behavior” when he paid compliments to a woman about her cute appearance. Listening to him, I had a flash back to some of the no-holds-barred jokes we used to make in NAL Merchant Bank of those days in Nigeria. I remember the time a woman jocularly slapped her male colleague in the butt and the guy insisted on taking “revenge”. And one particular guy, who went on to become a pastor & the CEO of a bank, was reputed for constantly yelling in the banking hall while joking with women; “Hey, I’ll tear off your panties.” In retrospect, I do wonder what a sharp contrast there is between the two different work environments.

When People Exhibit the Attitude of a Caged Animal.

The words on the marble by Bob Marley

Some individuals, irrespective of their intellect, are like animals that have been caged for too long. When, by benevolence, the cage is finally flung open, they will refuse to leave. To them, the cage is a comfort zone but to the rational bystander, it's another case of mental slavery. 

A Lesson in Civility.

I was headed to a meeting recently at a downtown office building. There was a guy a few steps ahead of me, apparent in a slight hurry. In addition to observing his light jog, I also noticed we were headed in the same direction towards the elevator. As the elevator opened, he immediately got in and began frantically pressing the ‘close door’ button causing the elevator door to close as I was only a few steps away. Because I was visible, his refusal to attempt to hold the elevator for me raised a few questions in my mind about the state of civility in today’s society.We’re involved in a great deal of incivility ranging from simple gestures of kindness; the handling of social media; and, even what’s taking place in the presidential election.  We’ve moved past the days of giving someone the right-of-way  in traffic, stopping at cross walks, saying “excuse me” when inadvertently bumping into someone, sending “thank you” cards, etc. Taking all this into account we want to remind and encourage you to extend a little patience and kindness along with a sprinkling of some random acts of kindness in our everyday lives. We can all make a conscious effort to get civility back!

- Author unknown.

The Impact of Attitude on Life.

“The longer I love, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, gift or skill. It will make or break a company...a church....a home. The remarkable thing is, we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past...we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude...I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you...we are in charge of our attitudes.” ― Charles R. Swindoll.

A Painful Truth.

"Better to be awakened 
by a painful truth 
than to be lulled to sleep 
by a seductive lie.” 
– Dr. Phil McGraw.

When “Keeping it Real” is Dumb.

Have you heard these words “keeping it real” lately? These words, as simple as they look and sound, have created a lot of issues and problems for a lot of young Americans. So many of them are indeed in jails across the nation because they have no clue as to what “keeping it real” is really all about!

In many black communities, for instance, “keeping it real” among the young people is the same thing as being disrespectful, doing badly in school, dropping out of schools, speaking poor English grammar and having pride in being an ex-convict. Another form of “keeping it real” is for a guy to dress like a thug, speak like a thug and act like a thug. The irony of this stupid attitude is that when real thugs get into trouble and appear in courts, they know better than to act like thugs. In fact, they suddenly speak and dress properly. So, this means they know the right thing to do in order to be taken seriously.

It’s terribly shameful that when some other young black folks do the right things such as staying in schools, studying to acquire good education, speaking proper English, dressing decently and being respectful, they are called names. The worst is that such nice young black folks are branded as “acting white”.

But when did the resolve to do the right thing become a monopoly of the white people? As a thoroughbred African, I take a very strong exception to the idea that black people are the custodians of negative stuff while white people are solely created to do the right things. But this is the crazy message some young black folks are unwittingly sending out to the world.

 

 

 

 

 

Your Attitude Goes Before Your Religion.

Some years back, I used to work with a guy who was notorious for his negative attitudes to life. This guy would curse or swear like a rogue sailor over the smallest form of irritation or annoyance. One moment, he was smiling with a colleague and the next moment, he was “stabbing” the same colleague in the back without batting an eyelid.

This guy’s attitude to work was something else. If he was not being lazy, he was complacent. And the worst aspect of it all was that the guy was as prejudiced and racist as a stray, diseased dog was known for being rabid. There was really “nothing good to write home about him”.

Then, something happened one day at work. We were all talking about our weekend, and particularly the past Sunday. It soon came to the turn of this guy. He began by saying “I was in the church…and as a Sunday school teacher…”

“What?...” almost everyone in the office exclaimed and glared at him simultaneously.

“What is what?” the guy, embarrassed, turned around to gape at us.

Suddenly, the entire room was quiet!

I was the first person to speak. “Did you just say…you were a Sunday school teacher?”

It took him a few seconds to answer but he finally did, “Yes…and so?...”

Quietly, everyone began to leave the room, one after the other.