Sunday, May 3, 2009
Sixteen Days Until My Release From Taft Federal Prison Camp
In yesterday's blog I provided a brief snapshot on the six speeches I have prepared to deliver to corporate audiences. I feel strongly that these speeches can add to any business human resource training. Over the next few days, I'd like to publish the outline I intend to follow for each of these six speeches that I've prepared.
VALUE-CENTERED DECISIONS
In this speech, I want to leave those in my audience with a clear understanding of the importance of making values-based decisions. The 60-minute speech will cover five areas as follows:
I. Introduction (20 minutes):
In this opening section of the speech I will provide those in the audience with information about who I am. I will describe my background as a student-athlete who achieved some distinction. Through sports I learned the importance of honesty, integrity, discipline, and other virtues.
After graduating from the University of Southern California, however, I began a career as a stockbroker. In working at firms like Bear Stearns and UBS, I lost my allegiance to the values most citizens associate with good character. In so doing, I frequently operated within so-called ethical gray areas. In time those compromises led to decisions that contributed to massive investor losses and criminal prosecution.
I will transition from this 20-minute introduction to four, separate 10-minute sections that cover the following topics:
II. Ethics (10 minutes): When making corporate or personal decisions, asking ourselves whether our decisions comport with our personal honesty and integrity, can ensure that we avoid ethical gray areas that can harm our reputation.
III. Respect (10 minutes): Making values-based decisions requires that we treat others with dignity. Our decisions should show that we value people as being worthy of respect, and that we are transparent with the motivations behind our decisions.
IV. Responsive (10 minutes): In making values-based decisions, we must identify expectations and deliver on commitments. In so doing, we must show that we grasp the essence and ramifications that follow our decisions.
V. Resources (10 minutes): Making values-based decisions must show that we use all resources wisely. This includes efforts to understand the needs of all who are party to our decisions. When we make values-based decisions, we advance the interests of our career, our reputation, our firm, and our community.
