HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT IT TO BE?
Society for Ethics in Nigeria
This is an extract from an ethics site which we feel is very
appropriate to our situation in the country today. Kindly read on and
enjoy.
A company founder needed to choose his successor. He studied resumes
and talked to references, but he asked only one question during the
final interview: "How much is 2 + 2?"
Ann, the first candidate, worried that there was a trick but answered
straightforwardly. "There's only one correct answer: four."
Terry, who had an engineering background, was more creative.
"Depending on whether you're dealing with positive or negative
numbers," he said, "the answer could be plus four, zero, or minus
four."
Chuck, the last candidate, looked the questioner in the eye and
whispered, "How much do you want it to be?"
While Ann and Terry took different approaches, they both provided an
honest answer. Chuck, on the other hand, wanted the questioner to know
he was willing to say or do whatever it took to succeed. Some
employers may find this combination of creativity and moral
flexibility highly attractive. I'd show him the door.
You see, Chuck is a manipulator and rationalizer, and they don't make
good employees. They search for excuses rather than solutions and are
more concerned with looking good than doing things right.
People like Chuck who are adept at inventing justifications that sound
good but aren't true are simply clever liars. Eventually they will be
found out. Remember, an employee who will lie for you will lie to you.
Without conscience, there is no credibility. Without credibility,
there is no trust. And without trust, there is no future.
(culled from Josephson Inst.)
N.B. The author says he will show Chuck the door. What will you do as
a Nigerian. Write and let us know.
Regards
Whiskey, Isaac
Nat. Coordinator