July 29, 2010
The Level-Minded Observer
Tiger Acknowledges Level 2 Outlook; the Happiness Machine; Invictus; and the $177 Bagel
In the year since the Spitzer Center began to publish The Four-Level Leader, we’ve gotten a sense of what types of articles readers find most interesting. You like it when we use the Four Levels as a lens to illuminate events in the news or the broader culture. Articles that break information down into smaller, digestible chunks are also appreciated. This new feature, “The Level-Minded Observer,” aims to do both while providing brief updates on news from the Center. Feel free to suggest items of interest, or let us know what you think of the new column by sending us an email.
Tiger Woods: “I thought only about myself”
Back in December, we speculated that “Tiger Woods is a very Level 2 guy. … The ‘Tiger Is Level 2 Hypothesis’ helps to explain a lot of things that have his admirers scratching their heads.” Woods made a public apology of February 19, and while we wouldn’t expect him to use a Spitzer-coined term like “Level 2,” his brutally honest self-critique acknowledged what we would describe as Level 2 dominance:
I stopped living by the core values that I was taught to believe in. I knew my actions were wrong, but I convinced myself that normal rules didn't apply. I never thought about who I was hurting. Instead, I thought only about myself. I ran straight through the boundaries that a married couple should live by. I thought I could get away with whatever I wanted to. I felt that I had worked hard my entire life and deserved to enjoy all the temptations around me. I felt I was entitled. Thanks to money and fame, I didn't have to go far to find them.
Here’s wishing that Woods is successful in returning to his values, mending his marriage, and returning to his sport a better and more Level 3 man.
Spitzer on Kresta
Is ethics something you can teach, or does it have to be learned “on your mother’s knee”? That’s one of the questions Al Kresta asked Fr. Robert Spitzer in a radio interview taped at the 2010 Legatus Annual Summit in early February. The host of Kresta in the Afternoon, heard weekdays on more than 100 Catholic radio stations across the country, was broadcasting live from the summit, where Fr. Spitzer was one of the featured speakers.
So can ethics be taught? “I think you can inspire people to move ahead with it, and that’s where we start,” Fr. Spitzer replied. “We don’t give an ordinary compliance curriculum,” he added. The Center’s programs cover compliance-related issues, “but in addition, we’re trying to raise their awareness from what we call an ego-comparative identity to a contributive identity. There are a whole lot of reasons why you’d want to do that. … It’s good for you, it’s good for your family, and it’s good for your leadership to stop the jealousy, the fear of failure, and the suspicion of others.”
The entire interview, which covers Fr. Spitzer’s work with both Magis and the Spitzer Center, can be found here. (Fast-forward or advance the slide bar about 10 minutes into the hour-long audio file).
Stat of the Month: Most Youth OK with Lying, Cheating
According to the Josephson Institute, there’s a large age-related difference in how Americans see ethical issues. In the Institute’s most recent annual survey conducted last fall, youth age 17 and under were five times more likely than older adults to view lying and cheating as acceptable ways to achieve success.
Ironically, respondents of all ages who condoned lying and cheating (described as “cynics”) were more likely to view themselves as ethically superior. Eighty-two percent of cynics said they were more ethical than most people they knew, while 76% of non-cynics gave the same response.
The survey also found that the questionable values and habits formed in school are not always outgrown. Those who acknowledged cheating on tests in high school were about two times more likely to engage in other unethical behaviors later in life, such as lying on resumes, inflating expense or insurance claims, or asking their children to tell a lie for them.
Advertising Watch: "The Happiness Machine"
Can a soft drink make you happy? We suspect most people would answer no – that happiness is made of more meaningful stuff. We here at the Center must admit we frequently reinforce this perspective. But in emphasizing the benefits of the higher levels of happiness, we shouldn’t lose sight of the genuine joy afforded by life’s passing Level 1 pleasures.
Which is why we are doffing our caps to a clever campaign from Coca-Cola called “The Happiness Machine.” It features a Coke vending machine that has been rigged to dispense more than expected. It’s a nice reminder that all four levels of happiness are good, and while we don’t endorse Coke or any other product, the video made us smile.
Flunking the New York Times Test
While there must be a million reasons to avoid unethical conduct, New York City Councilman Larry Seabrook has come up with Reason No. 1,000,001: Don’t do anything that will force you to spend the rest of your life hearing bagel jokes. Earlier in February, Seabrook was the target of a 13-count federal indictment alleging that he engaged in money laundering, extortion and fraud. But one allegation garnered most of the headlines. Seabrook was accused of submitting a doctored receipt that made it look like he had paid $177 for a $7 bagel and diet soda.
Talk about flunking the New York Times test! The city’s tabloids have had a field day with the finagled bagel receipt, and even the staid Times sent a reporter out to the city’s swankiest restaurants to see if it was possible to construct so expensive a bagel. (It’s hard to get there without adding white truffles, which cost at least $6,000 per pound.) It's a rather sardonic reminder that we never know which of our actions will come to define us, so it’s best to consider all your actions public (which they are in the eyes of Heaven).
Invictus
If you’re looking for a great movie about inspirational, ethical leadership, it may not be too late to catch Invictus in a theatre near you. Released in December, the film stars Morgan Freeman as South African leader Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon as Francois Pienaar, captain of the Springboks rugby team. The mostly Afrikaner team was seen by black South Africans as a symbol of the apartheid era, and for that reason, many wished to see its demise.
Rather than accede to those wishes, Mandela urged a radically different course – embracing Springbok rugby as a source of national unity and reconciliation. In one memorable scene from the movie, Mandela (Freeman) addresses the National Sports Council, which has just voted unanimously to abolish the Springbok name, emblem, and colors. He urges them to change their decision from one of “petty revenge” to empathy. “Our enemy is no longer the Afrikaner,” he says. “They are our fellow South Africans, our partners in democracy, and they treasure Springbok rugby. If we take that away, we lose them.” You can see the full clip of that scene below.
Directed by Clint Eastwood, Invictus earned great critical reviews for its strong lead performances and its success in avoiding pitfalls common in inspirational films. It “depicts an unlikely intersection of sports and leadership in ways that manage to be inspiring and insightful without ever becoming schmaltzy or preachy” (Lou Lumineck, New York Post). If you’ve missed it at the theatres, the DVD is expected out in June.
From the Mail: Thanks from Sully’s Family; Feedback on Politics
Back in November, we ran a story, How Empathy Engineered the V-8 Engine, which told how Ford engineer Don “Sully” Sullivan persuaded Henry Ford to rethink his original design. Other websites picked up on the story, which led to emails from Sully’s daughter and grandson. His daughter, Patty Sullivan Gors wrote:
"I want to thank you for the newsy article & story on my father, Don (Sully) Sullivan. He was an awesome man and father. We all learned so much from him. He had the deepest respect for Mr. Ford. We were never allowed to call him Henry Ford, but Mr. Ford. His legacy will always be with us.
His grandson, Tom Kuhr, wrote to thank us and added that he had other stories “that illustrate the direct nature of Henry Ford's communication style. Many were put off and offended, but my grandfather saw the sport in it!”
We also received both positive and negative comments on our article on utilitarianism in the legislative battle over health care reform. One reader expressed the wish that “there were more Father Spitzers in the debate rather than the screamers and schemers!” But another reader was concerned that we were holding up Scott Brown as a model of ethical behavior. That certainly wasn’t our intention, and we don’t believe we did so. Our concern about utilitarian ethics is bipartisan, since it is “practiced routinely by both parties,” says Fr. Spitzer. “I believe this widespread use of utilitarian ethics is one of the reasons that people get disillusioned with politics, and I think we’d be much better off if elected leaders from both parties took a more principle-based approach. But I’m not holding my breath.”
– John Keenan, Editor
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Last changed: Mar 24 2010 at 11:20 AM