Values and ethics

Is it right…?

You are being asked about what is fair or acceptable — and no tool can settle it for you.

Go deeper · the full lesson · 50 minutes · C1Where the Tools Run OutOpen the lesson →

The lens

  1. Who is affected, and who decides? Name the people, not just “stakeholders”.
  2. Which principles pull against each other? Honesty and kindness. Fairness and loyalty. Say both.
  3. Would I accept this rule if it applied to me? The reversal test.
  4. What can I not know? Facts you are missing are different from values you disagree about.

It can lead to

  • A position, with its principle “No, because…”
  • A position, with a limit “Yes, unless…”
  • “It depends on X” And say exactly what X is. Never a shrug.

The thinking, step by step

A worked example

Would it be fair to dismiss someone for a mistake the system allowed?

  1. Affected: the employee, the team, the company. The company decides.
  2. In tension: accountability and fairness.
  3. Reversal: would I accept being dismissed if the system had let me make that mistake?
  4. Not known: whether the weakness in the system was already known.

How it might soundI’d say not, on its own. If the system allowed the mistake, the failure is shared, and dismissal would punish one person for a design problem. I’d change my view if the person had ignored a clear warning.

Where it breaks. Here the thinking tools run out. Say what you would weigh, what you cannot resolve, and what would change your mind.

Practise it

Real cases

Talk it through

  1. Is there a rule in your profession that you would not accept if it applied to you?
  2. When have honesty and kindness pulled in different directions at work? What did you do?
  3. What is the difference between a fact you do not have and a value you disagree about? Give an example.

Working in medicine?

These sit well with the map — questions under pressure, with real people on the other side.

Then say it
Land itpoint · reason · stopPause ita beat, not an “um”Hold itfirm and calm