Moral Intelligence: Enhancing Business Performance and Leadership Success (Paperback) [Paperback]

Doug Lennick (Author), Fred Kiel (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0132349868 | ISBN-13: 978-0132349864 | Publication Date: August 2, 2007

"The authors offer a timely, important, and practical personal guidance system that anyone in the business world would do well to adopt. The world of business would be vastly improved if Moral Intelligence became required reading.”

–Daniel Goleman, Author of Emotional Intelligence

 

“Lennick and Kiel are consulting masters who guide us the way they live–with moral intelligence. They prove that you don’t have to sacrifice your soul to lead productively.”

–Richard J. Leider, Founder, The Inventure Group and bestselling Author of Repacking Your Bags and The Power of Purpose

 

“We live in an increasingly competitive and global world. Increasingly, ‘the end justifies the means.’ This often results in the loss of our moral compass. Lennick and Kiel show usthat the truly great business leaders never sacrifice moral integrity for financial goals and that maintaining the highest ethical standards is not only the ‘right’ thing to do, it produces the best companies and the best results.”

–Paul Fribourg, CEO of Conti-Group Companies and Chairman, Lauder

 Institute,Wharton Business School

 

“Moral Intelligence demonstrates compellingly that doing what is right morally and doing what is right for your business are inseparable. Lennick and Kiel cite numerous business cases where the moral decision was also the smartest strategic decision. Importantly, they provide practical advice and exercises to help readers assess and strengthen their own moral competence and effectiveness as leaders. For CEOs and other decision makers, Moral Intelligence makes good business sense.”

–Dick Harrington, CEO of The Thomson Corporation

 

“It should be obvious by now–our private enterprise system needs to revisit its role in our society. The questions are:What changes are in order and how can they be achieved? Moral Intelligence addresses these questions and provides tools to implement the answers.”

–Irvine O. Hockaday, Jr., President/CEO–Hallmark Cards, Inc. (Ret.)

 

“Moral Intelligence is the foundation of moral authority, which alone enables formal authority to work–sustainable over time. This conscience-challenging book drills deep into both the science and the practical how-tos in building universal principle-centered values into our lives and cultures. A motivating and inspiring read!”

–Dr. Stephen R. Covey, Author, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness

 

“Moral Intelligence is excellent reading for new entrants to the business world as well as experienced managers. I found numerous examples that were right on point with actual events that I have experienced in over 40 years of managing. It was also helpful to have the topics presented in the context of current events that hold the readers’ interest. This book should be on the reading list of every student regardless of their career choice.”

–Larry Pinnt, Chairman, Cascade Natural Gas

 

“At a time when capitalism faces questions of legitimacy brought on by poor leadership behaviors, this book provides a healthy way of thinking of the internal compass that can avoid corporate atrocities.”

–Mike McGavick, CEO & Chairman of Safeco Corporation

 

“This book identifies the traits which identify value-oriented corporate leaders and provides a practical primer to a business person to identify and emulate these critical traits. It is essential reading for anyone who believes that this is the way the world is going.”

–Mike Phillips, Chairman, Russell Investment Group

 

“In their new book, Doug Lennick and Fred Kiel bring to the business world a much needed moral guidance system. Given the worldwide erosion of trust in American business, the authors’ user-friendly tools and concepts arrive not a moment too soon.”

–Keith Reinhard, Chairman, DDB Worldwide and President, Business for

Diplomatic Action

 

Visit: www.moralcompass.com

 

This new, paperback version contains a new Epilogue with updated information on many of the companies and case studies discussed in the original hardback version.

 

There is a powerful correlation between strong moral principles and business success. In this book, two globally respected leadership experts illuminate that connection, define the specific competencies that comprise “moral intelligence,” and show exactly how to promote it throughout your organization.

 

Drawing on extensive original research, Doug Lennick and Fred Kiel demonstrate how the best performing companies have leaders with a strong moral compass and the ability to follow it–even in a world that may reward bad behavior in the short run.

 

Lennick and Kiel identify and help you build the moral skills leaders need most, including integrity, responsibility, compassion, and forgiveness. They offer realistic guidance on being a moral leader in both large organizations and entrepreneurial ventures: guidance reflecting decades of experience coaching executives at the very highest levels.

 

Moral Intelligence also introduces the breakthrough Moral Competency Inventory (MCI): an indispensable metric to assess where you and your organization stand right now.

 

In recent years, companies have discovered the value of Emotional Intelligence (EI). But EI isn’t enough: only leaders with strong moral intelligence can build the trust and commitment that are the foundation of truly great businesses. Be one of those leaders, lead one of those companies, with Moral Intelligence.

 

Foreword xxi

Introduction xxix

 

PART ONE: MORAL INTELLIGENCE

Chapter 1: Good Business 3

Chapter 2: Born to Be Moral 19

Chapter 3: Your Moral Compass 37

Chapter 4: Staying True to Your Moral Compass 63

 

PART TWO: DEVELOPING MORAL SKILLS

Chapter 5: Integrity 79

Chapter 6: Responsibility 93

Chapter 7: Compassion and Forgiveness 105

Chapter 8: Emotions 115

 

PART THREE: MORAL LEADERSHIP

Chapter 9: The Moral Leader 141

Chapter 10: Leading Large Organizations 157

Chapter 11: Moral Intelligence for the Entrepreneur 185

 

Epilogue: Becoming a Global Moral Leader 207

Epilogue: Update on Moral Intelligence’s Cast of Characters 215

 

Appendix A: Strengthening Your Moral Skills 239

Appendix B: Moral Competency Inventory (MCI) 251

Appendix C: Scoring the MCI 259

Appendix D: Interpreting Your MCI Scores 265

 

Index 273

Editorial Reviews

Review

 

"Doug Lennick and Fred Kiel offer a timely, important, and practical
personal guidance system  that anyone in the business world would do well
to adopt. The world of business would be vastly improved if  Moral
Intelligence became required reading." 

       --Daniel Goleman, author, EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

"Lennick & Kiel are consulting masters who guide us the way they live-with moral intelligence. They prove that you don't have to sacrifice your soul to lead productively."

        --Richard J. Leider, Founder, The Inventure Group and bestselling author of REPACKING YOUR BAGS and  THE POWER OF PURPOSE

"We live in an increasingly competitive and global world. Increasingly, "the end justifies the means." This often results in the loss of our moral compass. Lennick and  Kiel show us that the truly great business leaders never sacrifice moral integrity for financial goals and that maintaining the highest ethical standards is not only the "right" thing to do, it produces the best companies and the best results."   

        Paul Fribourg, CEO of Conti-Group Companies and Chairman, Lauder Institute, Wharton Business School

 

Moral Intelligence demonstrates compellingly that doing what is right morally and doing what is right for your business are inseparable.  Lennick and Kiel cite numerous business cases where the moral decision was also the smartest strategic decision.  Importantly, they provide practical advice and exercises to help readers assess and strengthen their own moral competence and effectiveness as leaders.  For CEOs and other decision makers, Moral Intelligence makes good business sense. 

        Dick Harrington, CEO of the Thomson Companies

"It should be obvious by now -- our private enterprise system needs to revisit its role in our society.  The questions are: What changes are in order and how can they be achieved?  Moral Intelligence addresses these questions and provides tools to implement the answers."

        Irvine O. Hockaday, Jr.  President/CEO -- Hallmark Cards, Inc. (Ret.)

Moral Intelligence is excellent reading for new entrants to the business world as well as experienced managers.  I found numerous examples that were right on point with actual events that I have experienced in over 40 years of managing.  It was also helpful to have the topics presented in the context of current events that hold the readers interest.  This book should be on the reading list of every student regardless of their career choice.

        Larry Pinnt, Chairman, Cascade Natural Gas

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

About the Author

Doug Lennick’s career as an executive, sales manager, and a developer of people is legendary. Today, in addition to his work as a founding member of the Lennick Aberman Group, Doug continues to work directly with Ken Chenault, CEO of American Express and Jim Cracchiolo, CEO of Ameriprise Financial, formerly American Express Financial Advisors. Although no longer full time, Doug retains the title of EVP at Ameriprise Financial. As a senior advisor to Ken and Jim, Doug’s focus is on workforce culture and performance. As a leader, a coach, and a mentor, Doug has taught thousands how to be successful in both their personal and professional lives.

    In the early 1990s, Doug was one of two (the other being Jim Mitchell) senior managers at American Express responsible for championing, developing, and implementing the Emotional Competence training program that was recognized by the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations as a model program. Doug’s work and American Express’s Emotional Competence program were recognized in Daniel Goleman’s Working with Emotional Intelligence and in Tony Schwartz’ Fortune magazine article on the same topic. In The Power of Purpose, Richard Leider referred to Doug as the “spiritual leader” of the company.

    Doug lives in Edina, Minnesota, with his wife, Beth Ann, and their youngest daughter, Joan. Doug’s son Alan is an actor and a financial advisor living in New York City with his wife Sari, and Doug’s oldest daughter, Mary, attends Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.

 

lennickaberman.com

612-333-8791

[e-mail]

 

One of the “founding fathers” of the field of executive coaching, Fred Kiel began challenging senior executives in the mid-1970s to improve their leadership skills. Trained as a Ph.D. counseling psychologist, he left the private practice world in the mid-1980s and has since devoted his fulltime career to the field now known as executive coaching. He serves as the coach to several CEOs. He is working on his next book, What CEOs Believe and How It Impacts the Bottom Line.

    In 1987, he formed a partnership with Eric Rimmer in the UK and by 1991, he and Eric joined forces with Kathryn Williams to form KRW International, which has grown into a boutique of mostly Ph.D.-level coaches, internationally recognized for their expertise in the leadership demands of the C-Suite.

    Fred lives on his organic farm in Southeastern Minnesota, in the midst of cold running trout streams and Amish farms, along with his wife, Sandy and youngest daughter, Freda. Sandy is the innkeeper for the Inn at Sacred Clay Farm–their country inn bed and breakfast with five luxury guest rooms and meeting space for small groups.

 

krwinternational.com

612-338-3020

[e-mail]

 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Pearson Prentice Hall (August 2, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0132349868
• ISBN-13: 978-0132349864
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #51,646 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #25 in Books > Business & Investing > Management & Leadership > Total Quality Management
  • #84 in Books > Business & Investing > Business Life > Ethics

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's not just good morals, it's good business, July 7, 2005

By 

Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Moral Intelligence: Enhancing Business Performance and Leadership Success (Hardcover)

The author makes a point that not only do we need to be taught morals and ethics, we need to know how to implement them in business. There are examples in this book of people gone wrong, terribly wrong, for very little reason other than the environment they were working in gave all the wrong signals--and that any moral training they'd had was weak enough to be lost in the crowd of "everyone's doing it, so it's ok." So, is it really ok to cheat stealing supplies, award bids to cronies and work against the firm's benefit for your personal gain because someone else is doing it? What's your answer? Without a moral compass (the instruction set on what and what not to do and why) and without moral direction (the how and when and why of what to do and what not to do) some pretty sad things happen.

This is the crux of "Moral Intelligence" --businesses have to model the behavior as well as to instruct their members in ethics. And people better have a good grounding long before they enter the business world--after all, our values are pretty much set at age 10.

The proposition in "Moral Intelligence" is that long-term business goals will benefit from doing the right thing, and that the needs of the moment and the shortcuts in doing things in a less than moral way are going to end up in a tragedy. I'd say, anything you read on the headlines today indicates that moral shortcutting pragmatism loses to the high road, eventually. Your sins catch up with you. Why not run your business, large or small, based on good values and ethics? You'll be a pillar of the community, you'll probably avoid being prosecuted, and you'll surely sleep better at night. An absolute MUST-READ for anyone in the business world and imperative if you are in a leadership role. Recommended.

53 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An IQ Test For The Soul, May 31, 2005

By 

John G. Hilliard (Toronto Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Moral Intelligence: Enhancing Business Performance and Leadership Success (Hardcover)

Not many of us start our business careers deciding what principles and values we should follow. If we do it is usually something involving money and advancement. The authors state that in their joint careers they have worked with hundreds of leaders and they found that the most successful of them all seemed to have something special. They decided that there was something more basic then emotional intelligence skills that seemed to be at the heart of long lasting business success. They call this trait moral intelligence.

The authors describe moral intelligence as the mental capacity to determine how universal human principles should be applied to our values, goals and actions. The ability to differentiate between right and wrong. So they then decided to determine if this trait can be taught, which leads us to this book. They have written a book that is not so much a how to guide but almost a self examination of the readers moral compass and it gives the reader a challenge to do better.

Overall the book is interesting and a bit inspiring. When reading a book about how you can make better decisions that are grounded in basic moral principals, you can not help but feel inspired to do better. The book is almost like a roadmap for readers to find their own moral compass. They make a good case that doing the right thing is not only the right way to lead your life, but that it is the best way to conduct business. I enjoyed the book and I think if you are interested in becoming a better person, you will also.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Critical Rung on the Ladder to Success, August 16, 2005

By 

Craig L. Howe "The Pointed Pundit" (Darien, CT United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Moral Intelligence: Enhancing Business Performance and Leadership Success (Hardcover)

Corporate morality plays a critical role in corporate success.

One need only to listen to tales regaled by consumers who hesitate or refuse to purchase products from companies that engage in moral dysfunction to know it is true. Add to that, the growing list of investors and consumers who limit their purchases to companies that match the buyer's personal standards.

Without a clear moral beacon, an organization risks devastating financial failure. The authors argue that without moral intelligence, long-term business success is not sustainable.

For years we have recognized the difference between cognitive and emotional intelligence. Moral Intelligence, the authors argue is another distinct division. They define it as the ability to determine how universal human principles - like the "golden rule" - should be applied to our personal values, goals and actions.

The book focuses on four principles that are vital for sustained personal and organizational success:

1. Integrity
2. Responsibility
3. Compassion
4. Forgiveness

The authors admit that emotional and moral intelligence comes into play when more decisions are at stake. Yet it is obvious that there is a boundary. Without a moral anchor, leaders can be charismatic and influential, but in a profound destructive manner.

Doug Lennick and Fred Kiel draw on extensive original research to demonstrate the best performing companies have leaders with a strong moral compass. Their ability to never waiver pays even in a world that often rewards bad behavior in the short run.