Ethics. It’s a word that can certainly grab your attention and one that actually gets bandied about quite a bit in the news the last few years. Ethics goes to more than just what the law requires (although it certainly encompasses that) and goes to the seemingly nebulous idea of “what is right”. My full-time “real” job is completely comprised of handling business ethics where I work. I know, I know… you’re thinking to yourself that it seems impossible that someone with my chiseled features and build is not making a living as an inspiration of nouveau sculptures of Greek gods, but there’s really a lot less of that kind of work than you would think. Quite a bummer.
I believe very strongly that ethics is not just something that’s “good to do”, but in the business world, it’s also a competitive advantage. Don’t believe me? Think of the car mechanic your family swears by because he does great work, doesn’t overcharge and genuinely lets you know when something is wrong with your vehicle. We will tend to gravitate much more strongly towards those who give us a square deal and we do not feel completely slimy after a business transaction with them. Plus, a business committed to acting ethically is also going to be a place that is very well-run anyway.
If there is something in the world of ethics (whether business or just personal) that makes my gray matter light up with red flags, it would have to be someone using my all-time favorite justification for unethical conduct. Yes, that’s right good people… “Everyone else is doing it!” *shudder* Remember trying that one on your mom? Remember how that went? Yeah, me too.
This is why I was so struck by this piece over at Time Out New York from this past Summer. There is a Broadway revival of The Fantasticks and Ben Brantley from The New York Times went to it and wrote a review. Generally speaking, he didn’t care for it. But he did have a little bit of positive reaction to one actor in the piece, Tom Jones:
Unlike much of the rest of this production, he feels like the real thing… [he] gives a perfectly pitched, disarmingly sincere performance that captures why The Fantasticks became the enduring favorite it did.
Mr. Brantley also went on to conclude with an observation of how he thought when he saw the original piece at age 9, he was enchanted. So on this piece he writes:
And who knows? There may be a few 9-year-olds out there…who will conclude that The Fantasticks is the last word in theatrical sophistication.
Easy enough. He did not care for the piece, one actor had the feel and spark of the original production and maybe some 9 year olds will think it is a sophisticated piece of theater.
Here’s the problem… the photo below is what was posted outside the theater as a quote from this reviewer:
Umm… what? That’s not even in the ZIP code of what the review was and yet, somehow this is what Broadway shows apparently do. I have seen a bit more of this in terms of selected quotes for movie reviews, but this may be the most blatant example I have seen of cobbling together bits and piece of someone’s words to create a meaning that was simply not present.
To top it off, one of the people responding to this Time Out New York piece in the comments wrote the following:
Mr Brantley’s quote is the reason I bought a ticket to The Fantasticks last week. In a single word The Fantastciks is magical. It is a simple musical, love story, poetically played by a wonderful cast. I have seen The Fantasticks several times, and this production currently playing at The Snapple Theater Center is the best I have seen. But that isn’t why you have attacked this quote and theater is it? I would like you to show me any Broadway, or Off Broadway show that doesn’t pull words from sentences in order to bring in audiences. Why not let the public decide. When I saw the show last week, it was to a sold out house.I don’t care who wrote it, or even didn’t write it. The fact is that it is a true statement. Now really, there must be more news worthy stories out there for you.
Really? Is there where we have come to? That if the ends justify the means (i.e. this one woman enjoyed it based on the review so it becomes a “true statement”) so all is right with the world? Or because other Broadway shows dissect a review done to get enough words in a proper order to create a positive review, we should shrug our shoulders?
Maybe this seems like I am blowing out of proportion something small, but it is something I believe that should matter to each of us as individuals. Your integrity is yours and yours alone to nurture, protect and develop. Trust is hard to develop, easy to ruin and then near impossible to build back up depending on the magnitude of the let down. Just a lesson that if you want to work towards respect (personal or professional), it’s not a sometime thing… it’s an all the time thing. And the world’s worst attempted shortcut when deciding how to work through a dilemma is what everyone else may be doing.
And before you demand I get off my highest of horses… it’s not about being perfect, but it is about doing your best… and this was not someone’s best or anywhere close to it. A little effort, people!