The Ethics of Credit Checks

This weeek, a student in my nonprofit financial management class questioned the ethics of conducting credit checks on potential employees. The students in my class are social workers, and I'm finding that their code of ethics (http://www.socialworkers.org/pubs/code/code.asp) can be quite different than the code of ethics I live under as a CPA (http://www.aicpa.org/about/code/index.html) and business ethics in general. But as we know, in some cases, business ethics have gotten corporations into a l-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-t of trouble.

The student argued that prying into someone's personal financial affairs and making a judgment about her ability to do a job, even a finance or money-handling job, is not in alignment with the basic social-work value of respect for another human being. She gave good examples of how this protocol could be misused and abused. I can definitely see her point, but I don't want to be the nonprofit leader who has to explain how $50,000 was embezzled by an employee I didn't do a background and credit check on.

I'd love to hear your perspective on this issue!

Good Things Come to Those Who Work Hard

Linda Brisnehan of Lockheed Martin, the 2007 Women'sVision Foundation "Woman of the Vision" was the intro speaker at the Women'sVision Savvy Salon last week. She had three tips for the career women in the audience. I found myself nodding my head in agreement after everything she said, and I thought her advice was worth sharing.

1. Work hard and give 100%.
If you work hard, you get a good reputation, and those who have a good reputation see lots of opportunities come their way.

2. Continuously learn.
This really means create your own opportunities by getting smarter and better all the time.

3. Build your network.
Amen, sister. Can't say enough about this one, because all of the new contacts in my network have opened my eyes to whole worlds I didn't even know existed.

Life Is Good

I haven't had a full-time job in seven months. I pay a ridiculous amount of money every month for health insurance. I push myself outside my comfort zone every single day. I'm frustrated with the nonprofit community and its scarcity mentality. I struggle with balancing my time between maintaining contact with the people in my network, building new relationships, working for clients, seeking new clients, getting smarter by going to classes and conducting informational interviews, working as a volunteer, and looking for work. I'm o- u- t- out of money. I have never been busier in my life.

And I've never been happier.

I am true to my values. I'm having fun. I appreciate and admire my husband, family, friends (old and new), colleagues, and students. I'm lucky to live in a democratic country, as flawed as it seems sometimes. I drive a reliable car that's paid for, and I have a beautiful home surrounded by a garden that takes my breath away. I put my skills and experience to work in a meaningful way. I connect with people.

Life is good.

The Love of Her Life

I attended the memorial for my friend's husband, Jim, this week. A clear picture emerged of a man who worked hard, was loving and fiercely loyal to his family, enjoyed the good things in life (good food, beer, music, art), was incredibly well respected as a smart, stubborn, ethical attorney who did what was best for his clients even if it wasn't what was best for him, was a good friend to many, supported other people emotionally his whole life, was not interested in self-promotion or taking credit, and was a patient, caring father.

Sounds like a saint, right? But what I loved about this memorial was that many people who spoke also talked about the things Jim did that drove them crazy because they're what made him him. He played practical jokes and let people ruminate on it for days until he admitted it was a joke. He could be fastidious to the point of obsession. He worked too much and too hard. He separated his personal and professional lives into little compartments. He was a saint with flaws. He was real.

At the end, the family asked the audience to share memories. A young woman came up to the microphone and said that she'd been Jim's massage therapist for 11 years. She knew all about his family but had never met them. She said that she had lost a son and that she and Jim had connected over the heartbreak of losing a child. "I don't know if you know this," she said as she looked at Jim's grown children sitting in the front row, "but he gave me money to adopt a son after I lost my own." Afterward, she hugged each of them in turn like they were her long-lost siblings.

It's easy to see why my friend calls him the love of her life. She and Jim shared many values and qualities and were different enough that they could continuously learn from one another. He will be missed by the hundreds of people he touched with his humor, love, intelligence, and support.

Thankful

This week a friend's husband died, my mom's house caught on fire (house mostly intact; dogs and people all OK), and I found out that my dental hygienist, who is a really great person, got hit by a truck in October, and though she is recovering well, is not quite the same person as before.

I am thankful for my life and all of the good people in it.