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Anyone hiring a sustainability or program manager/ninja? A bit about me:
1. Trained as an urban planner, I am a public policy and sustainability professional with 5+ years of global experience working with UN entities, governments, private companies, and communities
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When I was in college I heard a Harvard business Dean Tell business students that when they get into the workforce they need to be prepared to have an out. Meaning they need to be prepared to walk away from their job if they are being asked to do something they think is unethical.
Yes. This was a huge lesson from the Enron days. But given the huge levels of consumer debt, minuscule savings, and the "lifestyle" many feel they must keep up, this isn't feasible unfortunately. But yes it should be an option.
Ethics v. financial success is too often posed as a dilemma, take one or the other. I think that, over the long run, the two are actually quite aligned. It's hard to talk about abstract situations, but I know I'd rather fail in a business and keep my reputation intact to start over, than to do something clearly unethical and survive for a short while longer...in this world, I think you have to assume that whatever you do that's wrong/unethical, it will ultimately come out, hurt your business and your personal brand in the long run, and you're worse off.
In my opinion, if you can’t afford to turn down business that is blatantly immoral or unethical, then you don’t deserve to be in business.
Abstractly, there are moral conundrums that seem inescapable under capitalism. It’s just what level of immorality we as a society are willing to abide.