Strategy
Ethics
Leadership
These three areas of inquiry and practice are very similar.
All three involve knowing the situation and circumstances.
Also, “leadership is about service not about power” just as
strategy and ethics also both involve service and power.
8 REALLY IMPORTANT IDEAS IN STRATEGY & ETHICS FOR 21ST CENTURY
1. FP&R: future-proofing and resilience
2. RBMHG: reasonably-balanced mixture of the human goods
3. KLMBS: known limitations of market based systems
4. LPAMC: levers to pull to avoid mega-catastrophes
5. PGMIBG: public-good missions involving business and govt
6. GEHI: the general effectiveness of human intentions
7. TBRT: table of blue vs. red themes
8. MFoC & MOMA: the moral foundations of capitalism and a
more-obviously-moral approach
Capitalism & strategy
wealth,
negative-freedom
(from state regimes)
pleasure, aesthetics
positivefreedom,
health,
happiness
justice & fairness,
negative-freedom
(from private regimes)
friendship, sociality
care, nobility, charity
More obviously moral approach
KLMBS
Monopolistic tendencies (concentration of power, wealth)
Ignores aspects of Distributive-Justice (distribution of
wealth and the HGs).
Many lack the ability to pay for anything (no endowment,
or legitimate opportunity)
Lack of Information (about the things being exchanged,
purchased)
Preference vs. well-being (the dark psyche; the creation of
desire)
Externalities (e.g. un-priced pollution, no restorative-j)
Un-priced public-goods (e.g. the benefits we all obtain
when everyone else is healthy).
Lack of universal access to non-rival goods (in strong IPR
regimes)
LIMITATIONS
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Monopolistic tendencies
Distributive-Justice
Ability to pay
Information
Preference vs. well-being
Alienation
Non-rival goods
Externalities
Public goods
COMPENSATIONS
Direct
Support anti-trust, assist swarm
Indirect
Healthy offerings, education
Indirect
Restorative offerings
Community projects
Direct
Mid-century
Canyon
wealth
Leverage
Factors
1st & 2nd
worlds
Trans-human
civilization
Mega
-cats?
Transhumanist
divide
USA average
Lifted 4th
& 3rd worlds
3rd & 4th world
2015
Momentum
- Trends
2bn+ in
squalor
2045
2100
PGSIBG
Co-opetition &
Self-governance
e.g. Global
Compact
CSR
Compensate for all KLMBS,
In pursuit of dual mission & vision
Corporation
optimize tax
globally
Partner &
engage
for shared
mission
Lobbying & constructive
engagement for
common good,
anti-corruption, etc.
Informative
advertising to
explain KLMBS
& HG-government
Global
Common
Good
Endorse
& support
HG-government
cultivate & implant
justice, efficiency, health,
positive -freedom, happiness, etc.
Government(1)
I-NGO’s
TGI’S &
Lobby for
selected HG’s
& global good
Government (2)
Government (n)
Build trust
facilitate
stability, Huri
coordination &
harmonization
Networks
e.g. UN, OECD
Hypercompetitive Global Capitalism
Hyper-competitive
strategy
CSR
Compensate for selected KLMBS,
to achieve valued reputation effects
Corporation
minimize
tax
globally
Ignore, partner
for reputation &
ideology, or
monitor & disrupt
global quasifeudal
corporate
society
Narrow lobbying
to enable increased
exploitation
of KLMBS
Selectively
endorse
& support
sub-set of HG’s
stability, contracts,
negative-freedom,
Political or
ideological
advertising
Government(1)
I-NGO’s
TGI’S &
Lobbying for
selected HG’s or
policies
Government (2)
Government (n)
Build trust
facilitate
stability, Huri
coordination &
harmonization
Networks
e.g. UN, OECD
Deliberate,
intentional
“Realized”
Strategy
Planned
Strategy
Unforeseen
changes
“un-realized”
Strategy*
This aspect of strategy
did not work out
Circumstances that strategist does not
control but perhaps co-creates
Emergent
Strategy
“Things just evolve in unpredictable ways”
“The business system is an ecology”
Deliberate,
intentional
Expected
costs to society
Due to
Exploitation
of KLMBS
Realized*
benefits for self
& society
Planned
benefits for self
Unforeseen
changes
un-realized
outcomes
Parts of the plan
“came to nothing”
Circumstances that strategist does not
control but perhaps influences
emergent
Invisible
benefits for
hand
self & society
“Things just evolve in unpredictable ways”
“The business system is an ecology”
…by pursuing self-interest man frequently promotes the interest of society more
effectively than when he directly intends to promote it (as if by an invisible hand).
Adam Smith 1776
* i.e. “becomes real”
Low expected
costs to society
Deliberate,
intentional
Planned
Benefits for self
& society
Unforeseen
changes
“un-realized”
outcomes
This aspect of the plan
“came to nothing”
Due to
compensation
for KLMBS
“Realized”
Benefits for self
& more for society
Circumstances that strategist does not
control but perhaps influences
emergent
benefits for
self & society
“Things just evolve in unpredictable ways”
“The business system is an ecology”
…by directly intending to promote the interest of self and society man
frequently does promote both quite effectively(Business Ethics)
Comments
COMPONENT
LEFT-POLE
RIGHT-POLE
KLMBS
Compensate, refrain
exploit
Exploiting KLMBS yields market-power and generates “above normal” returns to s/h.
Value-priority
justice
efficiency
Econ.-efficiency implies aggregate wealth, so these values are like HG’s
Variants
stakeholder
shareholder
Variants of capitalism (legal, cultural) or models of strategic management (conceptual)
Capitals
multi-forms
financial forms
Human, social, ecological, cultural, moral, political, economic; Classes of equity and debt
Politics
econ-left
econ-right
Strong positions often reflect partial-knowledge, sense of identity, vague emotions
Timing
ethics now
ethics later
Co-opetition
co-operation C
competition D
Language
values-based
value-based
Agency (resp)
corporate
individual
First get rich, then maybe give it to charity when you get old (but you won’t give
enough)
Dynamic prisoners’ dilemma games explain a lot about strategy and ethics. E.g. Tit-forTat
There are separate (political) discourses, e.g. “Value-Based-Mgmnt” means s/h wealthmaxn.
Pol-left endorses CM-Resp concept (like stakeholder modl.), right emphasizes indiv resp.
Agency (rights)
individual
corporate
Trust
in governments
in markets
Hopes
enlightenment for all
prosperity for self
Passions
isothymic
megalothymic
Leader-style
transformational
transactional
Focus
We/the other
I/the self
Left wants to elevate peoples’ consciousness, Right seeks personal salvation or
prosperity.
Passion for justice or for power? Plato noted the two types of character (cf. virtue
ethics).
t-forml leader inspires and changes others’ abilities; t-actl uses +/- incentives
(exchanges)
Several psychological theories focus on this fundamental distinction (Etzioni, Piaget, Wu)
Yin/Yang
yin
yang
Female and male aspects in balance. L-R alignment is partial; yang includes “the light”
Science
Ecology
Engineering
Rate of innovn
Gradual, evolving
Rapid, driven
Broadly, the right has an engineering view of economics; left has ecologicalunderstanding
Weber noted that many do not want innovation, but just want to live in their
“accustomed way”
Pol-right endorses CM-Ri like right to political speech and funding. Left wants equal
voices.
Right tends to trust markets more than governments to deliver a satisfying HG mix.
FORM OR THEORY
Consequentialism
Act vs. Rule sub-forms
Utilitarianism without
justice.
Ethical Egoism.
Utility-maximization (in
markets)
Utilitarianism with justice
Deontology
Ethic of Care.
Contractarianism
The spanning-theories
CENTRAL IDEA
Consider expected HG consequences of each considered action
Each decision separately vs. use utiln-justified general rules.
seek “the greatest good for the greatest number”, OK with slavery
Best for oneself (including identity aspects & freedoms)
Optimized satisfaction of participants’ preferences (good or bad).
Associated with ‘let market decide’, if you ignore KLMBS.
“Greatest good” but no-one is suffering beyond a reasonable limit.
Logic, categorical imperative: Golden rule, others as ‘ends’.
Feminist, care, kindness; Balance vs . Feminist or Socialist Revoln?
Moral-political, free agreement & exchange, veil of ignorance,
justice (difference) principle
Dialectics (synthesis), Pluralism (all forms), Pragmatism (inquiry),
Particularism (case-by-case) Virtue-ethics (character).