COMPOUNDING

COMPOUNDING is making something out of different components. You can create things that didn't exist before. Can you COMPOUND things you are doing or producing to create a new product or service?

COMPOUNDING is also intensifying. Compounded interest is a good thing if you are on the receiving side -- saving your money in a form that gets compounded interest -- but costs more if you are on the paying side.

What does COMPOUNDING have to do with ETHICS? I PRESUME that if you choose to behave ethically and have the DISCIPLINE to follow through you reach the GREATER GOOD. COMPOUNDING makes continued ethical behavior easier because you increase your habits, track record, systems experience (muscle memory), and relationships to help support such efforts.

If you choose to behave unethically (And can't that occur for any of us? Are any of us perfect?) COMPOUNDING can make it more and more difficult to change. Perhaps if you find yourself in such a situation you have to tackle the 5 stages of grief:

1. DENIAL -- I didn't do anything wrong. Whatever I did was legal and acceptable. That's easier than addressing the situation.

2. ANGER -- I would be angry with myself, though it would be easier (perhaps emotionally safer) to project that onto someone else -- it is someone else's fault I ended up having to behave unethically.

3. BARGAINING - We can develop a way to consider "relative ethics" -- we'll just recognize the "GREATER GOOD" is why we do something wrong. (If you believe reducing your carbon footprint is an important objective, would buying "carbon credits" be bargaining instead of doing?)

4. DEPRESSION -- Loss is depressing. As we get closer to acceptance we realize we lost something.

5. ACCEPTANCE -- If we can accept we did something unethical, especially before the effect of compounding makes it much harder, we can reset our course. This can occur at any time but it is much easier before the COMPOUNDING.