God and Responsibility

I once heard the Chairman of a corporation describe an incident that occurred during the question and answer portion of a presentation he had delivered at a local university. The university was located in what is known as the “Bible Belt”. The student asked what impact the CEOs religious beliefs had on his ability to manage. The CEO recounted that he said his religious beliefs, or lack thereof, had no impact on his business decisions in any way. I was shocked someone actually believed that could be so and knew it was not so for me.

A decade after hearing the CEO make that pronouncement, I faced another challenge. I was working on my dissertation. The study was to include a survey assessing the moral development of the participants, who were all CEOs. I was interviewing leading thinkers in the field and came across an ethics officer for an investment banking firm. Yes, there really were such positions, at least in the mid-1990s. He asked me if I would be addressing the topic of spiritually as part of my study on moral development. I grappled with the challenge and declined to take it on.

Today, discussing the spiritual nature (not the religious affiliation) of a client, is paramount to my initial work with them. I need to understand from the onset what they believe relative to where they came from, what guides them, and where they think they go after they are no longer alive as we know life. That part of the discussion has actually become easy and I look forward to engaging in the topic. The part that is still challenging is discussing where I find the strength to be resilient as I stare down any life adversity. I can’t “prove” it. I can’t enlist someone into my experience. I can only share what it is based in and why it brings me comfort.

All of my strength to be resilient in business and in life comes from my belief that I am not alone. I have a strong belief that there is a good force guiding the occurrences of the galaxies, including everything that happens in my life. I believe the guiding force is good even when a current outcome or experience does not feel good at all. Since I believe the guiding force is good, the responsibility for the negative experience must be mine and mine alone. That is why I can accept the concept of 100% responsibility for all of my life experiences. Good or bad I am present at every occurrence, so I must be responsible.