Several years ago at a UNISA (University of South Africa) event, I was questioned as to why my ethical compass was so narrow.
It wasn’t a question that I’d been asked before, so there was no stock answer that I had prepared. It forced me to think, and whilst I was certainly suffering from an equal measure of stress and denial from the situation in which I found myself, I was very blinkered as to what was happening in my tiny corner of Barings’ overall business.
I definitely wasn’t thinking about shareholder value. I certainly wasn’t thinking about how my actions were going to impact on other people within the organisation. At times, it was pure animal instinct, hellbent on survival. At other times, it was plain old selfishness.
To be brutally honest, much of the last twenty-five years hasn’t been all that different. I’m certainly not as self-centred now, but if I’m really telling it how it is, if there is conflict in Syria or famine in Africa — as much as I feel sympathy — as long as it doesn’t affect my little part of the world, I really don’t pay enough attention or do enough that is meaningful.
I’m ashamed by that.
The Coronavirus pandemic has no positives, bar possibly one. It should remind us that, globally, we all rely on each other. All of our actions impact on others. Like no other period in my lifetime, I am constantly thinking about how my actions will impact on other people.
We all have a role to play and we all need to adhere to the guidelines and advice from qualified experts. One ‘rogue’ and we are all at risk.