How do you launch a code of business ethics and conduct in your company? How do you create a code of conduct that actually inspires rather than collects dust on the shelf? Karen Armstrong’s approach to her Charter for Compassion provides a solid example of how to achieve this. Here is what she wants to achieve:
The Charter for Compassion is a collaborative effort to build a peaceful and harmonious global community. Bringing together the voices of people from all religions, the Charter seeks to remind the world that while all faiths are not the same, they all share the core principle of compassion and the Golden Rule. The Charter will change the tenor of the conversation around religion. It will be a clarion call to the world.
This is an ambitious goal. Here is how she plans to achieve it:
Over the next months this site will be open for the world to contribute to Charter for Compassion. Using innovative group decision-making software, people of all faiths, from all across the globe, will contribute their words and stories on a website designed specifically for the Charter. A Council of Sages, made up of religious thinkers and leaders, will craft the world’s words into the final version of the Charter. The document will not only speak to the core ideas of compassion but will also address the actions all segments of society can take to bring these ideas into the world more fully. The Charter for Compassion will then be signed by religious leaders of all faiths at a large launch event, followed by a series of other events to publicize and promote the Charter around the world.
There is a lot to learn from the Charter for Compassion in creating a good compliance and ethics program. The key being stories and sharing those stories.