Associated Press staffer Mae Anderson wrote a very interesting article for TIME about the value of old-school toys in these tough economic days.
In Hard Times, Nostalgic Toys Strike a Chord By AP / MAE ANDERSON
(NEW YORK) — Counting dollars this holiday season, Tom De Santes wants to avoid buying high-priced techno gadgets as gifts for his two sons.
Instead, he is going to buy the boys, ages 6 and 7, a classic from his own childhood: Lincoln Logs.
"I loved them as a kid and used to build huge log cabins," remembers De Santes, 38, who lives outside Boston in Scituate, Mass., and is a marketing director for an education software company. With Lincoln Logs, "I like that my boys and I can create something together." (Find out 10 things to do with your money.)
Without a "must-have" toy fad this holiday season, and with parents facing a deteriorating economy, tried-and-true toys are being embraced by parents and toy makers alike — what one analyst calls a "back to the toy box" approach.
"'Retro' or 'nostalgia' toys can be viewed as the 'comfort food' of the toy industry and I do think folks naturally gravitate to what made them happy when they were young, or what is familiar to them," said Anita Frazier, a toy analyst at NPD Group, a market research firm.
Ken Moe, general manager of Backtobasics.com, a Web site owned by Scholastic Corp. that offers classic toys like "Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em Robots," Slinky and Colorforms, said sales so far this season indicate a rising interest in old favorites.
Though most sales will occur over the next few weeks, Moe said Junior TinkerToys, Lincoln Logs and toy instruments have been among the big sellers in the past few months.
"It's instinctive in tough times to reach back to a happier, simpler time," he said. "Parents remember how much they loved those toys, and want that same happiness for their children."
Lauren Horsley, who has 5- and 1-year old boys and a 3-year-old girl, plans to buy TinkerToys, a Cabbage Patch Kid doll and classic board games Sorry! and Hungry Hungry Hippos this holiday season. The 29-year-old from Salt Lake City said she finds value in the toys' quality and universal appeal.
"We just bought our first house this fall, and with the economy so unstable we need to be as conservative as possible to ensure that we pay our bills," she said. "A lot of pricey, faddish toys aren't going to do our children much good if we don't keep a roof over their heads."
Parents aren't the only ones looking again at classic toys. Toy makers are also turning to the old standbys as they face not only weakening toy sales, but also steep prices for commodities like resin used to make many toys and tough competition from electronic gadgets.
Holiday toy sales are often spurred by hit toys, with popularity driving shortages, creating more demand — as with the "Tickle Me Elmo" craze of 1996 and the Nintendo Wii, which has run into shortages since it was introduced in 2006.
This year, however, "not much is selling at all," says BMO Capital Markets analyst Gerrick Johnson. While he believes shopping will pick up as the holidays get closer, he expects total sales to be down about 2 percent this year. Frazier expects toy sales this year — about half of which come in the fourth quarter — to be about flat this year at $22 billion.
Classic toys could fill the gap left by a lack of a "must have" toy, as toy makers stick to past hits and avoid taking risks, what Needham & Co. analyst Sean McGowan calls going "back to the toy box."
"Partly, its because they know 'this thing works,'" he says.
Hasbro Inc., for example, has found success revitalizing names such as the 40-year-old Nerf brand and Transformers, which first hit the U.S. in the early '80s and are selling well again after last year's "Transformers" movie.
The company also debuted revamped versions of classic board games like Clue, Operation and Monopoly this year.
"One of our core tenets is to reinvent and reimagine a lot of our core brands," says John Frascotti, Hasbro's global chief of marketing, who is 47. "There's an emotional resonance that comes from the quality of the experience people in my or our generation had with the toys, and recognition that the same experience can now shared with entire family and children."
Hasbro plans to continue to update old brands and has a G.I. Joe revival — including toys related to a new live-action movie — set for 2009.
Jakks Pacific Inc. has brought back several classic brands this year, including a 25th-anniversary Cabbage Patch Kid doll that is the replica of the original version and a new Smurfs plush toy and DVD.
"During these times parents want to remember something positive to share with their family now more than ever," says Tom Delaney, senior vice president of marketing for Jakks' Play Along division. Classic toys "bring parents and grandparents back to their childhood memories of a simpler time," he said.
That's why Elizabeth Peterson, 39, from Redondo Beach, Calif., bought an Easy-Bake Oven — first introduced in the 1960s — for the holidays. The mother of a 2 1/2-year-old boy and a 10-month old boy admits she might be jumping the gun a bit, but couldn't resist.
"I never got one when I was little and all my friends had one," she said. "I'm probably going to be the one playing with it."
She also bought two Nerf footballs, which she remembers playing with as a child.
"I think they'll grow with them. People are maybe focusing on a smaller Christmas and buying one or two things that they known are a sure bet."
With the football, she says, "It won't just make it through the week of Christmas, they'll play with it for years to come."
If you had the ability to ask John McCain and Barack Obama just one question, what would it be? Would you query them about their economic policy? The War in Iraq? Education? Taxes?
Even with all the accusations of media bias swirling around this election, I’m not afraid to ask the really tough question: Which toy best represents each candidate’s leadership style?
For John McCain, the toy that best represents his leadership style is Weebles®.
Weebles® teach a valuable lesson in endurance – specifically that for the successful leader staying down is not an option.
John McCain has endured a multitude of trials and bounced back each time. Here are a few of those notable troubles:
In 1967 he was struck by fragments and nearly died in the USS
Forrestal fire when a missile misfired and shot across the flight deck
hitting his plane. The ensuing fire killed 134 men and injured 161 more.
In October 1967, while on a bombing mission over Hanoi, he was shot
down, badly injured, and captured by the North Vietnamese. As a
prisoner of war he endured torture and mistreatment until his release
in 1973. His wounds left him with lifelong physical limitations.
In 1989, he was one of five US Senators accused of improperly
intervening in on behalf of Charles H. Keating, Jr., chairman of the
Lincoln Savings and Loan Association, which was the target of a federal
regulatory investigation. Though McCain was cleared of the curruption
charges, he admitted that he used poor judgement.
In each case, John McCain never wasted a hardship but rather he
learned from it and used it to become an even stronger and wiser leader.
For Barack Obama, the toy that best represents his leadership is the Lite-Brite®.
Lite-Brite® vividly teaches the lesson that to get your message across you have to illuminate to communicate.
Obama is a master of crafting and delivering this type of bright, clear message.
During the 2004 Democratic National Convention, he wrote and
delivered such a powerful keynote speech that it thrust him into the
national political spotlight overnight.
He won the 2008 Democratic Presidential nomination as an underdog
and today leads in most national poles, largely by repeating that same
message of change. This message is clear and concise and resonates with
the audience not only in the US but also around the world.
Whether he wins Tuesday or not, Barack Obama’s message will be around for years to come.
I hope these toy metaphors help you to better understand the two
candidates. Most of all, remember that regardless of who you plan to
vote for or even which toy you relate to – just vote.
What would make a corporate lawyer give up his six-figure salary to make $13 an hour? One word: LEGO. It all started on Christmas 1978 in Colville, Washington, when five-year-old Nathan Sawaya
unwrapped his first set of LEGO bricks. As an adult, Nathan’s LEGO
interest was merely a hobby until 2004 when he entered a contest,
sponsored by the LEGOLAND
theme park, in San Diego to find the country's best adult LEGO
builders. After winning the contest he became a LEGO Master Builder
assembling elaborate replicas. Making only one-fifth his lawyer’s
salary didn’t matter because he was living his dream.
It is estimated that more than 235 Billion Lego parts have been
manufactured since the first “automatic binding brick” was molded in
1949. Today, LEGO is more than just simple building blocks. LEGO is
toys, theme parks, games, movies, computers and robots; all sold in
more than 115 different countries. Now, the fourth largest toy
manufacturer in the world, LEGO Group employs more than 5,000 people
and produces more than 33,000 bricks every minute totaling 16 billion
bricks annually. That translates into annual sales exceeding $1.1
billion. In 2000, Fortune magazine named LEGO the "Toy of the Century.”
The popularity of LEGO bricks results from the endless possibilities
of what you can build. Their versatility is magnified when you realize
how many ways you can connect them. You can arrange six eight-stud LEGO
bricks in an astounding 915,103,765 different ways. If you can dream
it, the LEGO Group believes you can build it.
LEGO bricks provide the essence of this leadership lesson: Building Begins With Connecting.
Relationships are the building blocks of any organization.
Relationships precede market position, sales goals, research and
development or success in the boardroom. Real power relates and takes
on the form of influence by connecting. Look at the heart of any
successful organization and you will find strong relationships that
began because someone cared enough to click. Relationships or
connections will exist at every level in varying degrees and in
multiple directions.
LEGO bricks teach that each individual is interdependent on the next
connection for success. The properly placed LEGO within a structure
provides strength and substance. Placing each person so they connect
properly results in the healthy utilization of human resources.
LEGO Leaders know the power of connecting and appreciate these three lessons that LEGO bricks teach:
1. LEGO Leaders recognize the value of connecting. Leaders
appreciate that good, connecting relationships build a strong
foundation, unleash the power of synergy within the team, and fully
utilize the strength of unity of mission.
2. LEGO Leaders have the ability to connect. Leaders can
unite even the toughest team members. They do so by teaching that, like
LEGO bricks, people must be reliable when placed in positions where
they are compatible. When this occurs, connection is easy.
3. LEGO Leaders avoid the failures in connection. Every
leader has failed to connect at some point. This happens when people
are misplaced, forced into the wrong position or generally unorganized.
Leaders often get so caught up in the programs that they forget
about the people – the building blocks of any program. While there is
tremendous value in plans, the strength of any organization is in its
relationships. Remember, building begins with the clicking sound of
connections.
One final word about Nathan Sawaya, the lawyer turned professional LEGO artist. Today he is one of the top LEGO sculptors
in the world, his art values range from $100 to tens of thousands of
dollars. LEGO bricks changed Nathan Sawaya’s life. Believe it or not,
the lesson they teach could change yours too.
Michael Useem is an avid mountaineer, a university professor and a successful author. So it is only natural that he uses mountain climbing as a metaphor to teach leadership development.
According to Useem, Mt. Everest is among the most demanding of
nature’s 'classrooms'. Success requires that those who aspire to such a
heights put aside their personal interests for that of the team they
are climbing with. The leadership demonstrated by the individual
guiding the team to the summit makes the difference between success and
failure.
In a 2001 issue of the Harvard Business Review, Michael
reveals that just like those who successfully guide their team to the
top of the world, the most effective and successful leaders in today’s
challenging work environment follow four basic principles to insure the
success of the team and programs for which they’re ultimately
responsible. Here are his four principles:
Leaders should be led by the group’s needs, not their own. Leaders
should never let their own interests cloud their judgment when making
decisions that affect everyone. Leaders, who work to serve the
interests and welfare of those to whom they’re responsible, realize the
greatest successes for an organization. In placing their own welfare
below that of their employees, their authority becomes unquestionable
Inaction can sometimes be the most difficult, but the wisest
action. Acting decisively and taking risks to advance the objectives of
the organization come instinctively to the most effective leaders.
However, the ability to simply do nothing if the alternative is to act
foolishly may be the wisest although most difficult thing to do in some
situations. In such situations, leaders must not only prevent
themselves from acting rashly, but prevent others from doing so as well.
If your words don’t stick, you haven’t spoken. Leaders often fail
to realize the difference between telling their folks something, and
delivering the information in a way that “sticks”. When leaders clearly
disseminate their strategic intent, the other members of the team will
know precisely what to do without requiring a myriad of additional
instruction.
Leading upwards can feel wrong when it is right. Effective leaders
do not just motivate their own team, they also call to action those
outside their scope of responsibility, including their own supervisors.
Because of the hierarchical nature of most organizations, it often
feels uncomfortable or even wrong to “lead upward”. It’s important to
remember though, that even the most experienced top executives are
fallible, and it becomes the responsibility of the effective leader to
help them avoid the pitfalls they haven’t seen.
Do you follow the leadership lessons of Mt. Everest? If not, start climbing
Michael Useem is William and Jacalyn Egan Professor of Management
and Director of the Center for Leadership and Change Management at the
Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of Upward Bound: Nine Original Accounts of How Business Leaders Reached Their Summits and Leading Up: How to Lead Your Boss So You Both Win.
Micromanage - "to manage or control with excessive attention to minor details"
I sat on a board of directors with a guy whose favorite comment was
“Let’s not micromanage the situation.” That was his favorite comment
until we discussed an area he was really worried about, and then he
conveniently forgot the term.
I worked with this girl who complained incessantly about our
micromanaging supervisor and “his big, fancy MBA.” That is, she
complained until she was promoted to supervisor. At which time she
became the queen of all micromanagers.
I guess what I’m saying is that micromanagement is in the eye of the
beholder. The one who is micromanaging feels seem like they are just
doing their job and looking out for the best interest of the company.
To the one who is being micromanaged, all they feel is the boss’s
breath on the back of their neck.
No matter who is involved, this inefficient management style amounts
to a petty attempt at governing every detail of your business with
excessive control.
The Problems With Micromanagement
Micromanaging wastes time and resources.
When you micromanage, you cheat yourself out of the time and talent
you have paid for. If a boss must look over an employee’s shoulder,
either that employee is incompetent or unnecessary – either way the
organization doesn’t need them. Speaking of unnecessary, if you don’t
have anything better to do than to look over an employee’s shoulder
then you can’t be doing your job as a leader.
Micromanaging creates a climate of distrust.
At its core, micromanagement is based on a lack of faith and trust
in other people. If you believe you must check on every detail, either
you have failed to properly communicate the expectations of the
assignment or you are terminally insecure as a leader.
Micromanaging doesn’t allow for growth.
In a climate of micromanagement, employees will never reach their
full potential because their bosses are unwilling to allow them to
assume full responsibility for a project. This repressive style will
stunt creativity and hinder overall progress.
The problem is larger than you may think. In My Way or the Highway - the Micromanagement Survival Guide,
Harry E. Chambers writes that “four out of five workers say they’ve
been a victim of micromanagement.” That’s 80% of your workforce. What
do you do now?
The Solution To Micromanagement
Having been on both sides of the issue, I have developed a four-step solution to micromanaging using the acronym COSE.
The COSE Way
Step 1. Cooperation
Inform them of The COSE Way steps so they will understand the process.
Work together the first time through the assignment, gradually handing
off responsibility to them as they learn.
Step 2. Observation
Watch them perform the assign task, offering advice when required. This
may seem like micromanagement but remember, it is only for a brief and
specifically allotted time.
Step 3. Separation
Walk away from the project, allowing them to work alone. This is the
most difficult part for habitual micromanagers but it is essential to
growth.
Step 4. Evaluation
Set a time to evaluate the employee’s progress and provide more
coaching if needed. If no further instruction is needed back away and
let them work. At this point you may want to try something new – doing
you own work.
While some may say, "If you want something done right you have to do
it yourself." A confident leader says “if you want something done
right, COSE someone to do it.”
Michael Hyatt, President and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers writes about his life, his company, and leadership on his blog. In the blog, he provides keen insights for leadership and business. In one of his latest posts, the publisher writes about the importance of urgency and the difference it makes between success and failure.
His latest post, Creating a Sense of Urgency,
he relates that urgency often makes the difference between success and
failure. Here are his four actions needed to create a sense of urgency.
Activate. Like many larger organizations, we do lots of
analysis. Obviously, this can be helpful. No one wants to go into
battle without a carefully thought-through battle plan. But as everyone
knows, analysis can easily lead to “analysis for analysis sake.” When
this happens, the organization becomes paralyzed. Often the
real issue is courage. The point of absolute certainty never comes. It
is foolish to assume that it does. Instead, urgency requires that we
activate quickly: Make a decision. Get off the dime. Do something!As
the old adage goes, “it is easier to steer a moving object.” If you’ve
made the wrong decision, you can adjust. But if you wait too long, you
miss the opportunity entirely.More than ever, people want fast
decisions. Speed can be a competitive advantage. But this requires
leaders who are willing to activate and get themselves, their teams,
and their projects into motion.
Accelerate. Urgency requires more than activation. Yes,
you have to start quickly, but you also have to keep things moving.
Getting a project green-lighted is only the beginning. There
are hundreds of impersonal forces (and some personal) that will
conspire to slow you down—paperwork, approvals, processes, committees,
budgets, etc. Some of these things are necessary—but not as many as you
think or the organization would like you to believe.It is the nature of bureaucracies to become self-serving. When they do, the process
becomes an end in itself. As a leader, you have to fight this. You have
to identify obstacles and remove them. You must keep the pedal to the
metal and keep things moving. If you don’t, inertia will take over and
your project will die.
Achieve. Cultivating a sense of urgency is all about
producing results. All the stuff that it takes to produce
results—paperwork, approvals, processes, committees, and budgets—are
not an end in themselves. They are only the means. If you do all this
and don’t accomplish your goals, you have lost. Too often
people think that the objective is to complete their task list. If they
do so, they think they have actually accomplished something. This is
not necessarily the case. Tasks are a necessary but insufficient
condition of achievement.My goal at Thomas Nelson is to create a
culture that is outcome-focused rather than task-focused. I don’t care
how we produce the results (within the appropriate ethical boundaries),
so long as we produce them. We need to stay focused on the what and give our people room to decide the how.
Assess. Urgency does not rule out assessment. In fact, it
demands it. If we are going to get faster at producing results, we have
to assess what is working and what is not. We must then eliminate the
waste. Everything should be questioned in light of whether or
not it impedes or facilitates the outcome. Does a meeting enable us to
move more quickly? If so, great. Call a meeting. But so often we call
meetings as a way to procrastinate the decision. Then a single meeting
begets more meetings. Before you know it, you’ve built a slow,
lumbering bureaucracy.The only antidote is to this is to
eliminate everything that does not facilitate the desired outcome. Our
job as leaders—as opposed to bureaucrats—is to remove the obstacles and
give our people the best chance of achieving their goals and ours.
Michael Hyatt is a class guy in a tough industry. Thanks Mike.
Batman isn't just a comic book character who has been franchised for multiple movies, he's a leader. He happens to be a leader that we in business can learn a lot from.
Understand That You Are Human: Batman is one of the few
Superheros who has no super powers. He has to remind himself of these
limitations to keep from doing things that are beyond his capabilities.
While there may be some Super-Leaders, there are no Super-Human-Leaders.
Use The Best Technology Available: Wouldn't you love to wear a utility belt? What Batman lacked in physical power he more than made up for in gadgets. Technology is essential but don't overload your belt. Use what you need and travel light.
Choose The Right Face For The Right Place: If you ever saw
Clark Kent at work, you would know. Those glasses aren't fooling anyone
- He's Superman. Batman, on the other hand - now that's a mask! You may
never wear a mask to work but your face reveals more than you think. In
my new book, Toy Box Leadership: Leadership Lessons From The Toys You Loved As A Child, chapter 5 shows the lessons that Mr. Potato Head® can teach about communication. Here are a couple of quotes:
"The face is the courier of the message, an extension of one’s emotions, and an interpreter of one’s intent."
“Remember, it’s your first expression that makes the first impression.”
Bruce Wayne would not have been very intimidating showing up to a
bank robbery in a white dinner jacket and loafers. Just as Batman would
have been a bit overdressed at a ladies civic luncheon wearing a mask.
He always chose the right face for the right place. And his choice
usually communicated his intent.
Be Prepared: Four words - Shark Repellent Bat Spray.
Robert Morris is a 'Top 50' Amazon
reviewer. His writing style is beautiful - almost poetic - which is a
rarity among business writers. He was kind enough to offer this
insightful review of Toy Box Leadership:
"When thinking about purchasing a book, don't be deterred by a
book's title (initially, I was about this one) and don't base the
decision solely on testimonials by an impressive list of business
thinkers (although in this instance, their praise is justified).
Rather, check out as many reviews as you can, especially Customer
Reviews. Others have their own reasons for commending Ron Hunter and Michael Waddell on what they achieve in Toy Box Leadership. Here are two of mine.
First, they create a context for the creation and subsequent
popularity of ten toys (i.e. LEGO® Bricks, Slinky® Dog, Play-Doh®, the
yo-yo, Mr. Potato Head® and Rubik's Cube®, the rocking horse, little
green plastic army men, Lite-Brite®, and Weebles®) and then, devoting a
separate chapter to each of the ten, share thought-provoking insights
on leadership lessons to be learned from each. I played with many of
these toys as a child and then purchased them for four children and
more recently for ten grandchildren. Frankly, the connections that
Hunter and Waddell make never occurred to me. Once again, I am reminded
of the "invisibility of the obvious." Consider these representative
comments from the narrative:
LEGO® bricks "teach us that each individual [connection between and
among a company's people] is interdependent on the next connection for
success. The properly placed brick within a structure provides strength
and substance and adds to the overall structure. Placing each person so
he or she connects properly results in the healthy utilization of human
resources."
"Being a Play-Doh® person does not mean you are weak, gullible, or
even wishy-washy, but rather that you have determined to be molded in
positive ways that are essential to their development." Such people are
shaped the way they are because they are receptive to change and being
changed, yet have "durable" character because their exact ingredients
(i.e. humility, teachability, and desire to improve) allow the
substance to have consistent integrity.
"The leadership lesson from the Mr. Potato Head® toy is that you
must choose the right face for the right place when communicating." The
face "is the courier of the message," an extension of one's emotions,
and an interpreter of one's intent. According to hundreds of research
studies in which millions of respondents participated, with statistics
varying only slightly among the studies, the impact of face-to-face
contact is determined as follows: body language about 50-55%, tone of
voice about 30-35%, what is actually spoken no more than 15-20%. All
great leaders have "presence" and that is largely the result of their
physicality amidst those around them. Hunter and Waddell identify and
then discuss "the eight faces that every leader must pack" and then be
able to call upon, depending on what the given situation requires such
as empathetic concern, a show of confidence, intensity of conviction,
great disappointment, or sheer delight. "Remember, it's your first
expression that makes the first impression."
"The qualities of the Rubik's Cube® puzzle that make it so
intriguing are the same qualities that make it such a good example of
ethics...The cube's color, depth, and dimensions represent the
complexity of your ethics. As you solve the problems of life, this toy
teaches the importance of making the right turns." As I read Hunter and
Waddell's comments, I was immediately reminded of Jim Collins' admonition in Good to Great
to "get the right people on the bus, get the wrong people off the bus,
with everyone in the right seats." Proper alignment of resources with
work to be done is indeed one of the greatest challenges all managers
face.
"Weebles® toys teach durability, a mandatory characteristic for any
successful leader. They teach you that staying down is not an option."
(Years ago, Jack Dempsey said that champions "get up when they can't.")
"A leader is never more closely watched than in the moments following a
failure. When leaders fail, you immediately wonder what their next move
will be." Leaders with endurance understand that falling down" is
inevitable so they anticipate it, learn from it, and do all they can to
avoid making the same mistake(s) again. Like Weebles® toys, effective
leaders also have a center of balance. Theirs combines both internal
factors (e.g. determination, resilience, and purpose) and external
factors (e.g. support of colleagues, mentors, and prior experience).
Being able to bounce back from adversity often tends to discourage
one's opponents.
I also admire the skill by which Hunter and Waddell enable their
reader to complete a process of discovery and reflection so that as the
final chapter approaches, she or has accumulated the basic components
of principled, results-driven leadership and can then assemble them as
if they were (yes) individual LEGO® Bricks or parts of Mr. Potato. In
this instance, I am reminded of what a French Romantic poet once said
in response to an inquiry about how to write a poem. (I think it was
Baudelaire but I'm not certain.) In so many words, he said, "First you
draw a birdcage with its door open, then you wait and wait and wait and
wait...until a bird flies in the door. Then you erase the cage." This
is what Hunter and Waddell seem to have in mind when suggesting that
"When you lay this book down and put away these toys, remember the
lessons."
Congratulations to them on a brilliant achievement!"
My family and I went to a Drive-In movie a couple of weeks ago and watched Pixar’s hit film WALL•E. I totally agree with Roger Ebert’s take on the film: He says that WALL•E “succeeds at being three things at once: an enthralling animated film, a visual wonderment and a decent science-fiction story.”
My favorite part came about 45 minutes into it when WALL•E reminded me of a great leadership principle. Since you have probably seen a few 'robots' or even ‘cartoon characters’
in leadership positions before, you may wonder how a digitally animated
robot could teach anything having to do with leadership. Two words –
Rubik’s Cube®
In chapter six of our new book, Toy Box Leadership, Ron Hunter Jr. and I write about the valuable lesson that a Rubik’s Cube® can teach about ethics. Here are a few excerpts from, Making The Right Turn:
“If you are a child of the ’80s, you probably remember parachute
pants and Member’s Only jackets. Big hair and skinny ties. Ronald
Reagan and Madonna. Cabbage Patch Kids and Trivial Pursuit. However, no
other icon epitomizes the 1980s like the Rubik’s Cube® puzzle. It is
colorful and complex—trendy yet timeless.” (Page 91)
“The qualities of the Rubik’s Cube® puzzle that make it so
intriguing are the same qualities that make it such a good example of
ethics. It can be frustrating. It can seem impossible. You may be
tempted to lay it aside. But... it can be done. The cube’s color,
depth, and dimensions represent the complexity of your ethics. As you
solve the problems of life, this toy teaches the importance of making
the right turns.” (Page 94)
Ethical Parallels in the Solution of the Cube:
“There Is an Acceptable Standard of Right” (Page 94)
“There Are No Shortcuts in Ethics” (Page 96)
“Every Move Affects the Whole Cube” (Page 97)
“Does your organization have a mixed-up standard of right? A
confused set of ethics? Are you prepared to lead it in making the right
turns—creating order and integrity in all you do? Like the Rubik’s
Cube® puzzle, you have many possible moves each day, but only one right
turn.” (Page109)
