By Charles Freericks, Director, Learning Programs & Advisory Services, SAI360
This year marks two decades for me in the Ethics & Compliance training space. I came into this business after twenty years as a television executive with an absolute belief in storytelling as the most powerful way to communicate ideas. From Aesop’s Fables to Dickens to George Lucas, stories instruct, engage, and shift behavior.
That principle drives me to teach through story. Here are a few from my own life.
Ride the Bus (Start with empathy) – As a television executive, I was told by a producer to ride the bus. “It’ll put you in touch with your humanity,” he said. I did and quickly learned that on the bus you are no better than anyone else. If the bus is late, you are late. If it breaks down, some riders won’t make rent. Rain feels different when you walk to the stop.
I smelled the bus smells, fumbled for exact change, asked people to move their bags.
Empathy is born from this: not imagining what others feel but actually experiencing it. Sympathy is useless in ethics. Empathy equips us to guide others toward doing what’s right.
The Blue Cash Register (Set the right tone) – In high school, I worked at an appliance store. The owner knew he had a trustworthy crew — until one day he set a blue register on the counter. “After six o’clock, use this one,” he said. “The state won’t know. I’ll keep the sales tax.” Within days, coworkers skimmed cash. Within weeks, some were fired for theft.
When I think about corporate culture and tone from the top, I remember that blue cash register — one small choice that rewrote the rules for everyone.
Bikes on the Beach (Be clear, be understood) – On my first trip to India, I told colleagues how I loved riding bikes on the beach with my son. “That must be great fun,” they said. Then one asked, “Do you have an Enfield?”
They pictured motorcycles charging dunes; I meant pedal-powered cruisers on a Los Angeles path. Same word, different world. That awkward moment taught me: it’s not what we say that matters, it’s what others hear. If a story doesn’t connect with its audience, it doesn’t work at all.
The Coffee Spill (Live your words) – Early in my E&C career, a veteran told me there are two kinds of people. One sees spilled coffee and thinks, “Not my job.” The other thinks, “Someone could get hurt, I’d better clean it up.” The second group, she said, will always do the right thing.
A few years later, I saw her in an office kitchen. She smiled, said hello, then stepped over a coffee spill on her way out. Her words hadn’t shaped her actions.
Stories don’t matter if your actions don’t match. I thought of that when I read Enron’s last code of conduct: polished words hiding coffee spills and blue registers between the lines.
The Bear in the Hallway (Make it personal, make it stick) – I was in a class on motivating people when the leader said, “Picture the person you love most in the world.” I did instantly. “Now imagine that person is just outside this door.” I smiled. Then he added: “And there is also a bear in the hallway.”
Before I realized it, I was on my feet, opening the door.
Motivation is both personal and universal: the loved one, and the bear. When you teach with a story, anchor it in emotion, and always give your learners a bear in the hallway the let them know the stakes.
Always Wear Your Seatbelt (Find what matters to them) – I drove for years without using a seatbelt. Teachers, parents, friends all told me to wear one. I ignored them, not out of obstinance, but because I thought I was a good driver. Then one night in college, I visited a girl I liked. As I left, she saw me start the car unbelted. She pounded on the window. I rolled it down. “Please wear your seatbelt,” she said, her voice almost in tears. “I don’t want you hurt.”
I buckled immediately. I have never driven without a seatbelt since.
What decades of warnings failed to do, a single moment of high motivation did. Compliance works the same way: you have to find what matters to the learner.
Conclusion – Ethics and compliance live in the stories we remember, retell, and embody. These are mine. The most powerful thing you can do is find yours — the moments in your life that illuminate the principles you want to teach. Tell your stories, and they’ll do the work words alone cannot. Tell people about the bear in the hallway that you once stumbled across.