When I get up in the morning, my goal for The People Group is to help organizations create work cultures where employees feel safe to be productive, innovative, healthy and profitable. The good news: there is no lack of potential clients who need help. The bad news: our nation is filled with company cultures mired in political infighting with out-of-control, jerk bosses and uncivilized behavior where employees leave the office each day anxious, depressed and beaten down.

There is no question in my mind why the family unit is in danger, and the health of the American worker is likely at its worst in recent history.

Why am I so passionate about the creation of great workplaces?  Why do I consistently admonish business owners and executives to treat employees with trust and respect? It is related to my unfortunate encounter with a sadistic, cruel and bully boss who routinely yelled, screamed, cursed and threw temper tantrums. When he didn’t get his way, or I expressed opinions that upset his tiny world view, he would go ballistic. He was like an evil two-year-old baby inside a fifty-year-old body.

This workplace psychopath was also known for heavy consumption of alcohol, and would regularly drunk dial employees at home to ferociously complain about their latest manufactured failure.

Unfortunately, without knowledge and information about workplace bully behavior, I allowed the son of Satan to affect me personally, which ultimately resulted in detrimental costs to my health. At the time, I didn’t realize targets of bullies are typically bright, successful and well-respected individuals.  I thought there must have been something wrong with me to be treated in this manner. Sadness, darkness and pain eventually took over my life and caused unbelievable torture.  The mental anguish eventually led to a number of physical conditions that were costly to me personally and financially.

So, back to my question of why I am so passionate about the topic of work culture and creating great workplaces.  No one should be subjected to the hurt and shame of a workplace psychopath. I do not want anyone to experience what I experienced.  Workplace bullies should not be allowed to continue their goal of destroying their subordinates and coworkers.  Rather than focusing on organizational success, bullies focus on personal survival by torturing their fellow employees.  This reasoning only makes sense if you are a psychopath.

How do you know a bully boss has crossed the line?  How do you determine the jerk is simply having a bad day or is a certified bully?

The following list of injurious behaviors, called “The Dirty Dozen” and published by the McKinsey Quarterly, will help you identify enemies in your midst.

The Dirty Dozen

1. Personal insults
2. Invading coworker’s personal territory
3. Uninvited physical contact
4. Threats and intimidation, verbal and nonverbal
5. Sarcastic jokes and teasing used as insult delivery systems
6. Withering e-mails
7. Status slaps intended to humiliate victims
8. Public shaming or status degradation rituals
9. Rude interruptions
10. Two-faced attacks
11. Dirty looks
12. Treating people as if they were invisible

Kevin Kennemer delivered the following speech on the topic of Service to the Oklahoma Business Ethics Consortium Tulsa Chapter on Thursday, June 25, 2009, at the Marriott Southern Hills.  Service is an OkEthics guiding principle.

According to ABC News, a disturbing surveillance video shows an elderly, 78 year old man by the name of Angel Torres, getting hit by a speeding car, and then shockingly, being ignored by bystanders. The video, when broadcast on network news in June 2008, shocked the world — and shamed many in Hartford, Connecticut.

The surveillance video shows Mr. Torres being hit by a car on a crowded street. His body flies on top of the car hood, rolls up onto the windshield, and is thrust into the air by the impact of the speeding car making an illegal pass on a crowded street. What happens next is totally unbelievable. As the victim lies crumpled and bleeding in the middle of the street, no-one-stops-to-help.

People on the sidewalk nearby did nothing to help the elderly gentlemen. As Mr. Torres lay in the street, nine cars passed him without stopping. Motorists too busy to be bothered by the accident actually drive around the critically injured man, being careful not to hit him, but fail to stop and offer assistance. More than 40 seconds went by before anyone even stepped off the sidewalk to get a closer look. But no one went over to Torres’ body to try to help or even divert traffic. Finally, after almost two minutes – what seemed to be an eternity – and could have been seconds between life or death, a police car responding to a different call happened upon the scene and an ambulance was called.

Hartford Police Chief Daryl Roberts summed it up quite clearly as he expressed outrage in a news conference, saying “we no longer have a moral compass. It’s a clear indication of what we have become when you see a man laying in the street, hit by a car, and just drive around him.”

Mr. Torres’ son refused to watch the video. “I can’t see it,” he said. “Even if you see a dog or an animal out in the street, you help them. And that hurts.”

In the ABC News report, columnist Randy Cohen, who writes “The Ethicist” column for the New York Times, says a kind of herd mentality can take over during stressful situations or when someone needs help. “When you are part of a group of people and you observe someone in need, there’s a crisis, it’s very difficult to get the first person to act,” Cohen said.

People in the neighborhood struggled to explain why no one helped a critically injured elderly man. The predominant and overarching theme and response of the citizens was “we didn’t want to get involved” or “we didn’t want to be labeled a snitch.”

Do you have a Mr. Torres in your life?

Have you witnessed an ethics-related hit and run resulting in a victim lying helpless on the floor of desperation with few options? Have you allowed to coworker stand up alone against unethical practices, only to be dismissed as irrelevant or unrealistic? Have you observed a coworker being mistreated by a toxic boss in a hostile work environment and everyone around you was too afraid to get involved?

Does your company need someone to champion a code of conduct program for the long-term viability of your organization? Maybe YOU are that First Person? This month’s OkEthics Guiding Principal is Service. As a group of community leaders, business people and citizens, we are searching for those who are willing to be that First Person to take a stand to do what is right. We are the ones called to stop and help and make a difference in Oklahoma.

As we enter our OkEthics membership campaign, please consider the importance of your service, your company’s financial support, and more importantly, the lives we help by serving as a voice for high personal and corporate ethical standards.

We are looking for those with a passion for promoting ethics and integrity. For those who will encourage the promotion of ethical behavior through personal actions. For those who will share ideas and resources. And lastly, for those who will take responsibility and accountability for fulfilling the mission of the Consortium.

Remember Mr. Torres. Remember to be that First Person to help. Remember Service is an OkEthics Guiding Principal.