The Lack of Courage

I have to register in on the Penn State travesty.  My wife grew up in Pennsylvania and was a Nittany Lion fan by birth.  Her neighbor was a good friend to Joe Paterno, and her family still loves PSU to this day.  My brother-in-law even has an app for the game day schedule.  Some say Joe Pa stayed too long.  It is a shame to see him go in this manner.  But I always try to see the other side of the coin to help me better understand a situation.  And I have a strong suspicion that the family of the 10-year-old that was abused doesn't feel too badly about Paterno and Graham Spanier, the President of Penn State, being fired.  Ironically, most people think the two individuals were fired because of a sex scandal.  The truth is that they were fired for having a lack of courage.

It is said that speaking the truth is harder than knowing the truth.  And I agree.

For example, let's say that you knew that an employee was stealing from the company, yet you didn't have the courage to say anything.  Who is guilty? Let's say that someone uses a company credit card for something that is not authorized. maybe putting gasoline in their personal car instead of in the company vehicle.  Let's say someone uses the company petty cash for their own personal meals.  Or maybe someone takes material away from a job site that the owner could have turned in for cash, yet the employee takes it home and sells it himself.  Everyone reading this blog would agree that the person committing these acts is guilty.  But I strongly believe that anyone that knows of these acts and doesn't have the courage to speak up, is just as guilty as the person who actually committed the act.

Lack of courageous candor starts at the top. That’s why the President of Penn State is out.  Nowadays, people don't want to get involved.  It's too messy and people don't have time to deal with issues other than their own.  And for the most part, people don't like confrontation.  But a strange thing usually happens when someone does have the courage to speak.  For example, having the courage to be direct and address an issue:

1. Gets more people involved in the conversation
2. Generates speed and helps resolve an issue sooner than if ignored
3. Cuts waste and costs

I liked Joe Paterno.  In some respects, it is a sad day at Penn State and for all of college football.  But Joe's record will forever be tainted.  And it all could have been avoided if he and Graham Spanier would have had the courage to stand up for a little 10-year-old boy, if they would have put an innocent child's well-being ahead of wins, and X's and O's on the field.  


They both knew the truth but they both lacked the courage to say anything or follow it through.

But I wonder if we all are really any different?