No one is altruistic. We’re not a nonprofit organization. Most advisers don’t have time to pay it forward. We all need to generate revenue.
But when ethics and economics collide, it’s a moment that measures you as a human being. In that moment you experience a crisis of conscience. If you don’t act on your conscience in the moment of decision, the economics of your situation will rationalize another course of action that will benefit you at the expense of your client.
The longer you struggle in personal turmoil, your reasoning becomes skewed. Once you rationalize one indiscretion, the second one and those that follow are much easier to stomach. Then a pattern sets in and a behavior is formed. Finally, the conscience becomes seared. It feels nothing.
Because every decision of self-interest damaged your conscience’s nerve endings until they were incapable of feeling. And it seems like the only way to awaken a transgressor out of his stupor is the shock and awe of arbitration or a court appearance. Keep in mind, he’ll not be alone. The IMO and the carrier will also be cited in the allegations as well because they were in the food chain of compensation.
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