Safety vs. respecting individuals

- Showing respect for all individuals … means treating everyone with dignity … and empowering each person to do their best work, … but sometimes that value can come in conflict … with the safety of others, which this case illustrates. … What would you do in this situation? … So this was back in the mid 1970's, … and Orval Sweet was a trade association CEO … who had the unenviable task of firing someone … who was a close friend and colleague. … Now for our purposes the details of the firing … aren't nearly as important as … what happened a few days later. … Orval got a disturbing call from the wife … of the man he'd let go. … Now apparently he wasn't coping very well, … in fact she was concerned that he was suicidal. … So Orval asked her to put him on the phone. … And the guy admitted that he was having a hard time, … but he said that he'd pull it together. … But Orval could hear the stress in his voice, … and he knew the man and his wife … well enough to understand the gravity of the situation. …