Our loss of wisdom - Barry Schwartz

Summary

In this insightful talk, the speaker emphasizes the importance of practical wisdom over reliance on rules and incentives. Using the example of hospital janitors who go beyond their job descriptions to care for patients, the speaker illustrates how moral will and skill can improve outcomes. The talk critiques the overuse of rules and incentives, which can stifle moral growth and practical problem-solving. It advocates for celebrating moral exemplars, nurturing moral skill and will in organizations, and fostering an environment that encourages wisdom, concluding that practical wisdom is essential for allowing other virtues to flourish.

Takeaways

• 🌟 Barack Obama's inaugural address emphasized the importance of virtue and practical wisdom over materialism and blind trust in systems.
• 🧼 The story of hospital janitors illustrates how moral will and skill can significantly impact the quality of care and patient experience, despite job descriptions that don't account for human interactions.
• 🎷 Practical wisdom, as described by Aristotle, is the combination of moral will and skill, allowing individuals to make exceptions to rules and improvise in real-world situations.
• 🚫 Over-reliance on rules and incentives can lead to a decline in moral skill and will, as they may stifle the ability to improvise and learn from experience, as well as undermine the desire to do the right thing.
• 📚 The script criticizes the scripted curriculum in education, suggesting it leads to mediocrity by not trusting teachers' judgment and creativity.
• 🍋 The lemonade story exemplifies how strict adherence to rules without considering context can lead to absurd and harmful outcomes.
• 🏭 The narrative points out that neither rules nor incentives can fully encapsulate the complexity and nuances of moral actions, such as the empathetic behavior of the hospital janitors.
• 🌳 The talk suggests celebrating moral exemplars and creating environments that nurture moral skill and will, rather than relying solely on ethics courses.
• 👨‍🏫 As teachers and leaders, we should embody moral exemplars, inspiring those we mentor and creating conditions that allow for the development of practical wisdom.
• 🌐 The script concludes with a call to action for individuals and organizations to foster an environment that encourages virtuous behavior and practical wisdom, rather than being solely profit-driven.

Q & A

What did Barack Obama appeal to in his inaugural address regarding the financial crisis?

Barack Obama appealed to virtue and asked people to put aside childish things, rather than encouraging them to go shopping or simply trust the country and invest.

What is the significance of the hospital janitor job description mentioned in the script?

The hospital janitor job description is significant because it lacks any mention of human interaction, despite the fact that janitors often engage in acts of kindness and empathy that improve patient care, illustrating the importance of moral will and skill in the workplace.

What does the behavior of the janitors named Mike, Charlene, and Luke demonstrate?

The behavior of Mike, Charlene, and Luke demonstrates moral will and skill, as they chose to act in the best interest of the patients and their families, even when it meant deviating from their job duties.

What is practical wisdom according to Aristotle, as mentioned in the script?

Practical wisdom, according to Aristotle, is the combination of moral will and moral skill, which enables a person to know when and how to make exceptions to rules and to improvise in response to real-world problems.

How does the script suggest that rules and incentives can lead to a 'war on wisdom'?

The script suggests that an over-reliance on rules can stifle moral skill by limiting the opportunity to improvise and learn, while an excessive focus on incentives can undermine moral will by encouraging people to focus on their interests rather than doing the right thing.

What is the lemonade story in the script meant to illustrate?

The lemonade story is meant to illustrate the absurdity and unintended consequences that can arise from strict adherence to rules and procedures without considering the context or the greater good.

Why does the script criticize the scripted curriculum in modern American education?

The script criticizes the scripted curriculum because it stifles teacher autonomy and innovation, leading to mediocrity and preventing teachers from exercising moral skill and judgment in their classrooms.

What is the role of experience in developing wisdom according to the script?

According to the script, experience is crucial for developing wisdom as it allows individuals to learn from their mistakes, understand the people they serve, and gain the ability to improvise and adapt to different situations.

What examples does the script provide of moral exemplars?

The script provides examples of moral exemplars such as Atticus Finch, Aaron Feuerstein of Malden Mills, Ray Anderson who transformed his business to be environmentally friendly, and ordinary heroes like the empathetic janitors.

How does the script relate the concept of wisdom to the idea of character education in schools?

The script relates wisdom to character education by emphasizing that teaching character, such as respect and integrity, is the most important thing for students to learn, as it forms the foundation for other virtues to be displayed effectively.

What is the main message the speaker wants the audience to take away regarding wisdom and organizations?

The main message is that organizations should create environments that nurture moral skill and will, and that individuals should strive to be virtuous in their actions, as wisdom is not just an individual trait but is also shaped by the structures and cultures within which people work.

Outlines

00:00

🧹 The Virtue of Practical Wisdom in Everyday Jobs

This paragraph discusses Barack Obama's call for virtue during his inaugural address, emphasizing the importance of moral will and moral skill in daily life. Using the example of hospital janitors who went beyond their job descriptions to care for patients, it illustrates practical wisdom. The janitors acted with empathy and kindness, showing that their work involved moral decisions, even though their official duties did not mention human interaction. Aristotle’s concept of practical wisdom, which combines moral will and skill, is highlighted as essential for making wise decisions that benefit others.

05:00

👨‍👦 The Limitations of Rules and Incentives

This section highlights how rules and procedures can undermine wisdom and common sense, illustrated by the story of a father and son at a baseball game. The father unknowingly gave his son an alcoholic lemonade, leading to an excessive response by authorities due to rigid rules. It critiques society’s reliance on rules and incentives, which often stifle moral judgment and improvisation. The paragraph argues that while rules and incentives are necessary, overdependence on them diminishes our ability to make ethical decisions, fostering a culture that prioritizes compliance over doing the right thing.

10:00

🎼 The Perils of Over-Reliance on Scripts and Incentives

This paragraph delves into the consequences of over-regulating professions, using examples from education and other sectors. It describes how rigid scripts, such as those used in Chicago kindergarten classes, undermine teachers’ autonomy and lead to mediocrity. Similarly, excessive incentives can reduce moral motivation, as seen in a study on Swiss citizens’ willingness to host nuclear waste. The findings showed that offering financial incentives actually decreased people’s sense of civic responsibility. The narrative stresses that while rules and incentives can help, they often replace intrinsic motivation with extrinsic rewards, leading to a 'war on wisdom.'

15:01

🦸‍♂️ Celebrating Moral Heroes and Reimagining Work

This section emphasizes the importance of celebrating moral heroes in various fields to inspire others. It recounts stories of business leaders and environmentalists who acted ethically, such as Aaron Feuerstein, who kept his employees on payroll after his factory burned down, and Ray Anderson, who turned his company towards sustainability. These examples demonstrate the value of moral will and skill in leadership. The paragraph argues that organizations should nurture environments where ethical behavior is encouraged, and individuals are allowed to develop wisdom through experience, mentorship, and moral exemplars.

20:01

🏫 Teaching Character and Practical Wisdom in Organizations

This concluding paragraph calls for rethinking the way organizations and educational institutions approach moral education. It highlights the importance of teaching character, as seen in schools like KIPP, which focus on respect and integrity. The text emphasizes that moral work is inherent in any job involving human interaction and that organizations should foster practical wisdom. Leaders and educators are urged to act as role models, teaching not just through words but through actions, as people are always observing and learning. Barack Obama’s call for virtue is reinforced as essential in a world where doing the right thing often requires wisdom and courage.

Keywords

💡Virtue

Virtue refers to moral excellence or the quality of doing what is right. In the video, it is highlighted as a call to action by Barack Obama during his inaugural address, emphasizing personal responsibility and moral behavior over materialistic pursuits. The video uses virtue as a central theme to argue for the importance of moral actions in professional and personal life, exemplified by the hospital janitors who go beyond their job descriptions to care for patients.

💡Practical Wisdom

Practical wisdom is the ability to apply moral values effectively in everyday life, combining moral will and moral skill. The video describes it as essential for making the right decisions in complex situations. It is illustrated through the actions of the hospital janitors who demonstrate practical wisdom by choosing to prioritize patient care over following their job descriptions rigidly.

💡Moral Skill

Moral skill is the capacity to act ethically and with consideration for others. The video discusses how the janitors in the story exhibit moral skill by understanding and responding to the needs of patients and their families with kindness and empathy, which is not part of their formal job requirements.

💡Moral Will

Moral will is the determination to do what is right. The video suggests that moral will is necessary to drive individuals to act with virtue. It is exemplified by the janitors who choose to perform acts of kindness, even when it is not required by their job, demonstrating their internal motivation to do good.

💡Rules vs. Discretion

The video contrasts the rigid adherence to rules with the need for discretion and moral judgment. It argues that an over-reliance on rules can stifle moral skill and practical wisdom. The example of the scripted curriculum in education is used to show how rules can lead to mediocrity by not allowing for individual judgment and creativity.

💡Incentives

Incentives are external motivators that encourage certain behaviors. The video critiques the overuse of incentives, suggesting that they can undermine moral will and lead to a focus on self-interest rather than doing the right thing. The example of the nuclear waste dump in Switzerland shows how adding an incentive can actually decrease the willingness to take responsibility.

💡Brilliance vs. Wisdom

The video distinguishes between intellectual brilliance and practical wisdom. It posits that while brilliance may be impressive, wisdom is more valuable in making ethical decisions and acting virtuously. The janitors' actions are highlighted as examples of wisdom in action, as they are able to improve patient care through their understanding of the human element in their work.

💡Organizational Culture

Organizational culture refers to the values, behaviors, and practices that characterize a workplace. The video emphasizes the importance of creating an organizational culture that nurtures moral skill and will. It suggests that organizations should encourage and support employees in developing practical wisdom to enhance both individual and organizational effectiveness.

💡Character Education

Character education involves teaching moral and ethical principles to help individuals develop good character. The video mentions the Kipp schools' focus on character education as a key component of student development. It argues that teaching respect and self-discipline is fundamental to creating responsible and virtuous individuals.

💡Predictive Analytics

Predictive analytics is a data-driven approach used to forecast future outcomes based on historical data. The video briefly mentions predictive analytics in the context of machine maintenance, where it is used to prevent breakdowns by detecting early signs of trouble. This concept is used to illustrate the potential of technology to support proactive and wise decision-making.

Highlights

Barack Obama's inaugural address emphasized the importance of virtue over consumerism or blind trust in the country during a financial crisis.

The concept of 'virtue' was introduced as a key element in overcoming challenges, contrasting with the modern reliance on materialism and procedures.

A hospital janitor's job description was used as an example to illustrate the disconnect between job duties and the human aspect of care.

Janitors like Mike, Charlene, and Luke demonstrated moral will and skill by prioritizing patient well-being over strict job duties.

The importance of practical wisdom, a combination of moral will and moral skill, was discussed in the context of job performance and human interaction.

Aristotle's view on practical wisdom as the ability to make exceptions to rules and improvise was mentioned.

The analogy of a wise person to a jazz musician, able to adapt and create in real-time, was used to describe the application of moral skills.

The necessity of experience for developing wisdom, including the opportunity to learn from failure, was emphasized.

The story of a father and son with Mike's Hard Lemonade highlighted the over-reliance on rules and procedures in society.

The negative impact of an excessive focus on rules and incentives was discussed, suggesting it leads to a decline in moral skill and will.

The example of Chicago's scripted curriculum for kindergarten teachers was given as a case of rules stifling teacher autonomy and creativity.

The paradox of incentives was presented, where adding an incentive can sometimes reduce the willingness to act ethically.

The need for a balance between rules and the encouragement of moral actions was argued, rather than an over-reliance on either.

Celebrating moral exemplars and creating environments that nurture moral skill and will was suggested as a way to promote virtue.

The importance of character education and the role models provided by teachers and staff in schools were highlighted.

The talk concluded with a call to action for individuals and organizations to foster practical wisdom and hope for a more virtuous society.

The potential of predictive analytics in industries to improve maintenance and operations was briefly mentioned as a modern application of wisdom.

Transcripts

[Music]

[Music]

in his inaugural address Barack Obama

appealed to each of us to give our best

as we try to extricate ourselves from

this current financial crisis but what

did he appeal to he did not happily

follow in the footsteps of his

predecessor and tell us to just go

shopping nor did he tell us trust us

trust your country invest invest invest

instead what he told us was to put aside

childish things and he appealed to

virtue virtue is an old-fashioned word

it seems a little out of place in a

cutting-edge environment like this one

and besides some of you might be

wondering what the hell does it mean let

me begin with an example these are this

is the job description of a hospital

janitor that is scrolling up on the

screen and all of the items on it are

unremarkable they're the things you

would expect mop the floors sweep them

empty the trash restock the cabinets it

may be a little surprising how many

things there are but it's not surprising

what they are but the one thing I want

you to notice about them is this even

though this is a very long list there

isn't a single thing on it that involves

other human beings not one the janitors

job could just as well be done in a

mortuary as in a hospital and yet when

some psychologists interviewed hospital

janitors to get a sense of what they

thought their jobs were like they

encountered Mike who told them about how

he stopped mopping the floor because mr.

Jones was out of his bed getting a

little exercise trying to build up his

strength walking slowly up and down the

hall and Charlene told them about how

she ignored her supervisors admonition

didn't vacuum the visitors lounge

because there were some family members

who were there all day every day who at

this moment happened to be taking a nap

and then there was Luke who washed the

floor in a comatose young man's room

twice because the man's father who had

been keeping a vigil for six months

didn't see Luke do it the first time and

his father was angry and behavior like

this from janitors from technicians from

nurses and if we're lucky every now and

then from doctors doesn't just make

people feel a little better it actually

improves the quality of patient care and

enables hospitals to run well now not

all janitors are like this of course but

the ones who are think that these sorts

of human interactions involving kindness

care and empathy are an essential part

of the job and yet their job description

contains not one word about other human

beings these janitors have the moral

will to do right by other people and

beyond this they have the moral skill to

figure out what doing right means

practical wisdom Aristotle told us is

the combination of moral will and moral

skill a wise person knows when and how

to make the exception to every rule as

the janitors knew when to ignore their

job duties in the service of other

objectives a wise person knows how to

improvise as Luke did when he rewashed

the floor real-world problems are often

ambiguous and ill-defined and the

context is always changing a wise person

is like a jazz musician using the notes

on the page but dancing around them

inventing combinations that are

appropriate for the situation and the

people at hand

a wise person knows how to use these

moral skills in the service of the right

aims to serve other people not to

manipulate other people and finally

perhaps most

important a wise person is made not born

wisdom depends on experience and not

just any experience you need the time to

get to know the people that you're

serving you need permission to be

allowed to improvise to try new things

occasionally to fail and to learn from

your failures and you need to be

mentored by wise teachers when you ask

the janitors who behave like the ones I

described how hard it is to learn to do

their jobs they tell you that it takes

lots of experience and they don't mean

it takes lots of experience to learn how

to mop floors and empty trash cans it

takes lots of experience to learn how to

care for people at Ted brilliance is

rampant it's scary the good news is that

you don't need to be brilliant to be

wise the bad news is that without wisdom

brilliance isn't enough it's as likely

to get you into trouble and other people

into trouble as anything else now I hope

that we all know this there's a sense in

which it's obvious and yet let me tell

you a little story it's a story about

lemonade a dad and his 11 year old son

were watching a Detroit Tigers game at

the ballpark

his son asked him for some lemonade and

dad went to the concession stand to buy

it all they had was Mike's Hard Lemonade

which was 5% alcohol dad being an

academic had no idea that Mike's Hard

Lemonade was it contained out at all so

we brought it back and the kid was

drinking it and a security guard spotted

it and called the police who called an

ambulance

they rushed to the ballpark whisked the

kid to the hospital the emergency room

to ascertain that the kid had no alcohol

in his blood and they were ready to let

the kid go but not so fast the Wayne

County Child Welfare protective agency

said

oh and the child was sent to a foster

home for three days at that point can

the child go home well a judge said yes

but only if the dad leaves the house and

checks into a motel

after two weeks I'm happy to report the

family was reunited but the welfare

workers and the ambulance people and the

judge all said the same thing we hate to

do it but we have to follow procedure

how do things like this happen Scott

Simon who told this story on NPR said

rules and procedures may be dumb but

they spare you from thinking and to be

fair and to be fair rules are often

imposed because previous officials have

been lacks and they let a child go back

to an abusive household fair enough when

things go wrong as of course they do

we reach for two tools to try to fix

them one tool we reach for is rules

better ones more of them the second tool

we reach for is incentives better ones

more of them what else after all is

there we can certainly see this in

response to the current financial crisis

regulate regulate regulate fix the

incentives fix the incentives fix the

incentives the truth is that neither

rules nor incentives are enough to do

the job how could you even write a rule

that got the janitors to do what they

did and would you pay them a bonus for

being empathic it's preposterous

on its face and what happens is that as

we turn increasingly to rules rules and

incentives may make things better in the

short run but they create a downward

spiral that makes them worse in the long

run moral skill is chipped away by an

over reliance on rules that deprives us

of the opportunity to improvise and

learn from our improvisation and moral

will is on

mind by an incessant appeal to

incentives that destroy our desire to do

the right thing and without intending it

by appealing to rules and incentives we

are engaging in a war on wisdom let me

just give you a few example first of

rules and the war on moral skill the

lemonade story is one second no doubt

more familiar to you is the nature of

modern American education scripted

lockstep curriculum here's an example

from Chicago kindergarten reading and

enjoying literature and words that begin

with B the baths assemble students on a

rug give students a warning about the

dangers of hot water say 75 items in

this script to teach a 25 page picture

book all over Chicago and every

kindergarten class in the city every

teacher is saying the same words in the

same way on the same day we know why

these scripts are there we don't trust

the judgment of teachers enough to let

them loose on their own scripts like

these are insurance policies against

disaster and they prevent disaster but

what they assure in its place is

mediocrity

don't get me wrong we need rules jazz

musicians need some notes most of them

need some notes on the page we need more

rules for the bankers god knows but too

many rules prevent accomplished jazz

musicians from improvising and as a

result they lose their gifts or worse

they stop playing all together now

how about incentives they seem clever if

you have one reason for doing something

and I give you a second reason for doing

the same thing it seems only logical

that two reasons are better than one and

you're more likely to do it right well

not always sometimes two reasons to do

the same thing seem to compete with one

another instead of complementing and

they make people less likely to do it

I'll just give you one example because

time is racing in Switzerland back in

about 15 years ago they were trying to

decide where to cite nuclear waste dumps

there was going to be a national

referendum and some psychologists went

around and polled citizens who were very

well informed and they said would you be

willing to have a nuclear waste dump in

your community astonishingly 50% of the

citizens said yes they knew it or

thought it was dangerous they thought it

would reduce their property values but

it had to go somewhere and they had

responsibilities as citizens the

psychologists asked other people a

slightly different question they said if

we paid you six weeks salary every year

would you be willing to have a nuclear

waste dump in your community two reasons

it's my responsibility and I'm getting

paid instead of 50% saying yes

25% said yes what happens is that the

second this introduction of the

incentive gets us so that instead of

asking what are my responsibilities all

we ask is what serves my interests when

incentives don't work when CEOs ignore

the long-term health of their companies

in pursuit of short-term gains that will

lead to massive bonuses the response is

always the same get smarter incentives

the truth is that there are no

incentives you can devise that are ever

going to be smart enough any incentive

system can be subverted by bad will we

need incentives people have to make a

living but excessive reliance on

incentives demoralizes professional

activity in two senses of that word it

causes people who engage in that

activity to lose morale and it causes

the activity itself to lose morality

Barack Obama said before he was

inaugurated we must ask not just as it

profitable but is it right and when

professions are demoralized everyone in

them becomes dependent on addicted to

incentives and they stop asking is it

right we see this in medicine and we

certainly see it in the world of

business

it is obvious that this is not the way

people want to do their work so what can

we do a few sources of hope we ought to

try to Reem oral eyes work one way not

to do it teach more ethics courses there

is no better way to show people that

you're not serious than to tie up

everything you have to say about ethics

into a little package with a bow and

consign it to the margins as an ethics

course what to do instead one celebrate

moral exemplars acknowledge when you go

to law school that a little voice is

whispering in your ear about Atticus

Finch no ten-year-old goes to law school

to do mergers and acquisitions people

are inspired by moral heroes but we

learn that with sophistication comes the

understanding that you can't acknowledge

that you have moral heroes well

acknowledge them be proud that you have

them celebrate them and demand that the

people who teach you acknowledge and

celebrate them too that's one thing we

can do I don't know how many of you

remember this another moral hero 15

years ago Aaron Feuerstein who was the

head of Malden Mills in Massachusetts

they made Polartec the factory burned

down 3,000 employees he kept every one

of them on the payroll why because it

would have been a disaster for them and

for the community if he had let them go

maybe on paper our company's worthless

to Wall Street but I can tell you it's

worth more we are doing fine just that

this Ted we heard talks from several

moral heroes to particularly inspiring

to me one was Ray Anderson who turned

you know turned you know a part of the

evil empire into a zero footprint or

almost a zero footprint business why

because it was the right thing

to do and a bonus he's discovering is

he's actually gonna make even more money

his employees are inspired by the effort

why because they're happy to be doing

something that's the right thing to do

yesterday we heard willie smith's

talk about reforesting in indonesia and

in many ways this is the perfect example

because it took the will to do the right

thing and god knows it took a huge

amount of technical skill I bottle that

how much he needed to know in order and

his associates in order to plot this out

but most important to make it work and

he emphasized this is that it took

knowing the people in the communities

unless the people you're working with

our support are behind you this will

fail and there isn't a formula to tell

you how to get the people behind you

because different people in different

communities organize their lives in

different ways so there's a lot here at

Ed and at other places to celebrate and

you don't have to be a mega hero there

are ordinary heroes ordinary heroes like

the janitors who are worth celebrating

too as practitioners each and every one

of us should strive to be ordinary if

not extraordinary heroes as heads of

organizations we should strive to create

environments that encourage and nurture

both moral skill and moral will even the

wisest and most well-meaning people will

give up if they have to swim against the

current in the organizations in which

they work if you run an organization you

should be sure that none of the jobs

none of the jobs have job descriptions

like the job description of the janitors

because the truth is that any work you

do that involves interaction with other

people is moral work and any moral work

depends upon practical wisdom and

perhaps most important as teachers we

should strive to be the ordinary heroes

the moral exemplars to the people we

mentor and there are a few things that

we have to remember as teachers one is

that we are always

teaching someone is always watching the

camera is always on Bill Gates talked

about the importance of education and in

particular the model that Kipp was

providing knowledge is power and he

talked about a lot of the wonderful

things that Kipp is doing to take

inner-city kids

and turn them in the direction of

college I want to focus on one

particular thing Kipp is doing that bill

didn't mention and that is they have

come to the realization that the single

most important thing kids need to learn

is character they need to learn to

respect themselves they need to learn to

respect their schoolmates they need to

learn to respect their teachers and most

important they need to learn to respect

learning that's the principal objective

if you do that the rest is just pretty

much a Coast downhill and the teachers

the way you teach these things to kids

is by having the teachers and all the

other staff embody it every minute of

every day Obama appealed to virtue and I

think he was right and the virtue that

we need above all others I think is

practical wisdom because it's what

allows other virtues honesty kindness

courage and so on to be displayed at the

right time and in the right way he also

appealed to hope right again I think

there is reason for hope I think people

want to be allowed to be virtuous in

many ways it's what Ted is all about

wanting to do the right thing in the

white right way for the right reasons

this kind of wisdom is within the grasp

of each and every one of us if only we

start paying attention paying attention

to what we do to how we do it and

perhaps most importantly to the

structure of the organizations within

which we work so as to make sure that it

enables us and other people to develop

wisdom rather than rather than having it

suppressed thank you very much

thank you

if you have to go east on that side

thank you very much

what does a machine know about itself

can it know when it needs to be repaired

and when it doesn't in industries like

manufacturing and energy they're using

predictive analytics to detect signs of

trouble helping some companies save

millions on maintenance because machines

seek help before they're broken and

don't when they're not that's what I'm

working on I'm an IBMer let's build a

smarter planet