We were in a hotel, two hours away from dinner, my son was starving and driving me crazy. “I don’t have any food for you! What do you want me to do?” I asked. He pointed to the minibar and reminded me that there is lots of food in there. With a sigh I opened it up and he was quick to see the Snickers bar staring us in the face. I caved and he chowed; everyone was happy.
I paid $2.15 for that before dinner treat but in a stoke of luck, out exploring, I noticed a heap of snickers bars for sale at the convenience store for only $.60. I bought a few and when I got back to the I hotel tossed one back in the minibar only to notice the error of my ways. Every item in the minibar had a hotel sticker on it so they would know about people, like me, who ate and replaced. Annoying.
I couldn’t pass off my Snickers bar as one of the hotel’s Snickers bars. Not a big deal in the end. What is a big deal is when people try to pass off work as their own, instead of giving credit to the person who created it. No sticker to stop it from happening, it does happen, every day.
Does Magnitude Matter? Does Intention? Heart?
- A tweet that is not credited
- A photo on Facebook, pulled off Google, with some inspiring words pasted on top
- A blog post that you spent many hours writing, reblogged without permission
- eBooks intended for subscribers, reshared in a public forum
- Client deliverables, passed off as new, that are simply a “find and replace” of client names
- Proprietary processes that people bring from one org to another with every job shift
- A leader that presents positive results with a proud “I did this.” Ummm… Hello?? McFly?? What about the team?
- You buy one seat at a webinar and invite your entire team in to listen and learn
- On and on and on
Integrity Matters
Coming from the woman who tried to replace the Snickers bar, I know that sounds funny. Good news? I learned from my actions. Learning was more than “don’t try this again” it was a new carving in my moral code that will be with me moving forward. We all have to know where our personal lines in the sand are drawn, make choices and live with our decisions.
Wikipedia says it well when they include “consistency” in their definition of integrity. If you live by a sliding moral code, values that are constantly shifting, how will others know what to expect from you? More importantly, will people give you their trust?
[Tweet “Trust is impossible without integrity”]
The Mirror Matters
Can you look at yourself in the mirror and feel good about your decisions? If so, good! You have to be able to live with yourself, guilt is a mighty foe. Keep looking and ask yourself:
- Do I feel the need to defend my choices?
- If I were on the other side of the table, would I care? Be offended? Hurt?
- Where do I draw the line?
[Tweet “Leaders own their choices and actions. No room for blame.”]
People Matter
You don’t look better by stealing (or “borrowing”) someone else’s spotlight, thought leadership or ideas. Leaders shine the brightest when they make other people look good and give them credit for their contribution. Not one of us lives in a bubble. There is little that any of us can do alone compared to what we can accomplish together. We are stronger together.
[Tweet “Leaders don’t take credit for other people’s work. “]
I know I have strong opinions on this one and you probably do too. However, I’m not a fan of soapboxes. I won’t tell you that I’m right and you’re wrong but I’ll leave you with this: Don’t forget that you may not see the sticker in the minibar of life, but it’s still there.
What’s your take? Is there a line between borrowing and stealing?
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Hi Alli. This is a really great, thought-provoking post. I think that some of the time it’s not stealing when you borrow from one place to share with another; but, it crosses the line to stealing when you knowingly take without crediting. Many times I’ve heard people say something that I’ve heard someone else say. Did that person steal an original idea? Maybe. Or, maybe it wasn’t an original idea. It’s also possible that you read something or hear something (processing ensues) and you repeat something similar back without realizing you’ve actually “stolen” that idea or thought from someone else. It can also sometimes be confusing for some things. Some posts, pictures, etc are shared under creative commons and may be shared without crediting others.
Joy,
I’ve gone to many conferences and every speaker is 100% sure that their content and ideas are 100% unique. So many times, while they may use words that are meaningful to them, but the concepts are not new at all. In addition, most people I know do so much reading that concepts are inevitably pieced together across multiple sources in our brains as we come to understand them, own and share them. I don’t think that’s ripping someone off, I think that’s knowledge sharing and learning.
Also, while some pictures under the creative common license may be adaptable, I think all require attribution while those in the public domain clearly do not. The challenge comes when people don’t check, rip and share.
This post probably won’t change anything other than to hopefully get people to pause and check.
A sincere thanks for your insights on this one!
Alli – This is a great post! I don’t hear accusation, I hear the emphasis that change starts with me: It starts with my willingness to look in the mirror and examine my actions. It starts with being able to say, “This is who I want to be.. And this is what I sometimes struggle with…” And it happens when I hold myself accountable. Thank you for the reminder!
Chery, yes! Nobody (and especially a post) can’t make any one of us change but we can choose our next steps with intention, values, and integrity. Faltering? Yup, par for the course. Learning? Mandatory.
Thanks for reinforcing such an important core message!
“Integrity means doing the right thing, even when no one is watching”
So, I wanted to give due credit for this quote and did a quick search on Google. It’s been attributed to: Dr. Phil, C.S. Lewis, Oprah, and the US Air Force to name a few.
Regardless of who gets the credit, the message is a great one to live by.
Thanks, Alli!
Quotes are a funny thing aren’t they, Bill? “Inspired by” is a fine line. The question is “are you or I trying to pass them off as our own?” I don’t think so.
Thanks a bunch for your comment!
Bravo!
This is totally frustrating for me when I see it. I’ve even tweeted about plagiarizing a few times in the past month or so because I’ve been shocked to see quite a few people quote famous people without attribution. Hello! How many times will our intelligence be insulted when I see FAMOUS quotes by Zig Ziglar, Albert Einstein, Maya Angelou…heck! Even OPRAH….tweeted AS IF the tweeter penned those words themselves and THEN has the audacity to tweet as if NONE of us would ever know! Are you serious?
Frankly, I’ve been shocked now only how OFTEN I see this, but WHO I see doing it. It completely interferes with my ability to trust the especially if they are supposedly ‘leaders’.
PS: I forgot to mention the most important reason as to WHY I feel so strongly about it. It’s one thing to notice people stealing other people’s quotes, posts, etc. It’s quite another and hits closer to home when people steal YOURS without attribution.
I’ve had people steal several of my quotes without attribution out of not only some of my blog posts but directly, straight off of my tweets page on my website. WORD FOR WORD.
It’s not cool. Don’t do it.
And just a general note to all: If you happen to be a leader. And you happen to read this. And if you steal my quotes or anyone else’s and pawn them off as your own. Please. Don’t be so SHOCKED when I’m not happy about it.
Thank you.
I’m so with you!! Knowingly using someone else’s content, without attribution is a poor business practice. I’ve been “complimented” before and have people mirror my original work very, very closely and unfortunately, I didn’t take it as a compliment.
It’s awesome when we love someone else’s work, photos, quotes, layouts, etc but using them, without permission, just because we can in the electronic age, doesn’t make it the right thing to do.
Thank you, Samantha, for your strongly worded feedback. I hear you loud and clear!
I wholeheartedly believe that if anyone wants to be a truly successful leader and be able to sleep at night, they need to ensure they are doing it with some integrity. Building a successful brand and business by basically stealing the words of others to do it is NOT the way to go. They aren’t doing their own thinking, they are basically parroting other people. Well, why do I want to follow a copy of a leader when I can follow the original?
Something a few so called ‘leaders’ should think long and hard about…
I was reading through some of the other comments and I was just thinking the same thing you mentioned here:
‘So many times, while they may use words that are meaningful to them, but the concepts are not new at all. In addition, most people I know do so much reading that concepts are inevitably pieced together across multiple sources in our brains as we come to understand them, own and share them. I don’t think that’s ripping someone off, I think that’s knowledge sharing and learning.’
Now this is SO true! Even though I make every effort to cite my sources with conscious intention, I’m CERTAIN that at some point a thought has been in my head that MAY have originated (like a seed) from another source I’ve read at some point in my life. I have read a TON of books and it’s entirely possible. If I’m CONSCIOUSLY aware of the source though, I ensure I give it proper credit as to the original source I obtained in from…not necessarily original ‘thinker’ since every writer basically builds on the knowledge of what has come before us. And we add our experiences to it. And that is what you are referring to in your comment.
Also, when we were all new to the internet, I believe many of us were ignorant when it came to images and attribution. I was totally in the dark on this and I learned in business. So now I know to use sources like istockphoto (I purchase the photos for my blog posts with the exception of a couple where I used personal photos and there are times I might create my own image as a visual, etc)
So this a bit of a learning curve when it comes to things like that on the internet. PLAGIARIZING the written word of other people should be standard knowledge 101 if you ever went to school though…at least here in America! The FIRST time you say you really didn’t KNOW? Ok. Fine. But to keep doing it after you know? There are labels for things like that. Thief and liar are among them. And regardless of what some people would like and prefer…theft and lying isn’t easily overlooked when it comes to trust in relationships and business.
Thanks again for writing the post. It needed to be written and shared.
Good points! I often assume, I believe somewhat correctly, that many well-worn quotes go without saying. No – I would never quote Oprah as an original source. Everything she says has come from someone else. I love “resting my feet on the shoulders of the Giants,” when I know who to cite.
Wow! What a powerful story to illustrate an important point. You always amaze me at the way you find nuggets of wisdom tucked into everyday life.
Stealing is wrong, no matter how we try to wrap it up and hide the evidence. Thanks for speaking so frankly on a subject that really does touch each and every one of us.
LaRae – it does touch so many of us in the blogging, speaking, writing, community. You work hard to share your stories and experiences with so many learning points for all of us in your book and on your blog – attribution isn’t too much to ask.
Thanks for your comment!
Great points, Alli. All this does matters because as small matter slide, the actions may get larger over time. Making rationalizations is easy and all of sudden “crossing the line” seems like we skip back and forth with more ease. We need to give credit where credit is due, and we need to keep integrity in all we do — big and small. I appreciate how you outlined this and set it up for a great discussion. Thanks! Jon
Jon,
The first time we cross the line (and know it’s wrong) we’re uncomfortable, the second time we’re embarrassed and by the fifth time we’re just callous. We each need to be responsible for drawing a line and standing strong, unwilling to cross it, even when it is so quick and easy to do.
Sincere thanks for your insight and feedback!
Alli – Your post is timely, relevant and on right on point.
Early in my blogging journey, I used a photo found on Google without giving credit. At the time, I didn’t know any better, though it wasn’t long before the photographer contacted me and asked me to pay a fee or give him the proper credit due. It was an honest mistake, though he was justified in reaching out. While there are indeed honest mistakes and like-minded thinkers, there are also those whose intent is not so honest; those whose integrity may not be what it seems. Stealing, in whatever form, is not only wrong, but erodes trust and undermines our ability to build authentic relationships with others.
Thank you for bringing this important issue to light, reminding each of us that our character is reflected in our actions every day and that each of us has a responsibility to be mindful in giving credit where it is due. -Sharon
Sharon,
Thank you so much for sharing that story! Honest mistakes happen but it’s when we know better that the real line is crossed.
Early on in my training days one of my co-facilitators wanted to funny names describing different techniques that he read in a book. I told him we couldn’t but he asked who will ever know? That’s really the essence of integrity. I knew it, he knew it – it really doesn’t matter if the class knows it or if it gets back to the original authors. Betting that nobody will ever find out doesn’t make it right.
Love your close – character is absolutely reflected in our everyday actions. Yes!
Thanks, Sharon!
An idea person, I find this to be a regular occurence that I have become used to – rightly or wrongly. A couple of things come to mind: Nature abhors a vacuum. The speed of information can make it a challenge to recall who said ‘it’ when it comes to mind. Perhaps we need to be more careful to state terms of using our ideas/writing. I’m also a believer that within the collective conscious, if something of mine makes the world a better place, I can celebrate the private victory. I prefer acknowledgement and am careful to try and give credit. I may fall short at times. Is there space in social media for my ego? I don’t believe so. In a perfect world, we migh be able to check on who first uttered the gem, but until then, I have to believe in the right motives of the careless quoter.
Jan,
Welcome! Thanks for sharing your insights here.
Really love your point on celebrating a private victory if your words make a difference. I do the same. For better or worse, rarely do I contact someone to demand that they attribute something to me or take down something they’ve posted. I think that you and I may share something… I assume the best of everyone instead of starting with the assumption that they’re trying to steal or be devious. Careless quoters will not disappear – it’s the ones that I know are not so careless that really get under my skin.
Thanks, Jan!
Leadership ethics are not always upheld or valued in organizations. It is when leaders model the right way to do things that others follow.
It is up to each of us to model integrity and share with other people the ethical way to lead. I think it is not the mistakes we make that matter, but what we choose to do about them.
My pet peeve is when people don’t give credit to its source and they make it their own. That’s not to say we don’t learn from others and incorporate those lessons into our professional strategies. That is the fine line.
Thanks for a great post, Alli!
Terri,
So true – ethics, when not upheld by leadership, creates a culture of fuzzy ethics. Looking the other way on ethical lapses does not make a leader “upstanding” even if they’re not the ones personally violating ethical standards. That’s not leadership and it’s not integrity in motion either.
There is a fine line between learning and stealing. Do I know where I learned every single concept? No. Do I have favorite quotes and ideas of my own that I’ve formed over time as a result of that learning. I’m sure. Still, I’m not opening a book and sharing a paragraph or a sentence directly without attribution – it’s not mine – it’s theirs.
Thank so much for sharing your insights here, Terri!
It’s important to really slow down and think about the implications of what you’re doing. What may seem like an efficient idea to you (like having your whole team watch the webinar) really diminishes someone else, and may prevent them from giving as generously. No one wants to live in a world like that.
Intension matters more then anything. If your intensions are kind that is what should matter. Stealing isn’t kind, sharing and citing information is different then stealing or borrowing for self-gain. You have to be careful too, because most people with values feel something is off when you take something that isn’t yours.
Thanks for your thoughtful addition, Erin! Intention matters a TON. However, you make another great point… you feel it when you’re doing something unethical! I know when I even think I’ve crossed a line I get a funny feeling in my gut. I wish that more people would honor their own “funny feelings” to make more ethical choices.
Thanks for adding your insights here!