Why It's Hard to Be Good

By Al Gini

Book Overview

"Al Gini's latest book surveys the landscape of ethical speed bumps and crash sites with his customary charm, verve and insight. Why It's Hard To Be Good is a creative expos of the many reasons smart people do bad things." Steve Priest, Founder, Ethical Leadership Group

"Don't just read this book. Use it. Use it to challenge yourself and others with honesty, compassion, and humor, just as Gini does." John W. Dienhart, The Frank Shrontz Chair for Professional Ethics, Seattle University and author of Business, Institutions, and Ethics

"Why It's Hard To Be Good sets a new standard for clear and funny thinking. A master writer and astute observer of human behavior and culture, Gini has written yet another terrific and enriching book. You won't be able to put it down." John Eckberg, author of The Success Effect and business/workplace reporter for The Cincinnati Enquirer

It isn't easy to be good. Al Gini - at home both in philosophy and the corporate boardroom - speaks here in an engagingly direct voice about why we have so much trouble doing the right thing in life - at home, with family or strangers, and at work. Businesses struggle with ethical issues every day, and so do ordinary people. But a multinational corporation and a single thinking human being are bound together by the same dilemma: how to choose the right thing to do and then do it?

Al Gini lays out ideas for 'stepping out of the shadow of the self' - an argument for stopping thinking of yourself as the center of the universe. It's hard to be good, he explains, until we realize that being good only has meaning in relation to other people. Ideas of justice, fairness, and ethical behavior are just abstract ideas until they are put into action with regard to people outside ourselves.

This warm and generous book is for anyone who wants to know how to use ethical thinking as way to live, work, and be with others.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0415960622
• ISBN13: 9780415960625
• Release Date: December 2005
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 252 Pages
• Weight: 0.73 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

A Great Book on Being Good

Professor Gini has written an excellent book describing the difficulties and the importance of being good. The problem is that we are easily consumed with ourselves: our own wants and our own desires. Once we become consumed with ourselves, we begin to seek our own desires at the expense of other people. If we have to run over others to fulfill our own desires, so be it. Gini provides a good explanation as to why we tend to be so narcissistic. What is great about "Why It's Hard To Be Good" is that it provides a way out of our narcissistic tendencies. Ethics is always about how we treat others. What truly gives fulfillment to our lives is being in a caring community. Indeed, it is never easy to do the right thing, and we all make mistakes, but the point is that ethics is always concerned with others. The ability to see beyond our own desires and to be open to the needs and desires of others is the challenge posed by ethics. "Why It's Hard To Be Good" is relatively short, but far from superficial. Gini added many real life ethical dilemmas, making the book even more interesting and challenging. Highly recommended. [...]