A Class with Drucker - Headway | Work on yourself

114 ■ A CLASS WITH DRUCKER
I raised my hand. “Where does honor fit in?” I asked.
“Honor,” Peter said, “is demonstrable integrity and honesty. In other
words, an honorable man stands by his principles. However, again, these
principles might vary from society to society.”
I was amazed at this entire evening’s discussion. I had never before considered
ethics in this light. Because of the teaching style he used that
evening, but mostly because of the West Point concept of honor, which
was such a part of my own experience, this evening and its events stands
out in my mind.
At this point, I described for <strong>Drucker</strong> and the class the West Point Code
of Honor and the lifetime commitment to it by most graduates.
The West Point Honor System
If you think of West Point, you probably think of it primarily as a training
ground for military officers. You may recall Grant, Lee, Eisenhower,
MacArthur, Schwarzkopf, and others. But West Point is much more. It was
the first engineering school in the country and it was the first establishment
in the United States to institutionalize honor. Its stringent code is
very much a part of every West Point graduate. That is why <strong>Drucker</strong>’s lesson
on this topic immediately captured my full attention. It coincided <strong>with</strong>
what I considered an important part of the way I tried to live my life, both
personal and professional.
The basic requirements of the West Point honor system are extremely
simple: “A cadet will not lie, cheat, or steal nor tolerate anyone who does.”
The non-toleration clause, perhaps the code’s most controversial aspect,
sets it apart from many other academic institutions having an honor system.
It requires cadets to report honor violations they observe or learn
about, or they themselves will be considered equally guilty. Despite its
strictness, it is overwhelmingly endorsed and applied by cadets, it is run
entirely by cadets, and it works, although there have been two scandals in
the last half century involving widespread violations.
Moreover, while most honor codes in academic institutions are focused
on cheating in academics, West Point’s code is focused on day-to-day living
and honor and integrity as a way of life.
Honor Versus a Violation of Regulation
The difference between honor violations and a simple violation of cadet
regulations is made absolutely clear from the first lesson on honor given