I went to prison for my ethical blind spots. You don’t have to. | Richard Bistrong | TEDxMountainAve скачать в хорошем качестве

I went to prison for my ethical blind spots. You don’t have to. | Richard Bistrong | TEDxMountainAve

In this powerful TEDx talk, a former international sales executive Richard Bistrong recounts his journey from earning a master’s degree in foreign policy to pleading guilty for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by bribing foreign officials. Despite understanding the law and committing to ethical conduct, he fell into what he calls “ethical blind spots”—subtle biases and pressures that distorted his judgment. Through his story, he highlights three key blind spots: confirmation bias (seeking validation from those who agree with us), action bias (rushing decisions without reflection), and incremental bias (small unethical choices that snowball). He underscores how intense performance pressures and unchecked assumptions can lead to devastating consequences, even prison. His message is ultimately hopeful: by slowing down, seeking advice from “truth-tellers,” and becoming aware of our biases, we can protect our integrity, careers, and personal lives. Ethical failures don’t start big—they start blind. And awareness is the first step to prevention. Richard Bistrong is a contributing writer for Fast Company and the CEO of Front-Line Anti-Bribery, a consultancy focusing on real-world anti-bribery, ethics, and compliance challenges. His expertise is in Ethics, Compliance and Ethical Decision Making Under Pressure. He hopes to share the benefits of ethical business practices by the identification of blind spots in decision making. His work has appeared in Fast Company and The Harvard Business Review. He has also been quoted in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Financial Times. You can connect with Richard on LinkedIn at Twitter/X. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx