For many, the beginning of a new year is a time to reflect, assess, and set goals for both personal and professional growth and development. I recently completed an on-line test that I found thought provoking and somewhat disconcerting. The Moral Sense Test is part of a research project currently being conducted by Harvard University's School of Psychology. And although it made me uncomfortable, it also generated rich dialogue with friends and colleagues.

The issue of morals seems to stay on a front burner. Real Housewives of Wherever, Jersey Shore, The Bad Girls Club and any number of reality TV shows seem to condone....no, encourage bad behavior. At the extreme end of this bad behavior we see cyber-bullying and mass shootings.

We have also seen bad behavior play out in Corporate America. We have witnessed more than our fair share of headlines about Bernie Madoff, AIG, Enron, many of the major banks, and Wall Street...to name a few.

In a recent blog, Ben W. Heineman, Jr., author of "High Performance with High Integrity", ponders this question: Why are some sectors (ahem, finance) so scandal plagued? Ultimately, he concludes that the answer to that question is simple - clearly wrong behavior. And addressing that behavior "turns, ultimately, on a corporate culture, led from the top, that puts integrity first."

The Moral Sense Test doesn't give you any answers or make any recommendations. The goal of the researchers is "to gain insight into the similarities and differences between the moral judgments of people of different ages, from different cultures, with different educational backgrounds and religious beliefs, involved in different occupations and exposed to very different circumstances."

I appreciated the opportunity to ponder the questions and am curious to see where the psychologists' research takes them. You, too, can be part of this research by taking the test.

I Took the Pledge - Want to Join Me?

Curated by Kris Campbell, Managing Partner at BoldWork

In last month's see-musings, I told you about Evernote, the very best online program to turn anyone into a master of productivity. The more I use it, the more diehard fan I become.

Evernote recently created Evernote Ambassadors, a network of 26 people, experts in various areas and committed to being available to support and help Evernote users. These Ambassadors moderate online discussion forums, Blogs, Facebook events, etc. in a variety of areas, including small business, health, community, parenting, paperless living, etc. It was that last area that caught my attention and led me to my very own Evernote Ambassador, Jamie Todd Rubin, the Paperless Living Ambassador. It was kismet!

I spent part of the holidays sorting and cataloging over 15+ years of personal writing, everything from journal entries to 3x5 cards to scraps of paper covered in cryptic notes. If I stacked all these papers in a column, it would be 42 inches high. And at 250 pieces of paper per inch, I've got roughly 10,500 pages of important papers that need to be organized, kept safe and be easy to retrieve whenever I need them. And I know that I'll continue to generate more writing and information. After all, my career is built on information discovery, generation and dissemination. Well, Ambassador Jamie says I can have that organization, safety and retrieval...if I'm willing to take the PLEDGE and go paperless. I'm game. Are you?