Jim Nortz

Founder & President at Axiom Compliance & Ethics Solutions, LLC

My Articles

Harness the Power of the 5 Core Moral Values

For decades now, compliance and ethics professionals, and many corporate executives, have sought to build “values-based” cultures rather than “rules-based” cultures. Such initiatives are grounded in the well-founded belief that, unlike rules that merely dictate what employees can and cannot do, values have the power to inspire, motivate, and engage people to do their best work in accordance with high ethical standards.

To Report or Not to Report?

While serving as senior safety, health and environmental counsel for a multinational specialty chemical company, a vice president named “Jim” came to my office and spoke the magic words that always get a corporate counsel’s attention: “I think we have a big problem. We need to talk.”

Navigating the COVID-19 Moral Thicket

When contending with the worst economic and public health crisis in a century, the oft-used phrase “just do the right thing” is of no more use to a CEO than the phrase “just go in the right direction” would have been to me on that sweltering August day in the forest 39 years ago.

The Parable of the Pothole and the Power of a Compassionate Workplace

As employers and corporate executives, we face a choice between two competing business models. We can build our business by following the traditional practice of driving productivity by pushing our employees hard and letting them fend for themselves when they hit “potholes.” Alternatively, we can follow Appletree’s example and create a more compassionate, empathetic workplace.