Episode 8 of The Business of Thinking with Richard Reid and Roger Steare
High performance is often framed as execution: better goals, sharper strategy, more accountability. But in Episode 8 of The Business of Thinking, host Richard Reid sits down with corporate philosopher Roger Steare to explore a more uncomfortable truth: performance without ethics doesn’t scale — and compliance alone won’t save you.
Roger’s work centres on what he calls Moral DNA: the internal decision-making patterns that shape how we behave under pressure. It’s a framework built from philosophy, psychology, anthropology and neuroscience — and it’s designed to answer the question leaders face daily: How do we make good decisions when the stakes are high and the answers aren’t simple?
A simple framework for complex decisions: Love, Logic and Law
Roger shares an analogy that makes moral philosophy instantly usable in the real world — three familiar traffic signs that represent three voices we need in every decision:
- Roundabouts = Logic: judgement, reasoning, and clarity. Do we have the right facts? Are we thinking well?
- Traffic lights = Law: rules, obligations, promises and responsibilities. What must we do to stay within agreed norms and regulations?
- Pedestrian crossings = Love: the human impact. Who could this help or harm?
Roger’s key point is not that law doesn’t matter — it does. But he argues that organisations have become dangerously over-reliant on it. Through tens of thousands of Moral DNA profiles, he’s observed that when people go to work, their “law” bias often goes “through the roof”, dominating thinking at the expense of logic and love.
Richard agrees this imbalance shows up everywhere: in cultures that reward “being right” over being responsible, and in systems where rules become a substitute for judgment. The result isn’t safety. It’s disengagement, fear-based decision-making, and a slow erosion of trust.
Why “codes of conduct” often fail
Roger doesn’t hold back on corporate ethics programmes. In his view, many codes of conduct are written as legal protection rather than decision-making tools — “mostly useless” because they don’t teach people how to think. A 200-page document drafted by lawyers may protect a business in court, but it won’t help a leader navigate the grey areas where real leadership lives.
Instead, Roger advocates for simple, practical questions aligned to the three voices:
- Love: “How could this decision help or harm people?”
- Logic: “Am I thinking clearly? Do I have enough evidence?”
- Law: “Am I fulfilling my responsibilities and promises?”
Richard’s lens complements this: as someone who works in the psychology of performance, he highlights how culture shapes behaviour. You can train leaders to be ethical, but if the environment rewards output over integrity, people will adapt to survive — and ethics becomes a “nice idea” rather than a lived practice.
Integrity isn’t a policy — it’s a practice
One of the most resonant threads in the episode is Roger’s belief that businesses are not truly “moral agents” — people are. Corporations are legal constructs; they don’t have bodies, conscience or character. So while organisations can design systems, the responsibility ultimately sits with leaders to bring ethics into meetings, decisions and daily behaviour.
For Richard, this lands in a very practical way: leaders are professional meeting-attenders. Decisions are made in rooms — physical or virtual — and the quality of decision-making depends on the quality of thinking and the level of psychological safety in the group. That means leaders must listen more, invite dissent, and create environments where people feel able to raise concerns early — not once things have gone wrong.
The leadership reset we actually need
The conversation expands beyond organisations into civic life, education and technology. Roger argues we’ve created systems that prioritise growth for its own sake — and that this model externalises costs that are now catching up with us: ill health, environmental collapse and social instability. Richard reflects on how rarely people are taught emotional intelligence or relationship skills, despite evidence that meaningful relationships are central to wellbeing and resilience.
Roger’s closing message is blunt but powerful: if we want a better future, leaders must stop outsourcing moral thinking. According to a Financial Times survey he references, 76% of people want to work for ethical leaders. The demand is clear — but ethical leadership isn’t about slogans or policies. It’s about bringing your values into the room, especially when it’s inconvenient.
Because in the end, as Roger reminds us, the word that dominates tombstones isn’t “success” or “status”. It’s love.
If you want to lead high performance with integrity, start here: love, logic, and law — in balance.
