Having set my standard in my post on "my kinda people", I start at the top with an ethical philosopher.
When I first met Simon Longstaff, he told me that once a week, he sets up a chair and table in the middle of a shopping district in his hometown, Sydney, Australia. He had a sign saying something like, "I'm a philosopher, ask me a question." Simon didn't care if someone had a true ethical dilemma or a trivial problem. He loved teasing out the implications and helping people through their problem.
Of course if all he could do is help people on the street in Sydney, Simon wouldn't be very tuskable. His real work often helps big organizations understand their problems and work through them. Imagine, for example, that you are a major international sporting organization, and your reputation is being tainted by constant stories about corruption and bribes. You could, of course, call in crisis management consultants (and they probably did). They would help you manage the problem. Or you could call in Simon (they eventually did) to help you understand what an ethical policy might look like and help you write one that the organization could rally around and implement. (If I haven't given enough clues about the client, think five rings.)
I don't know what Yahoo! is doing about its appalling Internet policy in China. I suspect there are crisis management folk up the wazoo. If they really intend to act ethically, rather than just create an appearance of better behavior, they'd do well to call on Simon.
That paean given, it probably helps to provide some facts about Simon. He is Executive Director of The St James Ethics Centre in Sydney. His philosophy doctorate is from Cambridge University (as a dark blue, I don't hold that against him), and he is involved in a wide range of business ethics councils and committees in Australia. But I think the world would be a better place if the rest of the planet stole Simon away from Down Under from time to time.
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