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CEOs are concerned about employee engagement — and rightfully so. Unfortunately, the majority of such initiatives treat employee engagement as an end goal. Employee engagement is a condition — manifested by the inspiration an employee unleashes in his or her work when he or she is deeply connected to a mission, purpose and the values that connect us, says HOW contributor Dov Seidman.

Let's not call our wobbly progress from the brink of a global financial meltdown a "recovery." Why? Because we are doomed by our collective mindset to plunge into more financial crises as soon as we recover, says HOW contributor Dov Seidman. The problem is we continue to function according to a 20th-century operating system whose catastrophic bugs have been exposed as critical flaws.

Iced tea company Honest Tea has provided us another example of the honor system at work. And it exemplifies exactly what we need more of today: our best behavior even when no one is watching. While this may be a clever marketing effort, it’s also a 21st-century leadership approach to building trust by “giving it away,” says HOW contributor Dov Seidman.

We have entered a time when how we do things is essential to our ability to succeed, says HOW contributor Dov Seidman. In this “Era of Behavior,” shame is a powerful social and business force and a behavior rooted in sustainable values. Shaming can even be inspirational. How? Shame is a key element of self governance and an example of a self-correcting force in a self-governing culture.

Fresh from his appearance with best-selling author and acclaimed New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, Dov Seidman writes about why we need to reconnect with sustainable values. The recent event featured a lively conversation between Seidman and Friedman that examined approaches to restoring growth, significance and leadership in the 21st century and explored the urgent need for sustainable rather than situational values today.

Trusting relationships drive successful businesses, whether you’re a CEO ... or a suki, says HOW contributor Dov Seidman. While the suki — a favored local market vendor who sees to customers’ needs through thick and thin — may be a social phenomenon unique to the Philippines, there is a larger story here: Good business is the outcome of connections based on values and principles.

Everywhere I travel, I hear the same refrains: "We need more regulation," or on the flip side, "If we hadn't deregulated, we wouldn't be in this financial mess." More regulation could be a very good thing, but we shouldn’t rush to regulation without asking whether it’s a list of prohibitive rules or something deeper, something that inspires consistent and right behavior, says HOW contributor Dov Seidman.

Out of the ashes of the recession, the “ethical consumer” has risen — or so says a recent TIME story. In this “Responsibility Revolution,” the companies that win will be the ones that act and behave according to values and principles. Although this new social contract among consumers, business and government is impressive, we are just at the start of a long climb, says HOW contributor Dov Seidman.

Recently, a Web site caught my eye because it’s about a topic that interests me: the power of apologies, says HOW contributor Dov Seidman. The site, Apology Center, enables visitors to post stories about things they have done wrong and then seek forgiveness from the online community. The site may be fun, but is it effective? No, because a true apology, in the simplest terms, goes all the way.

To many people, sustainability means solar panels, wind turbines and LEED-certified buildings. But sustainability is more than just going green or being green. It's a way of thinking about business — a mode of leadership and behavior that aims to create lasting value as opposed to piling up short-term transactional wins, says HOW contributor Dov Seidman.