Using the Potter Box to Make Ethical Decisions

The Potter Box is a tool for making ethical decisions. It is often used by communications professionals, but it can be used by anyone facing an ethical dilemma. The Potter Box guides you towards a decision - it does not make the decision for you. It was created by Harvard philosopher Ralph Potter.

The Potter Box consists of a few simple steps, which can be completed in any order. You may also move between the steps several times before an adequate decision is made. The steps are numbered for simplicity's sake, and it may help you to organize the steps into quadrants. (Cliff Christens came up with this idea).

Step 1 in the Potter Box is to define the situation. List the facts of the situation you are in, so that you can better understand it. This will help you understand exactly what ethical dilemma you are trying to solve. After completing other steps, you may find that you have to return to this step and modify your definition of the situation.

In step 2 you will be identifying your values. Basically, what do you stand for? You will likely end up with a long list of adjectives like honesty, responsibility, and broad minded. When you ultimately reach a conclusion, your decision should not go against these values. For example, you shouldn't decide to do something dishonest if you believe honesty to be very important.

Step 3 involves identifying your guiding principle or philosophy. You may find that you have a few you abide by, but be sure that the one you pick here is applicable to the situation at hand. Your principle or philosophy could be something like "always tell the public the truth", or it could be the teachings of a Greek philosopher. Again, your decision shouldn't contradict what you identify in this step.

Choose your loyalties in step 4. Who or what is most important for you to stand up for? Are you loyal to yourself, the public, your readers or the law? You may have several loyalties here, and be sure your decision does not abandon your loyalties. (Ex: if you are loyal to the law, don't break it).

Finally, in step 5 of the Potter Box you will be making your decision. This decision must be justified, based on the previous steps. If you cannot make a justified decision at this point you may need to go back and review the previous steps. The name "Potter Box" may indicate that this process is very rigid, but this is a fluid process, and you may have to go back and forth among the steps before you can reach a conclusion. This process will also become a bit easier and quicker the more you practice it.