Adapting the Oath

There has been a great deal of discussion on if a single oath is needed in order for the movement to succeed. The leaders of The Oath Project recognize that for the broader project to succeed, it may be necessary to eventually come to a consensus around a single oath; however, it is also recognized that the development and definition of management as a profession is not as straightforward as the medical profession was when the Hippocratic oath came to be. Many of the questions that surround the professionalization of management debate may not be easily answered in the short term, but we cannot afford to wait. In an effort to simultaneously keep consistency within the movement, but also allow for personalization we offer the following approach:

We hope that individuals will pledge their support to the movement by signing the gold standard version of the oath. If your school or organization would like to modify or personalize the oath, integrate it with an existing code of conduct or shorten the language we ask that you 1) keep it within the spirit of the oath presented here and 2) share your story so we can highlight the work you have done and keep accurate records.

We have broken the oath down into its component parts and given each line a word and an image . We have found it helps people to understand how the oath fits into the bigger Ethics and Sustainability discussions, and provides a way to better connect with (and remember) its tenants. We hope these words will serve as a foundation for any adaptation of the oath as well as provide a method for linking the adapted versions back to our “gold standard.”

We are still looking to develop an elevator version of the oath and invite you to submit your ideas for how to capture the essence of the oath in twenty words or less here.

Currently, over 40 schools and a number of organizations have implemented oaths on their campuses—most using the “gold standard” version available here and others adapting it to better fit the culture of their communities while keeping the spirit and intention intact. Thanks to the generous members of the YGL and Thunderbird communities the oath has been translated into over 20 languages—to help bring the oath to your native tongue please contact us.