Grappling with the Gray #55: Who gets the bill?

Grappling with the Gray

How do we navigate the ethics of uncertainty?
How sure do we have to be before we can rely on our own assumptions?
Is there ever a time when an honest mistake doesn't need to be rectified?
These are some of the questions we take up when the ethics panel convenes to Grapple with the Gray.
Here is this week's ethical dilemma:
You’re pacing back and forth outside your favorite restaurant and talking on your cell phone as you wait for your friend Terry, who’s meeting you for lunch. Terry shows up, reaches down to the sidewalk and comes up holding a $50 bill.
“Is this yours?” he asks.
You remember getting change for a hundred that morning and, still finishing up your phone conversation, you check your wallet. No fifty. “Yeah, that must be mine,” you say, thanking Terry as you take the bill and put it in your wallet.
After lunch, you go to your car, reach in your pocket for your keys, and come out with a $50 bill. You re-check your wallet – another $50 bill. You realize that you didn’t drop the fifty, you merely misplaced it. The one Terry picked up off the ground wasn’t yours at all.
Now what do you do? Does Terry have any more claim to the fifty bucks than you do? Is it unethical for you to keep it for yourself?
Meet this week’s panelists:
Janice Litvin works with leaders and teams to banish burnout in their organizations through keynote speeches, workshops and accountability groups. She is also author of the Banish Burnout Toolkit.
Dr. Eric Zabiegalski is a technical and organization consultant, professor of HR management, and author of Unthink: All you have to do is Nothing.
Frank Zaccari is a Business and Organizational Development Expert, keynote speaker, TV and podcast host, 4X Amazon bestselling author, and Air Force veteran.