Watching BP CEO Tony Hayward respond to questions by the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s subcommittee on oversight and investigations reminded me of Enron Chief Jeff Skilling’s testimony in February, 2002. Skilling: Congressman, Enron Corporation was an enormous corporation. Could I have known everything going on everywhere in the company? Hayward: We drill hundreds of wells a year around the world. Skilling: I don’t recall that…...

Here’s the scenario: You’re an executive at a large, retail store. Company policy clearly tells employees that if they witness any shoplifting, they are not to go after the suspected thief outside the store. Word comes of a shoplifting event at one of your stores. Two employees wrestle the suspect to the ground outside the store, but in spite of their best...

In an afternoon press conference, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that former Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo has been charged with fraud. The Washington Post reports that “from 2005 to 2007, the SEC alleged, Countrywide dramatically loosened its standards even though these executives were warned that the company would have trouble selling loans into the market. Countrywide was required to...

Here we go again! What’s the difference between Somali pirates and credit card executives? If you ask a growing number of Americans – many of whom have been hit with higher interest rates recently – not much. According to a Fox News report (Apr. 23), “‘Bank of America is doing the most dramatic changes I’ve seen,’ said Emily Peters, a personal-finance...

A weekend conversation with a friend prompted the following: “Why be ethical?  What’s the payoff?” The standard fall-back:  “Virtue is its own reward.” Another might be the adage by Louis Armstrong when asked the definition of Jazz: “If you have to ask… you’ll never know.” The reality is that most of us face issues that challenge our ethical integrity on a regular basis.   » Read...

Early in my career, I would read the morning papers and make a list of those organizations that were facing ethical crisis.  I’d then write a letter addressed to both the president of the organization as well as the head of Human Resources offering my services. I must have contacted at least a hundred corporations, associations or other organizations in...

“Everybody does it.”  “I hardly ever lie.” I collect ‘em, like baseball cards. “You don’t understand, Jim,” the owner of a large company once told me, “it’s just industry practice. We don’t want to do these things, but if we want to operate from a level playing field, sometimes we have to [be unethical].” Last October, Lehman Brothers Chief Dick Fuld told...

While researching an organization, in preparation for a talk, I discovered that the group had a very strong ethics component in place.  In fact, a recent situation proved that ethics was not only taken seriously, but critical to the credibility of the organization. This caused me to ask a very basic question:  “Why hire me to give a talk?” Their...

“We are committed to: “Integrity – We will conduct ourselves with integrity in our dealings with and on behalf of the [organization]. “Excellence – We will conscientiously strive for excellence in our work. “Accountability – We will be accountable as individuals and as members of this community for our ethical conduct and for compliance with applicable laws and [organizational] policies and directives.  » Read more about: Here’s...

A college friend looked at the Web site for the first time and concluded, “I like your site, but it takes too long to get to the meat and potatoes.” How about this:  “Do Good!” Clear, concise and took just thirty-three words to get there. The only problem is that like the previous commentary touting “Ethix” as a quick fix,...