That was the advice given to Bob Woodward by secret sourceDeep Throat regarding the journalist’s investigation into the Watergate scandal, a scandal that ended with the resignation of a president. That was also the underlying scrutiny in a series of questions asked by a member of England’s Parliamentary committee looking into a scandal that, not unlike Watergate, began with one incident...

Anthony Weiner, Bernie Madoff, low economy, high unemployment, questionable housing, if you’re house hasn’t already been hit by a flood or tornado. How do you remain optimistic in an atmosphere of so much negative news? In an intriguing TIME magazine cover story (The Science of Optimism), author Tali Sharot offers some positive news. “Collectively we can grow pessimistic — about...

Jeffrey Wigand, former executive at tobacco giant Brown & Williamson, becomes a celebrity after appearing on 60 Minutes telling how big tobacco lied for decades to millions about the facts of cigarettes and smoking. Hollywood makes a major motion picture about his ethical stand and hires Russell Crowe to play him. Result: Jeff becomes an even bigger celebrity. Cynthia Cooper, former internal auditor...

May is shaping up to be an incredible month for sex scandals, and we’re only half way through the month! No sooner did we learn that Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, had been pulled off a plane minutes before departing for France due to an alleged sexual attack against a hotel maid, than reports began to surface that...

Robert Spence works in the financial sector as a broker/dealer. When the company that employed him was acquired by a larger firm, he transitioned to the new organization. At the time, the company policy held that individual investments had to stand on their own merits, have full quality oversight and complete transparency. When, in 2006, Robert began to question a...

“There is something about too much prosperity that ruins the fiber of the people.”      – Diplomat Dwight Morrow In 1933, the president awoke to the news that the United States banking system had collapsed. Unemployment had reached 25 percent. Hourly wages nose-dived 60 percent. Distraught dairy farmers blockaded highways in order to dump hundreds of gallons of milk in...

Once upon a time, in a country wide and beautiful, there was a very audacious and flamboyant financier who liked to wear very nice clothes. (Here he is in his gold tie and pinstripe finery.) One day, this very daring man saw a need in the housing market, and lo, with a skill for salesmanship and the help of the...

Corporate CEO’s like BP’s Tony “I want my life back” Hayward aren’t the only one’s susceptible to foot-in-mouth issues. Last Friday (Oct. 2) CNN fired Rich Sanchez after the daytime anchor called Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart a bigot onSirius-XM radio, then proceeded to imply that all the networks are controlled by Jews. “White folks usually don’t see it. But we do,” Sanchez told radio host Pete Dominick...

Ethics scandals continue to make the news. “California City Officials Arrested in Salary Scandal” (Sept. 21); “Clemens Lied About Doping, Indictment Charges” (Aug. 19); “P.R. Missteps Fueled Fiascos at BP, Toyota and Goldman,” (Aug. 22) Are companies paying attention to headlines, and are they making any attempt to reinforce the moral conscience of their own organizations?  » Read more about: Searching...

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…...