Recent Trust Commentaries

Featured image for “What is Ethical Leadership?”
What is Ethical Leadership?
In light of all the recent ethics scandals, what’s needed most today is authentic leadership – individuals who demonstrate, by example, how to make a difference for the betterment of all. U.S. Army Lieutenant General (Ret.) Hal Moore represents one such leader. In 1965, then-Lieutenant Colonel Moore led his vastly outnumbered troops in the first major battle of the war...
Read More
May 26, 2015
Featured image for “Доверяй, но проверяй”
Доверяй, но проверяй
Susanne Massie, a writer on Russia, counseled President Ronald Reagan regarding his relations with the Soviet Union. “The Russians like to talk in proverbs,” Massie told him. “It would be nice of you to know a few.” Consequently, the Russian proverb “Доверяй, но проверяй,” (trust but verify) became a signature line used by Reagan. It’s a phrase that’s been used...
Read More
May 20, 2015
Featured image for “Drilling Deeper”
Drilling Deeper
The political blog Think Progress reported (Apr. 1), “In March alone, 111 people died during police encounters… As in the past, numerous incidents were spurred by violent threats from suspects, and two officers were shot in Ferguson during a peaceful protest. However, the deaths follow a national pattern: suspects were mostly people of color, mentally ill, or both.” With misconduct...
Read More
May 11, 2015
Featured image for “How Safe is Your Data?”
How Safe is Your Data?
On January 5th, I opened The New York Times and read the following: “In mid-December, a posting appeared on the Internet site Pastebin offering six million account records, including passwords and login data for clients of Morgan Stanley. “Two weeks later, a new posting on the information-sharing site offered a teaser of actual records from 1,200 accounts, and provided a...
Read More
March 30, 2015
Featured image for “The Ethical Take”
The Ethical Take
With all the fuss surrounding the optical illusion about “that dress,” the Take offers its own spin. In the disillusion pictured, do you see a clown or House Speaker John Boehner? Answer: Actually the clown represents the “self-righteous, delusional” wing of the Republican Party, as described by Republican Peter King. The New York Times reported (Mar. 1), that “King, who...
Read More
March 2, 2015
Featured image for “The 1914 Christmas Truce”
The 1914 Christmas Truce
With the recent shootings of two police officers in New York, the Eric Garner and Michael Brown protests , the Sony “hack,” the continued terrorist threats by the self-styled “Guardians of Peace,” and ISIS, Dr. Robert Sapolsky, a professor of biology, neurology and neurosurgery at Stanford University, finds meaning in a Christmas gesture made 100 years ago. The front page...
Read More
December 22, 2014
Featured image for “Where do we go from here?”
Where do we go from here?
As election results came in late last night, it became clear that the Republicans would indeed take control of the Senate, but the night was not without many surprises in the governor’s races around the country. Among them: Republican governors will become chief executives in three states, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Illinois long held by Democrats. Now, that the results clearly...
Read More
November 6, 2014
Featured image for “Trust and the Media”
Trust and the Media
There’s a moment in the long and distinguished career of Walter Cronkite that remains indelible in the minds of Baby Boomers. On November 22, 1963, in the midst of newsroom chaos, the CBS News anchor had interrupted a daytime soap opera with a special bulletin that shots had been fired at President John Kennedy in a downtown Dallas motorcade. In...
Read More
June 20, 2014
Featured image for “Trust vs. Willful Blindness”
Trust vs. Willful Blindness
Last January General Motors new president Mary Barra released a statement of values entitled, Winning with Integrity, Our Values and Guidelines for Employee Conduct. In the introduction, Barra writes, “During the last few years, we have aggressively pursued a competitive advantage in every aspect of our business. You can see this reflected in our new products, our acquisitions and alliances, our balance sheet...
Read More
June 16, 2014
Featured image for “Hard Truth”
Hard Truth
“You CAN’T handle the truth!” Hands down, this is my favorite rationalization for lying offered up by Jack Nicholson in the movie, A Few Good Men. The film tells the story of Marine Colonel Nathan R. Jessup (Nicholson) a bigoted veteran officer who not only commands respect but lives by the creed: my way or the highway. The death of a...
Read More
February 26, 2014