What makes for an ethical leader? The formula is not complex. It’s not about being ethical in public and not in private. It’s not about valuing profit or celebrity above people. It’s not about taking advantage of your prominence or position. It’s about recognizing the responsibility a leader must demonstrate in any profession, the arts,… [Read More]
A Tribute to Ross Perot
Ross Perot was a legend. The eccentric Texan billionaire, lived a colorful and adventurous life, founding major companies and twice running for president as an independent. Mr. Perot handily passed the ethics test with flying colors, deliberately choosing to take a stand and doing the right thing. He knew ethics is good business and his… [Read More]
Let’s Get Real!
Authentic is defined as being true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character; no pretensions. Recent studies emphasize that bringing the real you, the whole self, an authentic self to work impacts ethical behavior. According to Maryam Kouchaki’s recent research with Mahdi Ebrahimi and Vanessa Patrick, it seems that “enabling people to bring their whole selves… [Read More]
On my honor… the Compliance or Ethics Debate
Bruce Weinstein, a leadership strategist and consultant, writing in a Forbes magazine article points out that “High character leaders ask, ‘What is required of me,’ but they don’t leave it at that; the highly ethical ones also ask ‘What is the right thing to do?’” They ask: What would an honorable person do, how does… [Read More]
How to Stamp Out Fraud!
Is your organization immune from fraud? The 2019 Annual Fraud Conference recently held at the University of Texas at Dallas gave practical steps to assure you are. The conference was an outstanding success and I was honored to have been part of it once again. The conference attendees; internal auditors, CPA’s, faculty and students, learned… [Read More]
The Whistleblower Newsroom; Is This a Conspiracy?
This last week I had the honor of being interviewed for The Whistleblower Newsroom, a podcast by whistleblowers, for whistleblowers, developed and hosted by journalists Celia Farber, TruthBarrier.com, and Kristina Borjesson. Although I had visited with Ms. Borjesson several times on the phone over the last three years, we first met last November at the… [Read More]
Brigham Young University: Practicing What They Preach
It is always a privilege to be invited to speak at a University to accounting and business students and their faculty. This last week I had that honor- of presenting to Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management and Wheatley Institution, to these groups on ethics and how important integrity is in the business world…. [Read More]
Can Winning Cultures Be Built? Ok- but How?
What do Disney, USAA, Campbell Soup, H.E.B., Southwest Airlines and dozens more like them share in common that Wells Fargo, Volkswagen, Facebook, UBER, United Airlines and unfortunately many others do not? Leading organizations in the United States and elsewhere share traits which have earned them the loyalty of their stakeholders, employees, customers, shareholders and the… [Read More]
Starbucks’ $16 Million Mistake – A Painful & Expensive Lesson!
Recent headlines blasted “Starbucks to Close 8,000 U.S. Stores for Racial-Bias Training After Arrests.” Starbucks executives’ response to the recent arrests in a Philadelphia café are unprecedented. Starbucks is known as a strong company with a concern for its employees and a socially responsible agenda in its community. It has a reputation for excellent customer service…. [Read More]
Ethics: The Road to Profits
A firm’s culture can predict how much market value that firm will create for stakeholders. Researchers have found that companies with ethical cultures significantly outperform other companies in stock value. In fact, researchers have shown that a firm’s culture is the strongest predictor of how much market value that firm will create for shareholders’ investments. A… [Read More]
