Elizabeth Holmes dropped out of Stanford at age 19 to start a new career. She founded Theranos, which was a privately held health technology corporation initially touted as a breakthrough technology company in the blood-testing market. The money and glory were huge. In a few short years, Ms. Holmes grew the company to a valuation of $9 billion. Ms…. [Read More]
Visiting with the Investments and Wealth Institute
It was an honor to address the Retirement Management Forum, an annual conference of Retirement Management Advisors sponsored by the Investments and Wealth Institute (IWI) in Hollywood recently, well Hollywood, Florida that is. I spoke to IWI conferences in 2015 and again in 2017 so it felt like being reunited with old friends. Established in… [Read More]
Transparency, Integrity and the Institute of Banking Irish Style
Ireland continued to be a unique learning experience with my participating with some of the most esteemed organizations in the country. Throughout I was impressed with the emphasis each had regarding ethics in the banking culture and it was an honor to address these groups who are so focused on stamping out corruption in both… [Read More]
Transparency, Integrity and Ireland
These last two weeks have been a whirlwind of presentations in Ireland for Transparency International, The Institute of Banking and the National University of Ireland. I learned firsthand about the Irish spirit and determination, enjoyed its great people and the beauty of the country. It was an honor to address groups who are so focused… [Read More]
Misconduct Leads to More Misconduct
The Global Business Ethics Survey (GBES), published yearly by the Ethics and Compliance Initiative (ECI), serves to foster a better understanding of ethics in the workplace from the perspective of employees. The 2019 report, incorporating responses from employees in 18 countries, examines the link between organizational commitment (to organizational values and ethical leadership) and two… [Read More]
Transparency and Ethics in Ireland
This coming week I’m off to Ireland where I’m presenting to several groups, Transparency International, Ireland, the Institute of Banking and the National University of Ireland. The core of each presentation is on ethics and integrity, using as a springboard my experience and resulting outcomes at Citigroup. I find that somewhat ironic given the present… [Read More]
The Fall of an American Icon
The lack of ethics has become a household norm. Whether it be in the political arena from which it is blatantly absent or in business, ethical violations have become the new normal. Still how disheartening to see a business we grew up with, our kid’s happy meal place, a pillar of our community be struck… [Read More]
How Will It Look in the Newspaper?
There has been a strong spotlight on nonprofits in the last several years, from taxation issues to ethical concerns. Unfortunately, a few nonprofits have made the headlines as a result of ethical and governance malfeasance and so more nonprofits are under scrutiny and overall have lost public trust. I had the honor recently of leading… [Read More]
We’re getting better ethics grades!
How would you rate your company’s ethical culture? Here’s the good news… the corporate fraud and ethical scandals of the last ten plus years have shown a spotlight on the importance of ethics. According to the 2019 Ethics and Compliance Program Effectiveness Report, based on a survey of 480 ethics, compliance and legal professionals at large… [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]
