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Sex, Lies, and Videotape
By Bill Catlette and Richard Hadden
OK, we'll be honest (even if some others haven't been.) Unlike writer-director Steven Soderbergh's film by the same name, this article has nothing to do with sex. The rest of the title, however, is perfectly legit.
With the possible exception of Geraldo, we don't know of anyone who hasn't by now had a bellyful of dishonest, despicable behavior on the part of folks who: 1. Know better, and
2. Are expected, and in some cases paid handsomely to set a much better example.
Almost everyone is familiar with the story of Pinocchio, Carlo Collodi's well-spun parable about the little wooden puppet whose nose grew in inverse proportion to the truth that emanated from his little wooden mouth. Indeed, generations have grown up hearing the words "Let your conscience be your guide" and "A lie keeps growing and growing until it's as plain as the nose on your face."
Please note deliberate use of the phrase "hearing the words" as opposed to heeding them.
With all due respect to our non-US readers, this article focuses on a topic appropriate to all of us regardless of nationality, but uses US-specific examples to make the point. Why? Well, let's just say we have a 'target-rich' environment at the moment, with an abundance of low hanging (and now rotting) fruit.
And what IS that point you ask? A simple, but sad one…
With the national 'threat meter' for foreign induced terrorism currently hovering in the 'Yellow Zone', I would suggest that its equivalent for damage that is self-inflicted via dishonesty and corruption is as red as the forests now blazing in the American southwest. And lest we kid ourselves, the damage is every bit as real. Just this past weekend, New York Stock Exchange Chairman, Dick Grasso called it "terrorism in the boardroom".
Before you think we've turned a business column into a church sermon, please be assured we haven't. But think about it. What do a recent US president, more than a few Catholic bishops, the so-called 'auditors' at Arthur Andersen, some well-known securities analysts at places like Merrill Lynch and Salomon Smith Barney, and the senior executives (we refuse to call them leaders) of Enron, ImClone, and WorldCom have in common? A real knack for engaging in scurrilous, self-serving behavior - behavior that is undeniably harmful to others, then being way less than candid or forthcoming when pressed to explain their actions. Et tu Martha?
There are three points that seem worthy of consideration here, and no, that still doesn't make it a sermon. We promise there won't be a poem or closing hymn, but be advised that passing the collection plate is still under consideration.
1. In this case, opposites don't attract. If dishonesty is OK in your organization (department, team, etc.), and that organization survives, you'll attract dishonest people.
I could say here that nobody wants to work for a liar. But that's not true. It's just that the people you want populating your organization don't want to work for a liar.
The damage done to investors in companies hard-hit by the recent spate of dishonesty is matched only by the grief visited upon the customers, suppliers, and the employees of these not-so-firm-anymore firms. I have Enron employees (er, former Enron employees) in my Palm Pilot. (OK, for the benefit of my 9th grade English teacher, the people don't actually live in my Palm Pilot, but their names and addresses do.) These are decent, competent, and as far as I know, honest, hardworking people. And now, add to that, tainted and stigmatized. An Enroner who may, in reality, be as scrupulous as the legends of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln combined, will have his or her resume looked at with more than a little suspicion no matter where (outside of Houston, perhaps) that resume gets sent.
Let's be clear. A company with a reputation for sleaze does not qualify as a great place to work.
2. The big lies that toppled Andersen, Enron, and now WorldCom didn't start as billion dollar scams.
No, in each case, just like Pinocchio's nose, things began on a much smaller scale, with a falsified resume, report, or oversized product claims, and progressed from there as the perpetrators gained confidence that they wouldn't be discovered. And then the day came when they had to stand in front of a hot light just a little too long and things suddenly looked awful. One of my wife's favorite expressions, "plastic people stink when they melt" seems apropos.
A psychologist friend has told me that 100% of her practice (that's right, ALL of it) emanates from dishonesty - people either being dishonest with themselves, or others, supporting the notion that a price is always paid even if its not readily apparent. We would all do well to remember that the next time we sign an expense report, golf scorecard, or note to our kids' school excusing them for an illness that just happened to coincide with that mini-vacation we took.
3. Our friend and publisher, Steve Williford called yesterday and relayed a story that absolutely crystallizes the third point - about the relative goodness of the folks around us, many just like those former Enron employees I know. It seems that a friend of Steve's had inadvertently left a brand new high-end Sony camcorder sitting on a bench in one of the Disney theme parks in Orlando recently. Why anybody would pay lots of money to stand in endless lines in a place with a heat index over 110° F (43° C) - on purpose - is beyond my ability to comprehend, but that's beside the point. With less than great expectations, the fellow called the Disney Lost & Found office, and after being put through due diligence to make sure he was the rightful owner, was told that, yes, the camera had indeed been turned in and that he was welcome to come pick it up.
How many completely honest folks do you suppose walked past that bench, saw the camera, realized it wasn't theirs, and left it alone? A thousand? Ten thousand? And every single one of them did the right thing, as did the person who finally turned it in.
I don't know about you, but I genuinely believe that the vast majority of people around us have an equally clear picture of right versus wrong, and choose correctly on a fairly consistent basis. So, as we get appropriately outraged over the behavior of a few bad apples, and maybe put some of them in Attica, let's not lose our sense of fairness or proportion by painting all business leaders, priests, auditors, and analysts with the same brush.
I can't yet give politicians this same level of credit, but I'm working on it.
Please print the following attribution for this article: Bill Catlette and Richard Hadden, co-authors of Contented Cows Give Better Milk, help clients clobber the competition by having a focused, fired up, and capably led workforce. They deliver powerful conference keynotes and leadership training. They can be reached at 800-940-7006 (+1-904-720-0870 from outside North America) or www.ContentedCows.com.