photo credit: roland

In 1997, Columbia / HCA was investigated for fraud relating to Medicare and Medicaid and paid a settlement of $1.7 billion, which was, according to the Wikipedia entry on HCA, at that time the largest fraud settlement in US history.

Having worked at HCA in the early 2000s, I personally learned of the measures that had been put in place within the company since that time to prevent future violations or misdoings, partly mandated by the settlement and partly instigated by HCA itself: primarily, there was a universal Code of Conduct which all employees were required to review annually, and an Ethics and Compliance department with a tip hotline for anyone who observed any violation or potential violation of that Code of Conduct.

I bring this up because one of the statements I heard a few times during my years at HCA from some of the company’s top leaders had the ring of a lesson hard learned: they advocated telling all you know, as soon as you know it, to anyone who should know.

An article in HarvardBusiness.org about The Right Way to Manage Surprises reminded me of all this the other day. The first suggestion in the article was this:

“1. Don’t wait so long to tell (or to ask.) It was 1998. I had only reported to Ken Chenault, our CEO and Chairman, for about three or four months at that point. I was managing our US corporate travel and commercial card businesses. And I had a little problem. It was called the Asian Financial Crisis. Remember that? I can still feel the puddle of sweat on the middle of my back as I told Ken in September I was going to miss my numbers for the year. But I’ll also never forget his response. He said, ‘Ed, you’ve done all the right things to deal with the issue but next time, don’t wait so long to tell me. We have more options if you tell me earlier.’ He handled the situation with grace and I learned a lot about leadership. Tell early. Ask often. Get surprises out in the open as soon as you can. That way you move beyond shock, can focus on action, and work to get closure. “

It often seems that there horrible consequences to coming forward with bad news, but leaders certainly need to know when something has gone wrong. The situation will likely only get worse with delay. And yet it takes a brave soul to march into the CEO’s office and ruin his or her day.

What suggestions do you have for being the bearer of bad news? What advice do you have for leaders receiving bad news? Tell us in the comments.

photo credit: melissaclark

Nietzsche once said, “I’m not upset that you lied to me, I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you.”

Amen, brother!

Often we are so focused on the fact-based realities of whether or not we have “lied,” as if that is itself the arbiter of right and wrong, of positive or negative consequences. Isn’t the real issue whether or not we have nurtured trust with other people?

There is a lot going around about the technical aspects of truth in some local community dealings. And it really seems to miss the point by a wide, wide margin. The point is that in order to continue to function as organizations, as government, as friends and neighbors and lovers and the rest, we have to have a bedrock belief that the information we exchange with one another is not only technically correct but that it comes from a place of purposeful honesty, not evasion.

Sadly, it is so easy to take for granted the good will and belief in us that most people offer up front; you only internalize what you have lost when you realize that gift is gone once you’ve treated it too casually. Getting it back can be a long road.

What holds you back from purposeful honesty, in personal as well as public life?

This post was originally published on www.essediem.blogspot.com on May 11, 2009 and is reprinted with permission.

photo credit: kennymatic

A debate has sprung up in the business blogosphere prompted by an article written by Nicole Williams in the Huffington Post called 5 Lies You Should Tell Your Boss.

There are indeed situations in the workplace where not telling the truth is just fine, but you have to know when it’s appropriate. (Oh, and make sure to keep track of all your fibs or you could be out of a job in no time!)

She goes on to list 5 things she’s ” giving you permission to lie about:”

1. Your worth.
2. Your future plans.
3. Your experience.
4. Your health.
5. Your tardiness.

In response, Mike Henry Sr. at Lead Change Group posted to his blog, asking What types of relationships start with a lie?.

When someone lies, they do it because of fear. I used to say the only acceptable lies are when someone asks you if they’re pretty or thin. But in reality, my own faults not excepted, there are no acceptable lies because a fear based life makes us selfish and empty. It takes courage to tell the truth and our world needs courage more today than in recent memory.

As we discussed last week, the economy has many people feeling like they’re in a position where they are required to lie. A highly competitive job market coupled with the normal tendencies people have to want to cover up gaps or flaws in their employment history makes for a tempting test of truth.

Obviously, ethics are on the side of honesty. But if that’s not a good enough reason not to lie, there are also practical considerations: if you’re in a small town or a tight-knit community, you can probably expect that even the most trivial exaggeration will be easily verifiable and could ruin your credibility. And let’s face it, your environs need not be that small. While hiring in the densely populated Bay Area, I occasionally encountered resumes from candidates I’d heard cautionary stories about from other hiring managers. Word does get around, and you want your name to be associated with integrity and reliability, not mistrust.

Moreover, when you get to the specifics of what people might lie about, such as your future plans as Ms. Williams suggested, what becomes apparent is that we’re not so much talking about lying as about understanding relevance and context.

In other words, If you’re in a corporate interview for, say, a graphic design position and you’re asked about your future goals, the interviewer is not looking for a treatise on your ambitions in the fine arts; what the interviewer seeks is an understanding of what relevant aspirations you have relative to the job in question. In which case you might answer something about contributing to the successful visual identity of a beloved brand — whatever it is that actually would make the work you’re applying for meaningful to you. It’s not lying to restrict your answers to that scope; it’s merely being specific about the context of your possible responses.

In his post, Mike Henry, Jr. touches on this point, too, when he writes that Ms. Williams’ HuffPo piece raised questions, such as:

Would you prefer someone who knew the truth and hired you anyway?

As long as your truth is a contextually relevant truth (and provided the job you’re interviewing for is a decent fit), there’s no reason an honest answer should hold you back. Just remember that honesty is not a substitute for thoughtfulness; they work best when they work together.

Also in his list of questions is:

Is there an acceptable excuse for lying?

Ultimately, it’s up to you and your conscience to decide. But as many others before me have pointed out (including Ms. Williams), the truth is far easier to maintain than deceit, and personally, I generally choose the truth for all of the reasons above plus one more: I have too much on my mind to keep up with various versions of reality.

What’s your take? When is it OK to lie, or is it ever? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

photo credit: Mr. Kris

This is one of my father’s favorite sayings, and it came into play for me last week as I put closure on a frustrating event.

I have been very excited about becoming a dues paying member of an out-of-state organization that supports nonprofits. They do what they do better than anyone, and though I’m not in their state I thought being a member would bring enormous benefit to my local work. I paid my online application fee and anxiously awaited my membership packet.

It wasn’t long before I realized something was awry. I couldn’t register for their upcoming conference, so I gave my new friends a call. Alas, it appeared they were trying to figure out how to break it to me: They were planning to refund my money. Since I was not with a nonprofit organization in their state, working with me would be outside of their mission and therefore detracting from what they were set up to do.

Honestly, I was stunned. It had been too long since I had interacted with an organization that knew how to put cash aside for allegiance to purpose. Though I was disappointed, I was impressed by their creativity when they suggested I associate with one of their state’s organizations (a former employer) in order to complete a discounted conference registration.

I took my refunded membership fee and made a donation to my former employer who had offered to help me out. I also have never felt so good about paying full price for a conference.

Too many people are too quick in this economy to just accept money. If it corrupts your organizational integrity in any way, let it go. And if you find yourself with some unexpected cash this month, reach out to the nonprofit of your choice. They will be thrilled to have it, and you may find yourself thrilled to give it.

The economic wasteland we find ourselves has me thinking, and many of you as well. How far would you go to get the job of your dreams? Would you lie? Would you cheat? Would you misrepresent yourself and provide false information? Would you fake your references, having a buddy pose as a former supervisor to ensure a ‘glowing’ recommendation? Would you lie about your GPA or the degree you received? Where do you draw the line? How far are you willing to go to stand out from the rest?

What say you? Leave a comment here or there. We’re interested in following the discussion either way.

photo credit: Lanana

Do you ever look around and wonder when the work environment became so hostile to your value system? There are several ways to take back the wheel of your own ship, despite the choppy waters. One way is as simple as revisiting your college or university.

I spent this past weekend with six good friends from college. We started an annual summer reunion about five years ago, and each reconnection is richer and deeper than the last. Every annual weekend is now like a seminar in life as we share personal challenges, strategies and solutions.

Not everyone is still in touch with friends from school; myself, I went through several years of being disconnected and wondering if all of those memories were but a dream. But one way I found my way back was by going to campus, simply to walk the grounds and to put my heart and mind back in the place of my 20 year old self.

It was rather astonishing, the immediate immersion back into a way of thinking about the world that was more open, more full of possibility, more idealistic in the very best sense of the word.

I found that by allowing myself back into the place where my highest ideals were first established, I was instantly stronger and more directed in my own thinking about my work. I had a clarity and a commitment that the middle-aged adult world, despite its picking away, could not claim.

When you are feeling separated from your highest ideals, try this — even if it’s been decades, find a way to touch your college community. I think you’ll find it’s not so hard to embrace again your own belief in the best of who you and others can be.

photo credit: quinn.anya

As I mentioned on Mother’s Day, I grew up in a household where both parents were business people. (My mother, as I said in that post, spent years as a chamber of commerce executive and is now an elected official in my hometown.) My father spent 30-some years in industrial sales and sales management, and he worked out of our house when he wasn’t on the road, so I saw him in work mode a great deal of the time.

Both my parents were role models for me in many ways to become the Corporate Idealist I am today. Below are a few lessons I learned from my father, and which I hope are similar to lessons other people have learned from their own fathers about business.

Act sensibly, but be passionate about what you do.

My father was a likable, friendly guy but he had a short fuse and I sometimes heard him getting angry on the phone with suppliers, colleagues, and probably even customers. I know that what set him off the most was when people didn’t match his expectations of quality and service.

While I don’t think yelling at people on the phone is necessarily the best way to conduct ourselves in business, it shows passion. If you’re passionate about what you do, the challenge is to use your zeal to fuel others’ enthusiasm, and to spark your own creativity and innovation. Even slightly hot-headed dads would probably agree.

Don’t start fights, but stand up for yourself if you’re bullied.

This lesson comes not so much from the workplace as from the playground, but it applies everywhere. Unfortunately, even in the most mundane office environments, there are often still playground bullies. Sometimes they’re the CEO; sometimes they’re just at the next desk. Fortunately, Cy Wakeman recently posted an entry over at Fast Company about dealing with office bullies.

Invent and innovate.

My dad and I were on the front porch swing one time, and he started talking about inventions, and how much money there was in inventing something, and how I should try to think of something I could invent. I remember describing a concept I had for a typewriter that would type down onto paper underneath of it so it could work on odd size pages and bound paper. I don’t think he was very impressed, and I chuckle when I think of it.

Still, while I have not invented something in a classic sense, I have certainly tried to apply a philosophy of innovation to my work and other areas of my life.

In the end, your relationships matter.

When my dad was dying from cancer in 2005, he asked me to help him write some letters to some of his friends. He had a very difficult time finding a way to express what he wanted to say, so we came up with something that said “thank you for everything – your support, your kindness, your prayers, and most of all, your love.” Several of his friends approached me at his funeral to tell me how much they cherished that letter. Many of us may not suffer long enough to get the bittersweet chance to write those kinds of letters, so it’s important to express our love and gratitude to each other as often as we can.

The corollary to that lesson is that life is too short to spend your time with people you don’t care about, or who don’t share your values.

How about you? What did you learn from your father about business, or about life in general? Leave your lessons and stories in the comments.

And Happy Father’s Day to all fathers and children of fathers!

photo credit: Éamonn

A friend once told me, “When clients come to me with something they want to do, I pass it through three tests. If it is not clearly illegal, flagrantly immoral, or physically dangerous, I tell them to go right ahead and do it.” For years I thought this philosophy was unique to the practice of law, but I’ve recently wondered if it should be applied in most professional work.

Often when a client comes to you, he or she is less seeking your advice than seeking your skills in implementing what they already have decided to do. This may create an ethical pull in one or two directions. The most difficult is when the client’s goal or process itself conflicts with your personal ethics.

Recording Your Concerns

We all know people who have succumbed to the pressure to go along with something they believed to be wrong, and the results are disastrous. There is no good end to that story. If you have a supervisor, talk with them in private about your concerns. Most people are supportive of working through the problem, and at the very least if you are now on record with your issue. If you are beyond ethics and into illegal territory, you must refuse participation. If you are the supervisor, you will have to have this conversation directly with the client.

Wants vs. Needs

There is a second type of more nuanced ethical dilemma: You may not think the goal or process is wrong, but you may believe it is not in the client’s best interest. We do what we do to help advance positive results for our clients, and in turn hope to garner a reputation for excellent outcomes. If we do what the client wants, and the outcomes are poor, have we truly succeeded? But if we push our own agendas and become disconnected from the heart and mind of our clients, do the outcomes matter?

Staying Connected for Everyone’s Success

We can do more to balance this equation by strategically building better, deeper relationships with our clients, and by spending more time working through the pros and cons of various decisions. There are no easy short cuts.

I would tweak the story above to say the three tests are for us as providers. Know your own business culture and standards and faithfully enforce them. If we cannot establish shared goals and understanding behind project direction, the client relationship will not be successful. That relationship is the ultimate positive outcome we all want.

How have you handled tricky ethical scenarios at work? Tell us in the comments.

photo credit: nyki_m

When I was growing up, my mother was CEO of a chamber of commerce that served five communities around my hometown. I was frequently roped into volunteering in the chamber office, at networking functions, and so on. As a result, I was very comfortable mingling with business people at networking events by the time I was 12. So when I talk about what I learned about business from my mother, I’m not speaking in poetic abstractions.

But even in those poetic abstractions, there’s a lot of sound business wisdom. Even outside of a traditional business environment, motherly advice never steers us wrong.

Play nice with others. The workplace is so much easier to enjoy when you like the people you work with. At the very least, when people show each other basic respect, collaboration gets easier, resources free up, and good things happen.

Do your homework. Whether it’s preparing notes for a meeting so you don’t waste anyone’s time, reading a report someone has asked you to read, or writing a report to document the knowledge you’ve gained in a project, making a little effort to do what people need from you is still appreciated.

Share. The wisdom goes that the best managers pass down credit and soak up blame. If you’ve ever been lucky enough to work for a manager who lives by this credo, you know how much it can free you up to do your best and most creative work, unafraid of a reasonable amount of failure.

Work it out. Conflicts arise in every workplace, and those who can confront others directly in a non-threatening way to come to resolution are going to come out ahead of those who can’t or won’t.

On the other hand, some motherly advice makes more sense flipped on its head:

Play with matches Be prepared to take risks. While risk takers are more likely to get burnt, they are also more likely to reap great rewards. Volunteer for projects that are outside your comfort zone or experience. Don’t hold back your opinion or point of view, stay in the arena. Just because “we’ve always done things this way” is not a reason to avoid approaching business challenges in a creative manner.

(via Management-Issues)

What about you? What advice did your mother give you that you carry with you in business to this day?

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there, and thanks for teaching us to be better people.

“This year, 99 companies made the cut. Twenty companies dropped off the list from last year, and 25 companies were newcomers. A remarkable 44 companies are ‘three-peats,’ making the list for the past three years.”

What’s more, a graph accompanying the article plots out the growth over the past five years for the World’s Most Ethical Companies as compared to the S&P 500, and you can see for yourself how it comes out:

Of course, over at the The Business Ethics Blog, Chris MacDonald points out that drawing conclusions from this data may be a bit hasty:

“It’s an interesting graph, to be sure, but it doesn’t show what they claim it shows. What it shows is correlation, not causation.”

Nevertheless, it’s an interesting pattern, and a great list. Check it out.

Via Ethisphere Institute.