Business Ethics Advisors E.T.H.I.C.S. Toolkit

So they can identify the personal characteristics and circumstances leading to unethical behavior that may otherwise result in millions of dollars in legal fees, fines and penalties, loss of public confidence in the business, reduced market capitalization and, potentially, criminal liability. 

Once upon a time, I was a successful real estate executive living the good life.  My life and career came to a crashing halt when our company came under criminal scrutiny.

After a three-year investigation from hell, the DOJ threatened me with 20 -30 years in prison unless I plead guilty to conspiracy.  My attorney wanted $1 million to represent me if we went to trial, AND, he thought I would lose.  Frustrated and beaten, I plead guilty to one count of conspiracy.  The judge sentenced me to 48 months, and I served 37 months of that in federal prison.  It was a life-changing experience that I would not wish on my worst enemy.

While I was in prison, I talked to dozens of fellow inmates about WHY they were there – the decisions they made or did not make that lead to their incarceration.  The common thread was that most guys never thought they were doing anything wrong.  Their conviction blindsided them, and it was entirely 100% preventable.  I used my time to distill these conversations into the E.T.H.I.C.S. Toolkit program that I use today to help your employees avoid ethics traps and make better ethical decisions. 

Think – Wells Fargo, Volkswagen, Theranos, Herbalife, and any number of pharmaceutical and financial companies that you read about almost daily.  In the five years preceding April 2008, “the Department of Justice obtained nearly 1,300 corporate fraud convictions. These figures include convictions of more than 200 chief executive officers and corporate presidents, more than 120 corporate vice presidents, and more than 50 chief financial officers.” (2008 Corporate Fraud Task Force report)

A new side effect from remote working, layoffs and furloughs stemming from the coronavirus pandemic: more whistleblowers. 

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission received about 4,000 tips, complaints and referrals of possible corporate wrongdoings from mid-March to mid-May, 2020.  When employees are working remotely or face pressure to meet goals during difficult financial times, the likelihood of wrongdoing can increase.  Effective Ethical Leadership will give employees a direction to their moral compass and less to whistleblow on.

I once had a GC at a top 50 Fortune company tell me that his biggest nightmare that he lost sleep over were employees doing illegal or unethical things thinking they were helping the company. Do you have the same nightmare?