The Ethics of Oil Drilling: BP and the Fraternity of Crude
The Week in Ethics
The Ethics of Oil Drilling: BP and the Fraternity of Crude
Update June 18, 2010: BP CEO Tony Hayward has been replaced by Robert Dudley, a BP managing director, in day-to-day involvement of the Gulf. In testimony yesterday before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee, Hayward expressed contrition and said the Gulf oil disaster “never should have happened.” However, he made clear he hadn’t been involved […]
read more »WHO Can You Trust? World Health Organization’s H1N1 Criticisms
It is hard to believe the World Health Organization (WHO) wouldn’t have put the highest priority on determining and implementing the best practices for demonstrating transparency and for managing conflicts of interest – real or perceived – with the pharmaceutical industry. WHO is now responding to attacks on its credibility and reputation, primarily in Europe, […]
read more »The Ethics of CEO Leadership: The Message of John Wooden (1910-2010)
Newspapers across the country today are honoring the life of legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden who died yesterday. The outpouring of praise might seem unusual given his long life (99) years and the many tributes already paid while he was alive to experience them. He also retired 35 years ago as a college coach, […]
read more »Is Massey’s Blankenship Bracing Against Reputation Cave-In?
Update May 30, 2011: Blankenship retired in December 2010 and in May 2011, the first investigative report was issued. This one is by the former West VA Governor’s Independent Investigative Panel, see May 2011 column. The verdict is literally still out on Massey Energy’s safety record at its deadly Upper Big Branch mine in West […]
read more »Floyd Landis’ Guilty Conscience
Floyd Landis told ESPN he wants to clear his conscience, that his dishonesty has been eating him alive from the inside. I am reminded of Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, “The Tell-Tale Heart.” The narrator of Poe’s gothic tale, insists to the reader that he/she is sane, murders and dismembers an old man, and buries […]
read more »Online Outrage: H&M and Procter & Gamble Issues with Building Trust
Companies and leaders using social media to build trust can find themselves on the other end of online outrage. Consider the challenges H&M faced in January and Procter & Gamble’s is having currently with Twitter and Facebook criticism. I asked Dr. Judy Olson, Bren Professor of Information and Computer Sciences at University of California at […]
read more »Goldman’s Road Back to Earning Trust, Part II
Update: March 15, 2012, Calling Goldman Sachs’ culture toxic and still focused on making money over clients’ best interests, Greg Smith– an executive director and head of U.S. equity derivatives in Europe, Middle East and Africa — left the firm yesterday. His message was that the SEC investigation, Congressional hearings, the firm’s “rigorous self examination” […]
read more »Five Ways Goldman Sachs can Earn Back Trust
To those doubting that an investment in ethics has a sizeable business return or that ethical leadership is a legitimate risk mitigation strategy, consider the gargantuan distraction and investment of human and financial capital Goldman Sachs must make as a result of the events of the last two weeks. A recent example, the firm has […]
read more »Ethics Sold Short at Goldman Sachs
The good news is that ethics was on the front burner April 27, 2010 when U.S. Senators grilled current and former Goldman Sachs executives about Goldman’s role in the financial crisis. Questions about how Goldman resolves conflicts of interest, handles transparency, whether executives believe the firms’ incentives led to ethical behavior, what Goldman’s code of […]
read more »Goldman Sachs: The Ethics of Reputation
Update: August 2, 2013, Fabrice Tourre is found liable in the SEC’s charges against him. Update: March 15, 2012, Calling Goldman Sachs’ culture toxic and still focused on making money over clients’ best interests, Greg Smith– an executive director and head of U.S. equity derivatives in Europe, Middle East and Africa — left the firm […]
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I had the great fortune of working with Gael O’Brien as I prepared to give a Ted Talk…. Her positive reinforcement, combined with gentle redirection, allowed me to bring forth a story that even I didn’t know I could tell. The lessons she taught me ….will be carried into my career for many years to come. Importantly, Gael was committed to taking the journey with me to ensure that I put forth my very best self.