Wells Fargo Culture Lessons 8 Months Later
The Week in Ethics
Wells Fargo Culture Lessons 8 Months Later
After eight months of headlines, with likely more to come, Wells Fargo’s consumer fraud (affecting at the very least two million customers) echoes so many other corporate crises….what some of us did isn’t who we are. The drama playing out at the bank underscores the importance of companies regularly addressing how their values and actions […]
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Corporate Citizenship in a Trump Administration
Circumstances have caused an increasing number of companies and CEOs to speak out in recent years on hot-button social issues that previously weren’t part of traditional corporate citizenship. For example, nearly 400 companies filed an amicus brief on marriage equity with the Supreme Court, and employers and organizations banded together using economic leverage to fight legislation discriminating on the […]
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How Owning Purpose Tames the Unexpected
Benjamin Franklin was brilliant, but in 1789 he forgot to include an essential element in his famous remark, “…in this world nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes.” He should have said “nothing can be certain except death, taxes AND dealing with the unexpected.” We use religion and spirituality to deal […]
read more »What We Can Learn About Optimism & Leadership from Simon Sinek
“A good leader doesn’t only inspire us to have confidence in what they can do. A great leader inspires us to have confidence in what we can do.” Together is Better: A Little Book of Inspiration (Simon Sinek, 2016) The adage “what we focus on, we get more of” is as true in leadership as anything. And, conversely, […]
read more »Wells Fargo’s Next Move? 10 Suggestions
Update: See my 12/10/16 Business Ethics column on Where Wells Fargo Goes From Here . Update: In October 2016 Timothy Sloan replaced Chairman/CEO John Stumpf, becoming CEO and President. The chairman role was split and given to independent lead director Stephen Sanger. Update: September 27, 2016: Wells Fargo Independent directors issued a statement they will […]
read more »Women Leaders Galvanize Detroit Around Justice
When things fall apart for lack of human and financial resources, becoming overwhelming, the key that enables leaders to transform the impossible to solvable is a compelling sense of greater purpose that is shared. An illustration is the story of how Kym Worthy, Prosecutor of Wayne County, Michigan raised, and is a catalyst in efforts […]
read more »The Way Forward from Public Shaming
Students in a middle school painted words important to them on rocks placed under a tree. “Patience,” “courage,” “strength,” and “peace” were scattered under the limbs. However the lineup of a yellow heart, “tolerance” and “healing” held my eye during a walk in 2013; they were an antidote to the lack of humanity words as […]
read more »Project 22
Memorial Day in the United States is more than remembrance; it is also a catalyst for a discussion that needs to occur throughout the year. As a day, it is about respect and remembrance honoring those who’ve died in wars or military actions as well as remembering those dead who were also veterans. However, it […]
read more »How Market Basket’s Board Misread Employee Engagement
In a battle of cousin against cousin, how important is the culture of a family owned business? Thousands of voices among the 25,000 employees and the customers who shop at the 71 New England locations of Market Basket (a supermarket chain with $4 billion in annual sales) have made clear in their rallies and online […]
read more »Marathon Runners and Lessons of Resilience
The 2014 Boston Marathon grew into a symbol. It wasn’t just a race; it was about facing down hate and destruction with community and courage. It showed how runners, spectators, individuals and families affected by the 2013 bombing at the Marathon finish line handled tragedy and came to embody and teach resilience. It is also […]
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We recently had Gael O’Brien speak to us at the Network of Enterprising Women and she gave an outstanding talk on ethics in the workplace and how we might meet it head on. I highly recommend listening to her or inviting her to speak at your venue.