long as successful business will exist.
— Brian McCune
Managing Partner,
e-merging technologies group
Although it might be obvious that integrity is rule
number one, let me reinforce that conclusion
with reasons why it is.
It’s a basic requirement for leadership
People follow you because of your character, not
your job title. “A really good way to lose
leadership is to be thought of as having lost
integrity,” says Curt Carter, CEO of Gulbransen,
Inc. and America, Inc. “CEOs jealously guard
their good name. They’ll pay ransom for their
good name—like paying a bill they don’t owe.”
General Schwarzkoff says leadership boils down to
competence and character, and more often the
differentiator is character.
(Throughout this entire blog you’ll read that every
aspect of the CEO’s job is fundamentally guided
by his or her character regardless of industry, size,
or anything else.)
Ethical behavior turns out to be the easiest to
do
When you have an “unwavering constitution,” you
can be yourself and not work so hard trying to be
something you aren’t. You don’t run the risk of
people discovering artifice. Like you’ve heard
people say, it’s so much easier to tell the truth;
then I don’t have to try to remember all my lies.
BE YOURSELF, UNLESS YOU’RE A JERK
When you try to “do right,” it alleviates stress of
decisions. It softens setbacks and disappointments.
It takes care of ingratitude. And it turns out to be a
good business strategy because nothing baffles
someone full of tricks and lies more than simple,
straightforward integrity.
People sense when you are guided by deeply held
values or when you aren’t and they sense when
you aren’t but act like you are.
“The first things our parents taught us about right
and wrong are true. They still work even in the
complexity of today’s business,”says Nancy May,
CEO of The Women’s Global Business Alliance.
Sets standard of expectation
People mirror those around them. Your people are
a reflection of you. If you dip your toes in the
pool of nonethical behavior, even a little, it starts
a whirlpool. “The CEO needs to be the personi-
fication of the company’s values to his
organization, customers, suppliers, and outside
world,” says Daryl Brewster, President of
Planters Specialty Foods. “It’s that simple.”
When the elephant sneezes, everybody catches
a cold. (Gross expression, huh?) But you get
it, everything gets passed around.
“The CEO is a role model, his major responsibility
is to bring honesty and openness into it but it has
to be his own personality. I had high standards and
felt if I set the example people would live up to
them and the company would benefit greatly,”
says Duane Pearsall, retired CEO of Columbine
Venture Capital. “I had an individual that I wanted
to promote. He was bright, energetic, a good
thinker, did an outstanding job but he had a
character flaw he couldn’t get over. I tried to help
and sometimes he did better. But he couldn’t quite
make it. So I ended up not promoting him.”
You truly demonstrate and prove your integrity in
your actions.One small example is that you have
to do what you’d expect your people to do:
“When I was visiting the field I’d schedule a flight
home at 6:00 p.m. so I could work with my people
until 5:00 p.m. If I expect a full day from them
they have to see me do the same. You either live
by the rules or don’t live by the rules,” says Paul
Schlossberg, CEO of D/FW Consulting.
And sometimes you have to
inconvenience your
-self to remain that “person with integrity.” If
your people can’t spend more than $150 a night
for a hotel room than you can’t either. Play by
the rules, whatever they are.
If you provide a constant example and application,
that will run the company when you aren’t there
to tell people what to do. That becomes part of
your corporate culture.
“The person I believe is the executive secretary,”
says Nancy Albertini, CEO of Taylor-Winfield.
We had a phone call from a CEO who wanted
us to do a search for him. I returned the call.
His secretary semisnarled, ‘who are you, what
are you calling about, and he’s too busy to talk
to you.’ I just said, ‘Fine. Just explain to him
why he hasn’t heard back from me was
because you explained he was too busy to talk
to me.’ Well the man did call back and was
overly pleasant to me because he needed me
to do the search. When I started to work with
him I discovered that his manner was to be
nice when it served him and not to be the rest
of the time. It only reinforced my commit-
ment to paying attention to the CEO’s
secretary. If she is nice and helpful it tells me
about his management style. If she isn’t, that
tells me something too. I make sure in my
own office that everyone treats anyone who
calls like they are the Queen of England.”
Creates and leaves a legacy
You can’t always bet on technology, can’t bet on
the numbers, and can’t bet on the economy.
What you can bet on at the end of the day is
management. People track your performance.
It’s called your reputation while you’re here and
your legacy when you’re gone.
The way to gain a reputation is to endeavor to be
what you desire to appear. — Socrates
People see through you when you aren’t honest
and ethical—either right away or eventually.
The truth will come out. You can’t misstate.
You can’t shape the truth a little. You can’t even
be coy. There is no exit. Eventually, you’ll be
faced with the facts. Again, that creates your
legacy.
Pick your guiding principles and apply them
religiously to hiring, building an organization,
or dealing with customers. Even in the
exploding technology world where anything
goes, you can’t risk betraying other
employees or businesses. It will come back
to haunt you eventually.
Evidence over time creates your reputation and
legacy. “Previous integrity. That’s your road
map to follow when evaluating someone,”
says Lawrence Land, attorney-at-law.
Talk about legacy! “I’d rather have a ‘handshake
deal’ with a person of integrity, than a forty page
document with a person who embraces a
‘Clintonesque’ personality,”says Dave Powelson,
CEO of TRI-R Systems.
It pays off financially
“I’ve always put principle before profit,” says
John Bianchi, CEO of Frontier Gunleather.
“Principles in the short term guarantee profits
in the long term.”
Sure, I know it’s not always financially rewarding
to do what’s right. It’s not easy to be the person
you’d like to be or as one person put it, “the
person my dog thinks I am.”
You will easily find ways to cut costs and increase
the bottom line but you can also end up cutting
into your principles. Perhaps the financial payoff
is that you stay in business with a good reputation.
“We had consultants reviewing our business
several times over the years and they’d always
report that ‘You are overstaffed.’We did hire too
much help and that costs us. But that followed
our two guiding principles: provide quality care
and put what was best for our patients first. Our
pay was self-satisfaction,” says Dr. Kelvin Kesler, Chief of Ft. Collins Women’s Clinic.
It keeps you out of jail
People choose to do the right thing because it fits
their self-image or they fear temporal or spiritual
punishment. It’s like the line in the old movie
Rogue River,
{ SYNOPSIS: You can’t outrun family
REVIEW: From the opening scene, director Jourdan McClure had completely grasped the audience’s attention with a tattered and blood covered protagonist putting a gun to her head. As the scene fades to black, a single gunshot is heard and the audience feels as if they are in for a gruesome ride.
Mara, Michelle Page (Miss Congeniality 2), is driving to where her father had taken her many times in her youth, to the famed Rogue River in order to scatter his ashes into it. While there, a seemingly nice enough older gentleman named Jon, Bill Moseley (House of 1000 Corpses), kindly informs her that it is unlawful to do so and he walks her back to her car, which has been towed leaving her stranded. He offers to take her into town, but must stop by to check on his terminally ill wife Lea, Lucinda Jenney (Rainman and Thelma & Louise), first. This is where the film’s oddness begins to creep in, enhanced by the more than adequate soundtrack.
Jon and his wife live deep off the beaten path, far from town and it’s obvious that Mara is somewhat concerned. At the home, Jon invites Mara in to meet Lea and she hesitantly accepts. Lea learns of Mara plans to stay at a motel in town and invites her to spend the night with them instead, which Mara accepts.
After dinner, in one of the goriest scenes of the movie, Mara mishandles a plate while handing it to Lea and it shatters on the floor. Mara makes an attempt to pick up the large sharp pieces and Lea firmly grabs hold of Mara’s hand, inadvertently causing (and maybe even forcing) her to slice her palm wide open. The following scene is even more disturbing with Jon holding Mara down while Lea stitches up the gapping and glistening wound. It has now become clear to the audience that this couple is considerably more than just whacked.
After awakening to Jon, standing at the foot of her bed clad only in underwear, Mara is more than just a little freaked, especially when Jon informs her that he has been talking to her father’s ashes and just watching her sleep. She decides to make a break for it, gathers her things and begins walking down the desolate highway. Jon comes out of the shadows, sneaks up behind her and strikes the back of her head with the butt of his rifle, rendering her unconscious. When she awakes, back in the home’s bed, she finds her ankles locked tightly by a leather strap and realizes that she is now being held against her will.
Throughout the rest of the film she is chronically tormented (not even close to the Hostel series) and forced into a demented sexual act with an unconscious fellow captive that is being kept in a basement trunk. Eventually she escapes; we know that from the beginning of the film, and the predictable woman running barefoot through the woods ensues before she goes on to inflict retribution in a half-hearted take on the movie I Spit on Your Grave.
While the film generates and maintains suspense all the way up until the final credits, it never seems to let the ride hit its peak and a viewer won’t realize this until the end.
The casting was certainly there, however, the limited dialogue coupled with the actors not fully conveying the character they portrayed makes this film mediocre at best. For example, Mara, finding herself in a terrifying situation that would typically cause anyone to basically go off the deep end, seemed to only be able to muster a few whimper filled tears which weren’t all that believable. Bill Moseley, and maybe this opinion is due to his similar cast type of roles, was fine as a yelling and sometimes hapless, bordering stupid, would be kidnapper. But, he could have easily enhanced the role, making the character much more chilling. Lucinda Jenney, in my opinion, stole the show with her quirky irrational actions and chemotherapy thinned hair giving her the impression that she was some sort of wicked old witch.
As far as cinematography is concerned, specifically, the camera shots from the floor height looking back down a hallway were impressive and fully implied fear. But, there were too few to maintain the terror and therefore, the fright was not fully harbored.
The set choice was well considered and deserves mentioning, but Rogue River certainly had the potential to be a much better film. While it may appeal to hardcore fans of the subgenre, most horror seeking fans will probably find it hard to sit through and might end up looking for the stop button.}
“Every man is a potential criminal, only
fear stops him.”
The fact is, the higher you go up, the more
freedom and power you have. With that comes
self-pride in accomplishment and feeling good
about what you’ve done. That’s all good and
normal. When taken to the extreme, it becomes
bad. Extreme means “I’m special, I’m different,
the same rules no longer apply to me. I have a
right to get away with more—just look at who
I am.” This kind of look-down-your-nose-
superiority may work in Hollywood but not in
the real world.
It is probably the nature of people to do what they
can get away with. Comedienne Chris Rock puts
it, “A man is basically as faithful as his options.”
And at the top of the skyscraper, you can get
away with more. But don’t. It’s back to your
standard every day. You get more options
(mental and monetary) as CEO. Be careful how
you take them. You can go to jail.
Michael Wise, CEO for the former Silverado
Banking who was sentenced to 3-years in a
federal prison camp after pleading guilty
to stealing $8.75 million from investors is
quoted in the
Denver Post, “I’ve been blessed,
with a lot of talent and people who trusted me
…I misused both of them.”
Do not give yourself the permission to be even a
little questionable– despite the option to do so.
As some historian put it, “Empires cracked
before they crumbled. Even when the first
cracks seemed easily mended.”
Good people will be willing to work with you
In business, we generally have options in terms of
whom we choose to do business with. “If I’m
dealing with someone I sense lacks integrity, I
distance myself quickly. If they work for me they
don’t last long. Integrity is fundamental to our
corporate culture,” says Ted Wright, CEO of Ampersand.
Does it take longer than a second to answer
whether, if given a choice, you’d work for
someone who demonstrates integrity over
someone questionable? Well, the same goes
for who would work for you.
If the boss’ motive, character, and ability are
something you don’t respect, quit. If you
have a subordinate who has a motive,
character, or ability you can’t accept, fire
him or her.
— Curt Carter, ‘Carter’s Law’
CEO Gulbransen Inc. and America Inc.
There was a sign on one publisher’s wall for years,
“We rip off the other guy and pass the savings on
to you.” Now do you think that was a successful
recruiting poster?
This is a biggee. If you don’t have good people
working for you, you will fail despite your effort,
intelligence, actions, etc. Good people don’t work
for bad bosses (at least not for long). If you are a
boss who’s experienced recent success and you
think you “hold a hot hand” and can therefore
slip and slide a little because of your “power,”
you will eventually find out differently.
Power comes from integrity
Power is duty that comes from integrity.
The truth is that at the CEO level there are many
opportunities to do wrong. The CEO has a very
long leash. There’s little scrutiny above that
level in many business situations.
And when you clearly have the option—but choose
not to take it—you have personal power because of
how you handled yourself and people will see,
understand, and respond accordingly.
We like movies with some version of a hero
overcoming a hurdle—a time where he could lie,
cheat, or steal—but instead he ends up more
powerful because of not doing it. Well, that
opportunity comes to you every day to be a hero at the office.
“People felt I’d be fair and compassionate. And I
got devoted employees because of it. I didn’t
need to worry about standing in the doorway at
5:00 and be trampled by exiting employees,” says
Dr. Kelvin Kesler, Chief of Ft. Collins Women’s Clinic.
(Author’s Note: Throughout this chapter, I’ve
pretty liberally interchanged words here such as
integrity, ethics, character, values, and honesty.
I know the dictionary definition is different for
each but I’m going to continue interchanging
them because you get my point when I use them
that it’s all about being a good person. I could
even add moral, trustworthy, upright, authentic,
sincere, and “does the right thing.” Whatever
word you choose to use is fine—to describe
right or wrong—as long as you never try to
fool yourself.
You have to be truly true to yourself. As the CEO,
no matter how hard you try, you won’t please
everyone and some will feel you lack integrity.
That’s a price you pay for being in the spotlight.
You’ll have enemies. When they appear, listen to
what they criticize you for. Change if they are
right and be grateful for them—they help you
get better.
Integrity is the goal but not always the reality.
The fact is that sometimes integrity takes a back
seat to keeping a CEO going in the direction of
a target. More than one CEO has stepped over a
few marginal hurdles without spending 2 seconds
of thought on people he’s hurting. There is a lot
done “in the dark, not in the public light,” as one
CEO put it.
He explained, “A company starts up a project,
adds people, and builds up an infrastructure.
Then every 3-5 years they clip it off to make
it economically viable. They don’t spend a
lot of time thinking about the division full of
people who have to relocate or the 20-year
employee who’s losing her job. Companies
trim back and see what raises its ugly head.
The goal is to gain efficiencies. To get what
is good for them in the long term. They give
a financial package to people of six or nine
months for an early out, help to re-educate
them and so forth. It’s patchwork. They do it
because it’s demanded of them or there
would be an outrage.”
(But, on the one hand, you could make the case
that the smaller operation was shut down for
the common good of the bigger operation.
It can get pretty gray out there as you can tell.)
CEOs have superordinate goals. They don’t start
out to not be ethical. But with pressure from
outside sources, timing issues, things can start
to slip and slide. Unfortunately, there will always
be many times and many companies who do not
reward integrity if it gets in the way of getting
things done.
“The CEO is still a person. There is no such thing
as a perfect person. A CEO may slip from time to
time when he sees a chance to do something a
little unethical to help make things look better to
stockholders or whatever. One time I had a
supplier give me a pretty valuable gift but I gave
it right back to him. I didn’t want to be indebted
to him if things turned sour. To hell with it, do
what’s right, I always say,” says Ernie Howell,
retired president of WPM Systems. “You don’t
have to live with the stockholders or your
employees. You stay ethical more for yourself,
because you have to live with yourself….
There have always been con artists, in any field,
the only difference now is that they can just
communicate faster today.”
I was in Japan during their worst nuclear accident
in recent history. The television news carried
coverage of the Japanese company president
whose plant had caused the nuclear leak. He was
literally on his knees in front of his employees
asking for forgiveness, with the words, “We
apologize from the bottom of our hearts.” True,
it’s partially a cultural thing, but can you imagine
a U.S. president on his or her knees asking for
forgiveness? I don’t think so!
The same television show had an interview with a
U.S. company CEO who had been fired from his
highly visible, big company job, and was going to
head an Internet start-up. The reporter asked if
his departure had been a humbling experience.
He avoided the question so the reporter asked
again. After being pressed to answer, all the CEO
would admit was,“I do not wish to repeat the
experience. ” Known for his arrogance while
CEO, he continues it in his new venture.
These two individuals didn’t start out to do
anything questionable. Things happen. The
best you can do is to listen when the alarm
goes off in your head:
Every person is the architect of his or her own character.
Integrity—character—affects absolutely every
other part of your life.
It’s the one thing no one can take away, and we
can’t lose it unless we choose to.
This is your reality; your reputation is what others
think, but this is reality.
It’s the result of your own effort and endeavors;
no one gave it to you other than early exposure
from parents and society.
It’s the area to work on the most for it will serve
you the best (J. P. Morgan considered the best
bank collateral to be “character”).
To create something of value, you must be someone of value.
I have to, and you have to, be careful not to judge
—“there but for the grace of God go I” and “walk
a mile in my moccasins” are expressions that have
lasted for a reason. It’s our responsibility to
seek to understand, not judge.
However good you are, get better
As good as you are, check on what you need to
work on to get even better. You should try to get
better on every skill part of your job — try to improve the integrity side too.
It seems a little silly. You could say you have it or
you don’t. I know myself pretty well and I work
on being the person my dog thinks I am but I also
know I could be better. And in your heart I bet
you feel similarly.
“Most people who attain the CEO level have values
early on in their career. You can improve
management skills but integrity is one thing that has
to get stronger. At the end of the day, the other party
has to believe in and trust the other party. Trust is
most important with the CEO,” says Larry
Dickenson, senior vice president, of Boeing.
You can reinvent yourself every day (or every
month or everyyear) as necessary. You do not
have to rely on what has worked to date. You
can change frequently and still be yourself—
but always a better self!
And by changing yourself I don’t mean like Dustin
Hoffman quipped, “I want to be as I always
envisioned myself to be: taller, smaller nose,
handsome, better teeth.”
Everyone needs periodic review. “As you get older
you have more information about yourself and
what you’re good at,” says John Sculley, former
CEO of Apple. Don’t wait until you’re older,
have more time, have a problem, or a “change in
life.” Do it now.
First you have to do a little self-reflection. If you
wait until you are at the top to try to be self-
reflective, you won’t be able to because you’ve
not developed the habit. Or more likely you won’t
want to because you don’t want to “jinx what got
me here” as one CEO put it. (You might want to
review these **)
Think of five important situations you’ve been involved with recently
that turned out “just okay,” not “great.” Isolate each one and
ask yourself:
How could I have handled that better?
Where did I disappoint myself a little?
What negative impact did I have on people and what can I do
about that now?
What do I want to remember when it happens again so I handle
it better?
What can I do about it now?
Sound like beating yourself up? Wrong. Sound like a waste of
time? Wrong.
I just took a recent situation that happened in my own life through
these questions. What I learned about it upon self-reflection: I
should have kept emotional reaction out of it. I shouldn’t have listened
to other parties with an “agenda”. I’m a little embarrassed
that others saw me “less than the image I like people to see.” I now
have an enemy, at least temporarily, until I fix it. In hindsight I
would not have done this and instead engaged with a more open
point of view with the person involved. What I want to remember
next time is not to be so high and mighty about how right I was because
I wasn’t as right as I thought I was! And what I have to do
about it now is swallow my pride and apologize.
The higher the altitude, the lower the feedback. Self-reflection
is to provide your own tough feedback before you get it from others.
I, like you, hate to disappoint myself so by doing this little exercise,
I’ve thought it through with enough intensity that I will likely
not repeat it. Or if I do, I’ll catch and correct earlier on. (For those
curious about the situation that I didn’t handle well, no, I’m not
going to tell you any more!)
You can do self-reflection on your drive to the office, in between
appointments, while resting after exercise, or any other time you
have 5 minutes of concentrated thought to focus with.
Simply decide what’s right for you. Write it down, date it, keep it.
Refer to it later. (Don’t turn the page and just make a mental note.
Do it now. It won’t take that long. You can do it again when you have
more time. Someday is right now.)
“Every year I go off to the mountains in Utah and revisit what is
important to me. I write it down. I carry it around in my briefcase,
put it by my phone on my desk, share it with people I value. I ‘declare’
myself and basically say ‘judge me’ against what I say. I’ve
done this for 10 years. It’s made me grow and have more insight into myself. Every year I make revisions but I’m the same essential person.
The way to authenticity is to work at understanding where you
are. Network with people who help you develop insight into yourself.
I use a graphologist, a retired CEO 80 years old, and some
friends and family. I periodically check in with them. I’m alert to
their insights. Once I declare it, I feel like the emperor with no
clothes. I’m obligated to keep at it,” says Doug Conant, President of
Nabisco Foods Company. “I initially didn’t share my goals with
people but now I do. I’ve found it helps me live up to them.”
As I wrote earlier, ethics is a word that is frequently brought up.
There’s the dictionary definition of the word: a principle of right
or good conduct. And then there is Bill Daniels’, CEO of Daniels
Cablevision, working definition, “If you make a deal and it doesn’t
feel right chances are it’s unethical.” Bill, who was frequently on the
business magazine’s income lists of the “top 400” in the country,
proudly gave me a copy of his company’s code of conduct since
1958. Although written as the company code, I’ve rewritten it for a
personal code:
1. I will exemplify the highest standards of honesty, integrity, and
personal conduct, and adhere to all legal and ethical principles.
2. I will deal with all constituents in an honest, courteous, respectful,
and polite manner.
3. I will work with all in an honest, civil manner, and will show
respect to my colleagues and to their opinions.
4. I will not knowingly disseminate false or misleading information
and will act promptly to correct any erroneous communications
for which I am responsible.
5. I will not engage in practices which corrupt the industries I
serve or damage the business community.
6. I will scrupulously safeguard the right of privacy of present,
former, and prospective associates and treat information obtained
in a confidential manner.
7. I will base my professional principles on the fundamental
value and dignity of the individual.
8. I will take responsibility for my actions.
“Can you do business without this code of ethics?” I asked
Daniels. “Yes, but not for long. Anyone who does not live up to his
integrity, ethics, and character will eventually be found out. Can you
learn to be better at it? The answer to that is yes.”
The purpose of the self-reflection questions earlier is to give you
experience in shaping your personal code. Then write it down.
A couple of chiefs let me share theirs with you:
It is my continuing resolve to be:
Financially secure and independent of outside influence.
A source of positive influence and example with those I meet.
Confident all friends will be served and cared for according
to their needs and my abilities.
Vigilant that my business and personal affairs are conducted
in a manner which will enrich those involved.
Balance in my business and personal goals so each will be
successful and fulfilled.
— John Krebbs
CEO, Parker Album Company
(Note: When Krebbs gave me this I wanted to use it but wanted
his permission to attribute it to him. “Yes, use my name, I’m proud
of it. It took me five years to come up with it and I’ve stuck by it
for twenty years.”)
My mission is to raise my family, teach my children, lead my
organization, be a good friend, feel good about myself, continue
to grow, and help others to grow.
To be bold in my pursuits, but balance courage and consideration.
To be a great companion to my wife, love her and care
for her, not caretake her.
To provide a home that is loving and caring and mentors interdependence.
To have good friends to share our lives with.
To always keep learning. To be responsible and accountable
to me first, and society second.
And finally, to live so when my children think of Fairness,
Caring, and Integrity…they think of me.
— Michael Trufant,
CEO, G&M Marine Inc.
And one CEO’s code of conduct was simply, “I put myself in the
other person’s shoes. It’s my constant compass.”
“We put our values down on one sheet of paper, enclose them in
plastic and keep them on our desks. We eat our sandwiches on it.
We
post them at the workplace. And I put my support behind it. Any time
we send a message that is different than on the statement people tell
me about it. Some companies have strong cultures and some have
weak cultures. The CEO decides which it’s going to be. People want
to be part of an organization with a strong culture they can commit
to,” says Sam Ginn, Chairman, of Vodafone Airtouch. At the Frank
Russell Company, they laser their business code into a wood cube:
We value integrity, in an environment of mutual trust and
respect, including fairness, teamwork, tolerance, family,
and community, in our process of providing added value to
our clients We value our associates, families and clients, who are critical
to our success. We especially appreciate our associates’
commitment to the Company, and in return seek to provide
opportunities for them to develop.
We require honest profitability for continued success, and we
reward our associates accordingly. We seek to exceed client
expectations. We aspire to a higher set of values than required
by law.
A code of ethics can be personal one or it can be corporate. The
point is to have one that works personally and professionally for you.
Think carefully, purposefully, and seriously about what really
matters to you—for your own growth and development
“A couple of weeks ago I went through a re-evaluation: where I
am and what I’m doing. I found I’m extremely happy, and satisfied.
I value and enjoy life and my friends, “says John Krebbs, CEO of
Parker Album Company. If you’re lucky, you may come up with a
similar conclusion but I want you to go through the exercise to
check it out. (Remember, he’s one of the people who had written
down a code. You’re more likely to meet it if you know what it is and
can refer to it on a regular basis.)
There is no separation, in my opinion, between who we are at
work and who we are away from work—so work on improving both.
Conduct yourself in a manner that if whatever you say or do
gets back to your wife, children, parents, grandparents,
friends, parish priest, etc., you’re okay with it. If you “spit
up” on yourself do not hesitate to apologize to those you offended,
hurt, or humiliated.
— Ron Brown
CEO, Maximation
Live your code: where you falter, alter
Be self-disciplined to the extreme when it comes to living your
code. Any honest self-evaluation results in areas for development so
do something about your weaknesses. Where you falter, alter.
You wouldn’t be reading this book if you didn’t have the goal to
be better. Like a lot of things in life, it’s not how talented you are, it’s
deciding what you want and wanting it bad enough to be self-disciplined
in getting it.
Every day I get the difficult things done first thing in
the morning.
— Rick Pitino
Boston Celtics coach
The ABC news show 20/20 reported on a nationwide study that
determined self-control was an indicator of success. Previously it
was thought that self-esteem was the key success factor. But no, it’s
self-discipline.
The study concluded that self-esteem comes out of self-discipline.
Self esteem, like self-discipline is one of those personality
traits prevalent in effective CEOs. You feel good about yourself
when you’ve accomplished something and you accomplish something
through self-discipline.
You and I both know we are more capable than we act on many
occasions. If we will discipline ourselves to go further, faster, we
can do more. A good foot racer runs past the finish line. When you
run through the goal, not to it, you won’t fall short of it. Like anything
in life: If you go on, you win. If you stop, you lose.
The CEO test—a crisis
The real test of integrity is when something goes wrong. A
crisis. Or, to put it nicely, a nonroutine situation. There is no better way to observe someone than during a crisis. If you change
your integrity when times are bad, you had no integrity to begin
with.
As one CEO put it, “set them to simmer and take off the scum.”
A crisis is where your character really shows up. The test isn’t
during the good times where you’re just keeping a steady helm in
the storm. The behavior you exhibit during a crisis—whether you
panic or cave or play a little dirty—that’s what people look at as the
real person.
“A crisis is when you are challenged the most. You grow the
most. And you find out who you really are. How you behave at
those times is as important as what you do today or every day,”
says Leo Kiely, CEO of Coors. “People won’t work for submarine
captains.”
The CEO must have the ability to stay on deck while the wind
is blowing at gale force.
— Thome Matisz
CEO, Solotec
People with an ethical reputation can guide others through
a crisis. Those without, simply won’t be trusted and therefore
cannot get others to follow them to turn things around. Even
as the CEO, in a crisis, you have to rely on others, put faith
in others. And, those others will only be reliable if they feel
you are reliable.
There are varying levels of crisis. From losing a major customer,
to finding out the computer failed and you’ve gone offline, or your
health insurance company goes bankrupt and in 30 days your employees
will be out of coverage. (One CEO described a crisis situation
he was in, “I felt like I was in deep water and was caught in a
wave in a cave.”)
Then there is the manufacturing plant that blows up, or the food
product that was tainted or the airplane crash, or someone shoots up
the workplace. (“Foxhole religion,” is what Jack Falvey CEO, calls
it. “Leaders have a better prayer life.”)
You can’t control 99 percent of the stuff in business life. There
are steps to deal with in a crisis which I will lay out. The steps, although
important, aren’t as important as the tone and manner in
which you carry them out. The mantle of integrity must pervade in
every single detail in every way.
Take charge. You must call the shots. You can direct a public
relations person or vice president to help relay information to
the media, public, shareholders, whomever—just remember
you are in charge and responsible for the crisis management,
not anyone else. “When things are down you have to be out in
front. You’re the captain, it’s your problem,” says Lee Roberts,
FileNET
Choose someone to collect information. You need to have as
much available data as possible to make decisions. Few crises
start at the CEO level, but rather way down the line. You don’t
have a lot of control but you can have lots of information.
Ensure the crisis is over. The CEO usually cannot fix the problem
directly and most likely doesn’t even have the technical
knowledge to know what needs to be done. Hopefully, the
frontline workers are trained well enough and have the attitude
of integrity, inspired by the CEO, to do the right thing and get
the situation resolved or at least under control as efficiently
and effectively as possible.
Assess damage. As soon as possible review the ramifications of
all parties involved.
Delegate who is the person to develop the recovery plan. You
want someone with integrity as we’re discussing in this chapter.
At this time, more than ever, you need someone who will “keep
his or her head about them when others are losing theirs.”
Be visible. Above all, don’t become paralyzed with fear about
whether what you’re doing is right. Go out and show concern
and compassion. While the frontline troops are fixing the problem,
you must be boosting their morale, comforting families,
and letting everyone know that this is a leader and an organization
that cares about its employees and their welfare and will be
with them in a time of crisis.
That’s a more formal crisis management approach but all day
little ones pop up that require the CEO’s intuitive creativity. If
you truly trust and understand your integrity, you’re able to use it
in emergency situations intuitively. When your 6-year-old falls off
his bicycle, you don’t race to the library to pick up a book or search
the net to decide what to do. You react instantly and you react
intuitively.
Similar minibusiness crisis occur all day long. You don’t know
when one of them is going to occur and at the time you experience
it you react with the right call that comes from your character. So
you: (1) gather facts, (2) get your mind over the fact you’ll never
have enough facts, (3) take the shortest amount of time for #1 and
#2, and (4) then do it—act!
One CEO gathered his legal team in a borrowed conference
room, threw a key onto the center of the table, and said, “This is
the key to the restroom. After we figure out this problem, who’s
going to do what, when’s it going to be done, what will be the cost,
you can have it.” Two and a half hours later the plan was on the
white board.
Michael Trufant, CEO of G&M Marine Inc., offered his five-step
approach to dealing with a “test”:
1. Keep your head when others are losing theirs (credited to
Kipling).
2. Be strategic, unless the building is on fire, and take the time to
think beyond the first steps and consider the good and bad
consequences of action.
3. Maintain a broad perspective over time versus looking at an
“event” in time. (Something he learned from his father.)
4. Have faith and do the right thing which is usually the easiest
to know, yet often hard to do.
5. Communicate well: keep a cool head, think strategically,
keep perspective, decide on the right thing to do…and communicate
all of this to those to whom it is important and
relevant to know.
Craig Watson, Vice President of FMC, says, “I like the Marine
Corps definition of integrity: doing the right thing when no one’s
looking. Then when a crisis hits—something that tests whether you
believe the end justifies the means—you’re face-to-face with your
values that you’re supposed to hold sacrosanct. Some additional
steps: (1) since you understand your deeply held values, (2) use this
understanding to rank order what’s important in a given situation,
(3) if you have to give something up in the process of dealing with
a crisis, start at the bottom of the list.”
For life to be meaningful you must have a challenge. It feels
satisfying to overcome a crisis and it gives you strength for the
next time.
Sometimes you’re going to lose.
Regardless of preparation, effort, and good intent, you don’t always achieve the outcome you desire. That’s another crisis, when
you lose.
For most CEOs if you aren’t winning, you’re miserable. And it’s
little consolation that losing makes you better. But it does. Losing is
Nothing but education
The first step to something better
Closer to victory the next time…if you turn up the 1000
percent effort
And besides “winning” is easy and you don’t need easy!
You can temporarily feel a little sad about things not working
as you hoped. But you just keep going. That’s another test of integrity,
when you get knocked down, do you get back up? Again,
and again, and again, as necessary? “I remember a guy I counted
on who was corrupt. I can still see him as he drove out of town in
a yellow Porsche owing $90,000 in unpaid bills that I had to pay,”
says one CEO. “Yeah, I feel a little sad about that but we had to
keep going.”
Terry Bradshaw asked John Elway, former quarterback for the
Denver Broncos, if he learned more from his losses or his wins.
“Losing the Super Bowls made me mentally tougher and makes the
win that much more special.” As another sports legend put it, Rick
Pitino, “Losing is fertilizer for my growth.”
We know that but it still is miserable while it’s happening.
“I had set up a $48 million contract with Moscow. It was 2 years
of effort, building trust and getting to know the right people. I had
the solution to their problem. My partner in the deal came over for
the final meeting. He blew it. Two years worth of work wiped out,”
says Jim McBride, CEO of ATMO. “I took him to the airport to
send him home the next morning at 5 a.m. I admit, I was totally inebriated. The taxi driver looked at me and said ‘you start somewhat
early for an American.’ If you just lost $48 million wouldn’t you
get drunk?” I said, “Yeah, I guess so,” he said.
How you lose is another test of character. So when you have a
setback, crisis, or a failure, don’t be a jerk:
Don’t be overly convinced of your own importance.
Don’t think you are the “exception to the rule” in doing
whatever you feel like.
Don’t act only to please yourself.
Don’t break your word.
Don’t be dishonest.
1
Don’t be mean or nasty.
Don’t kick people in the face anywhere along the way.
Don’t yell and scream.
Don’t embarrass others.
Don’t turn supporters into road kill when the going gets tough.
Don’t be arrogant no matter how much of a right you think you
have to be arrogant.
Don’t get good at being bad.
If you follow these steps, you still might make it to the top but it
cuts your shelf life down in staying there. And you better have very
good people who mend a lot of fences for you.
Addressing 800 lawyers at the Waldorf Astoria, Jerry Spence
said, “Don’t act like me. Don’t act like someone you know. Be
yourself, unless you’re an asshole.” (All I can say is, pretty good
advice!)
Final advice on integrity: Exceed other’s expectations.
When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost,
something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost.
— German motto
NOTE 1 Did you know you can go to jail for these dishonest acts:
-5 years: For exaggerating your symptoms to a doctor so that your insurance
company will pay for a checkup it wouldn’t otherwise cover.
-10 years: For taking a confidential list of your firm’s clients and their phone
numbers with you to a new job.
-1 year: For copying a friend’s computer game instead of buying it yourself.
-5 years: For eavesdropping on your neighbor’s cordless phone conversation
and then gossip about what you heard.
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Warren Buffett
Chairman and CEO—Berkshire Hathaway
Advice for young women: “You do the same thing a male will do. You follow your passions. You find something you love. The truth is, so few people really jump on their jobs, you really will stand out more than you think. You will get noticed if you really go for it.”
Mary Barra
CEO—General Motors
Do something you are passionate about, do something you love. If you are doing something you are passionate about, you are just naturally going to succeed, and a lot of other things will happen that you don’t need to worry about. There are so many opportunities and choices that women can make or anyone can make about what they do. Do something you are passionate about. Life is too short.
Marc Andreessen
Co-Founder—Andreessen Horowitz
From Steve Martin, in his amazing book Born Standing Up: "Be so good they can’t ignore you."
Helena Foulkes
Executive Vice President—CVS Caremark Corporation
So I love to run. I like to run long distances. And part of it for me is sort of the joy of feeling the pain and the grit and knowing you have to dig deep. And I think a lot of times making business decision is like being a marathoner. In other words, you know what the finish line is that you really want to get to but, along the way, it’s not always pure joy. There are really hard moments. But if you keep your eye on the prize, it’s part of what drives you to get there.
