Since 2009, banks have been fined $128 billion dollars in fines so……………………..

Here are my questions about all this, particularly in the wake if this past week’s Bank of America’s recent fine of $17 billion: 1. Where does the fine money go? Who/what gets it? How is it used? Whose accountable? 2. Why do these banks fight their wrongdoing in court? 3. I wonder how much money…

“Ethics and code of conduct will be THE training priorities for next 2-3 years.”

The research of NAVEX Global 2014 ethics and compliance report points this out. This finding should cause leaders to think about what are they doing about these two critical areas of employee and business development? Therefore consider: • If ethics is one of two key training priorities, what state is your ethics training in at…

Emotions and ethics really don’t mix!

How is it that people can 12-15 years of formal education and not have one class on emotional self control? For example, what’s temporary insanity in a court of law? It means someone let emotions control their behavior and now the court applies rational consequences for that behavior, as emotions out of control is no…

Perception is everything, isn’t it?

  It has been said that perceptions determine attitudes and attitudes determine behavior. Assuming this is true, then if I perceive that you are unethical, you are! Perceptions are neither right nor wrong they just are, and yet they have a profound impact on our buying habits, personal/professional relationships, etc. For example, if you walk…

Preach ethics in February, get a $7 billion fine in July.

  In the Forbes magazine interview on2/28/2014 on Corporate Leadership and Ethics, Citigroup CEO Michael Corbat is quoted: “As much as I have to say it, at appears even now—five years after a crisis in which the financial services industry shouldered its fair share of blame-There are some people that still don’t get it. For…

When compliance is complicit!…

  On July 1,2014, in the Risk and Compliance Journal, there was an article on the BNPE Bank scandal. Below is a short excerpt. “BNP Paribas SA prodded, sidelined and co-opted its compliance staff as the bank broke U.S. sanctions and hid massive Iran, Sudan and Cuba transactions from U.S. authorities, according to the bank’s…

Don’t you really train your people to be ”whistleblowers?”

There has been much written and commented on about whistleblowers, lawsuits, etc that I’m just a little confused. When a leader trains one’s employees in ethics and values, doesn’t the leader then expect his/her people to embody those values in thought and behavior? Yet when something that is questionable happens, and no leader is listens…

The “Just do it” ethics process.

I was in a workshop recently when I learned about a General in the US Army that got tired of his people always coming to him for a final decision on almost everything. He came up with four questions to answer when each is faced with a decision. Each person need to ask and answer…

Why do people try to “justify” their behavior?

I’m always amazed at what lengths some people go, to “justify” their behavior even though they know deep down inside that it was wrong or questionable at best. Why? Do they really think that what they did was o.k. or appropriate? People are trying to “get away” with something by rationalizing why they made that…

Power, Leadership and Ethics, Oh My!!

Power is an interesting concept in that: The more you have, the more you want; It’s addictive in that if I can make you do something once, I’ll make you do it again. The wrong type of power can distort, cheapen and destroy morale, productivity and ethics! There are two types of power for leaders…