Nearly every day another scandal comes to light – a sports figure using performance-enhancing drugs, a politician taking bribes, a business defrauding customers. It’s enough to make people wonder if integrity and character are as extinct as the dinosaurs.
The latest example in the sports field is Olympic track champion Marion Jones. After denying doping allegations for years, she was finally forced to admit she had been lying. Home run king Barry Bonds and Yankee slugger Jason Giambi have been accused of using performance-enhancing drugs, and 2006 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis may lose his yellow jersey because of a positive drug test.
In the local political arena, former Clark County Commissioner Lynette Boggs is facing charges of lying on campaign reports about where she lived and using campaign funds to pay babysitting fees. She now faces two felony counts of perjury and filing false documents. If she goes to jail, she’ll join four other former Clark County commissioners now in federal prison (Dario Herrera, Erin Kenny, Mary Kincaid-Chancey and Lance Malone).
Business scandals have not slowed down much since Enron and Arthur Andersen made headlines in 2001. Lacy Thomas, former CEO of University Medical Center (UMC) in Las Vegas, is being investigated for allegedly awarding no-work contracts to friends back home in Chicago. Junior Johnson, whose Las Vegas-based company, PurchasePro, was involved in an accounting scandal in 2001, is on trial again, this time on charges of stock fraud, conspiracy, witness tampering and obstruction of justice.
What lessons can we learn from these sordid stories? It seems that the people involved were doing whatever they could to reach a goal – a sports championship, a political office, a large amount of money – and they were willing to sacrifice anything to get it. Unfortunately, one of the things they sacrificed was their integrity.
What consequences will they face? The International Olympic Committee is preparing to wipe Marion Jones’ name from the record books and strip her of all her championship medals. Barry Bonds’ achievements will have an asterisk placed next to them in baseball’s record books. If Lynette Boggs and Lacy Thomas are convicted, they face prison time.
The shame of being exposed as a criminal can even cost lives. J. Clifford Baxter, the former vice chairman of Enron, made close to $22 million by exercising stock options, but when the scandal broke, he committed suicide. One of the people implicated in the UMC contract investigation killed himself shortly before he was scheduled to testify to police.
These people were all exposed as being dishonest, but not everyone who cheats, lies or steals gets caught. However, the first lesson to be learned is that when you sacrifice your integrity to win, you’ve already lost. Even if you’re never found out, you’ll spend a lifetime looking over your shoulder and feeling guilty.
Companies like Enron, Arthur Andersen and WorldCom make headlines, but it’s important to realize that companies don’t make decisions – decisions are made by individual people who are faced with choices. People face choices every day that reflect their true character. It may be something small, like whether to take home office supplies, or something that will impact thousands of lives, such as draining the company’s retirement fund. Usually, people who end up making huge mistakes start out on a slippery slope of cheating “just a little bit” until it becomes a habit that leads them straight to disaster.
In a world full of dishonest business people, character and integrity can be your secret weapons. Mark S. Putnam of Global Ethics University puts it this way: “You have to decide to take the moral high ground even if you’re the only honest person in sight. An honestly run business is something you can leverage to your advantage. The knowledge that you deal fairly and honestly with your customers is a commodity that has significant value. Be proud of it. Hang your hat on it and make it your motto and signature.”
However, doing the right thing can sometimes cost you money in the short term, or put you at a temporary disadvantage with unscrupulous competitors. In these cases, it’s important to stand your ground and keep a firm grip on your principles.
Resolve today to carefully consider your business decisions with ethics in mind. In your heart, you probably know which choice is better, but if you need help making a decision, ask someone you respect for their advice. If you’re still in doubt, consult your Bible. It’s been a good business guide for centuries.