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Professional Ethics
« Previous EntriesWhy did HP give Mark Hurd a $37 million severance package?
Tuesday, August 10th, 2010When former CEO Mark Hurd resigned from Hewlett-Packard Co. last week, he joined a lengthy list of top business executives who have stepped down after being accused of personal ethical lapses. Of course, this isn’t HP’s only recent scandal. HP suffered considerable public embarrassment just a few years ago when its chairwoman, Patricia [...]
Is it ethical to overlook a colleague’s incompetence?
Thursday, July 22nd, 2010Let’s take a break from Mel Gibson and the BP oil spill to talk about an issue that may well raise its ugly head in your life sometime soon. Last week, The Washington Post reported in its “The Checkup” blog that a survey conducted by Massuchusetts General Hospital had revealed troubling results. According [...]
Why hasn’t Hearst Corp. helped Helen Thomas apologize?
Thursday, June 10th, 2010Helen Thomas used to be one of the most powerful people in Washington. The grande dame of the White House press corps played a starring role in five decades of Presidential press conferences. She was smart, tough, and articulate, and a worthy challenger to ten different Administrations - until she made some appalling [...]
So, how ethical are those “gotcha” journalists?
Friday, May 28th, 2010We’re taking a break from my Friday series on keeping your business out of court to talk about a question that’s been troubling me for a while. Earlier this week, I wrote about Duchess of York Sara Ferguson’s tacky efforts to profit from her personal connection to her former husband, Prince Andrew of Britain. [...]
Don’t make ethics an afterthought
Friday, May 14th, 2010Continuing my Friday series about keeping your business out of court, let’s discuss a mistake that all too many companies make. Here’s an example:
Minute Co. is a consulting firm dedicated to helping companies improve productivity through time-use analysis. Litigious Ink, a company that manufactures fountain pens, hires Minute Co. to recommend improvements [...]
Don’t play favorites with your employees
Saturday, April 24th, 2010Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, let’s talk about a legal risk that managers take all the time. Unless you’re a sole practitioner, your business has one or more employees and, if you’re human, you’re going to like some of them better than others. That’s fine, but unless [...]
Disclose and empathize
Friday, April 16th, 2010Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, let’s talk about something doctors are learning and business has yet to figure out. When something goes wrong and you injure a client or customer, empathy can be your best defense.
Doctors work hard to do a good job, but even the best doctors [...]
When it comes to international adoption, the press has it all wrong
Wednesday, April 14th, 2010Let’s get the disclaimers out of the way. I have two daughters, both adopted from Kazakhstan at the ripe old ages of five and nine respectively. They’re occasionally loud, rude, disrespectful, disobedient, quick to tattle, and messy. In other words, they’re kids. They’re also an absolute joy.
That may be why [...]
Speak simply
Friday, March 5th, 2010Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, let’s address a problem that plagues the customers and clients of many highly skilled professionals: the inability to understand what’s their professional advisors are saying to them.
One of the hallmarks of a profession is education in a specialized field and, with it, immersion in [...]
Tiger gets an A- from me … but maybe not from the media
Saturday, February 20th, 2010Tiger Woods did a lot of things right when he finally delivered his much-anticipated apology. He said a straightforward “I’m sorry” to his family, his fans, the children who idolize him, his PGA peers and his sponsors. He took responsibility for his actions, expressed appreciation to everyone who has supported him in the [...]
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