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Professional Ethics
« Previous EntriesDon’t manage impressions
Saturday, January 7th, 2012Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, I want to touch on a subject that’s been bugging me of late. Recently, I’ve been called upon to deal with a group of professionals who didn’t handle a sensitive situation particularly well. Their behavior offers a lesson that smart businesspeople would [...]
Believe!
Friday, December 23rd, 2011Every once in a while, a movie comes out that knocks my socks off. “Arthur Christmas” (produced by those lovely English lunatics who brought you “Chicken Run” and “Wallace & Grommit”) did just that. Oh, it was clever. We now know why you can’t find Santa’s workshop on Google Earth (underground tunnels), [...]
Physicians, heal somebody!
Monday, December 19th, 2011Our family had an interesting run with the medical profession last week. A particularly long-lasting bout of flu sent me to the local walk-in clinic. I actually had to sign an arbitration agreement before a doctor would even see me, for pity’s sake. When she finally did, she told me to take [...]
Stick to your guns!
Friday, December 2nd, 2011Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, I want to focus on an issue that can be of particular concern to professionals. For my example, let’s look at Dr. Conrad Murray, the physician who was recently convicted of the involuntary manslaughter of superstar Michael Jackson. The facts of this [...]
Disclose conflicts of interest
Saturday, October 15th, 2011Resuming my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, let’s rip and read from recent headlines. The Wall Street Journal is a wonderful source of information about businesses that let greed drag them right into expensive litigation. Today’s example comes from the banking industry - no surprise, I admit - but [...]
Get translations!
Monday, May 2nd, 2011Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, let’s nip across the pond, where Prince William has just married the lovely Duchess of Cambridge, nee Kate Middleton. The royal wedding has been much in the news, and it was a delight to listen to the festivities. Listening to NPR’s coverage [...]
What did David Sokol really do?
Friday, April 1st, 2011The financial world is abuzz with the news that David Sokol, heir presumptive to legendary investor Warren Buffett, has resigned from Berkshire Hathaway. According to news reports, Sokol initiated a meeting between the CEO of Lubrizol and Buffett as a preliminary step in a possible investment deal. He then started buying Lubrizol stock [...]
Is it ethical to send workers into a nuclear meltdown?
Thursday, March 17th, 2011The situation in Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant continues to deteriorate, with explosions in several reactors and radiation levels rising. As of this writing, a mere fifty workers remain at the plant, struggling to contain the disaster. I find myself wondering if it’s right to ask anyone to stay onsite and, simultaneously, [...]
Let’s improve civility in business, too
Monday, January 10th, 2011Last weekend’s shooting rampage in Arizona, in which six people were killed and fourteen others - including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords - were wounded, has sparked a firestorm of debate here in Washington. The question on everyone’s mind seems to be whether Jared Lee Loughner, the alleged shooter, was whipped into a violent frenzy [...]
Pay your people a fair wage
Friday, January 7th, 2011Continuing my Friday series on keeping your business out of court, let’s focus on a class action suit that’s pending against my favorite celebrity chef, Mario Batali. Full disclosure: I had the privilege of eating in Batali’s Babbo restaurant in New York a couple of years back, and briefly met the Maestro himself. He’s [...]
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