Last Friday, the financial markets were "shocked" to hear about the abrupt resignation of Hewlett Packard (HP) CEO Mark Hurd. After getting rid of a lot of jobs and remaking HP into a very profitable company Hurd was ousted for financial improprieties (giving excessive amounts of money to his alleged girlfriend) and a sensational sexual harassment allegation. I am sure his wife is not happy with this news.
We see examples every day of this type of behavior. Some say power corrupts, but this should not be an excuse for bad or illegal behavior behavior.
Leadership is about doing the right thing and acting with integrity. There is a big difference between doing things right and doing the right thing.. Why do some many leaders fail to understand this basic and fundamental truism? There is a book coming!
Why do some people feel they are above the law when it relates to ethics, integrity and doing the right thing? What if criminal penalties were mandatory for acts that are currently only incur civil liability? When big business and executives commit egregious crimes against society and employees, what is the deterrent? As history often shows, the cover up is often more serious than the crime.
Stay tuned...
Tony Samuel
