Tagged: corporate culture

Infusing Corporate Culture with Accountability

Infusing Corporate Culture with Accountability

If you are a fan of Simon Sinek, you will understand and probably agree with the thrust of this posting. Sinek is a great motivational and business speaker. Many of his observations are spot-on and I would urge you to review some – here are some samples (here, here, here, and here). Getting back to the importance of accountability in a corporation, let’s start with...

CCOs and Resources: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is!

CCOs and Resources: Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is!

The compliance profession is enjoying its moment of triumph. Chief compliance officers are earning substantial salaries and rewarded with high-level positions in the C-Suite and significant influence. CCOs are the hot commodities in the in the corporate governance world. It is an intoxicating time for compliance professionals. In this environment, CCOs have to be wary. CEOs and other corporate leaders know how to talk the...

Can Wells Fargo Fix its Defective Culture?  (Part I of III)

Can Wells Fargo Fix its Defective Culture? (Part I of III)

The more you learn about Wells Fargo’s culture problems, the more difficult the problems become. But you have to start somewhere, and assuming that Wells Fargo really is committed to addressing the serious problems they face, this will take a long time and a lot of work. Wells Fargo is really at the early stages of a massive remediation project. The board has essentially taken...

The Test for Bad Actors in a Bad Company

The Test for Bad Actors in a Bad Company

Some business people are “bad,” meaning they engage in misconduct and either feel no remorse or rationalize why their conduct is acceptable. In a company that embraces bad acting, breaking rules or cutting corners, bad actors are likely to flourish. A bad company is the breeding ground for bad actors. How do you define a “bad” company? We all know examples of bad companies that...

After Circling the Wagons: Wells Fargo’s CEO Finally Falls

After Circling the Wagons: Wells Fargo’s CEO Finally Falls

The Wells Fargo scandal represents a textbook case of compliance and culture failures. Recently, the scandal and Wells Fargo’s defensive crisis management strategy resulted in CEO Stumpf’s resignation. Stumpf’s demise was inevitable. He will go down in history as the only CEO of a major bank forced to resign in the aftermath of a public scandal. It is important to review what happened at Wells...

The Recalibration of Compliance: What is the Definition of Success?

We often hear a chorus of criticism relating to the compliance function. How do you define success? Some of this is the result of a political backlash. Chief compliance officers are the darlings in the corporate governance world, and there are forces aligned to challenge the importance of the compliance function. There are a number of internal political forces that want to undermine the growth...

Defining the Compliance Mission – More Than Just Preventing Violations

Defining the Compliance Mission – More Than Just Preventing Violations

I am not one to beg but I have decided I have nothing to lose here – please, when it comes to compliance, everyone has to adopt a new mantra. The purpose of compliance is not to prevent legal and code of conduct violations. Such a purpose is way too limited in scope and almost guarantees failure, because at one time or another, company employees...

The Important Distinction Between Legal and Business Ethics

The Important Distinction Between Legal and Business Ethics

We all know the jokes about lawyers – I have to repeat just one of them:  Q.  Why won’t sharks eat lawyers? A. Professional courtesy. The Chief Legal Officer is a vital player in a corporate compliance program. There is no question about this issue. However, lawyers can get a little defensive and insecure (no, really?) when they are not the center of attention, or viewed...