A victory for business ethics

I'm surprised at my own emotions. "Uncontrollable elation", I told my boss in an instant message.

His hubris brought him down. And despite all his impressive contributions, I cannot be sad.

Profits and stock price are only one piece of a balanced scorecard, and no more important than how we behave as ethical business people, and how we treat the other human beings working by our side. Profit growth guarantees the future of those people, while their ongoing well-being is guaranteed by daily ethical behavior, including respect, compassion, and following rules of conduct. This is what’s needed to balance present with future and encourage reasonable growth through a healthy workforce.

For 5 years I've admired my CEO for his tremendous skills in operational management and strategic acquisitions. He is exceptionally well qualified for the role, with one obvious exception. The People Factor. His ethical violations show his arrogance and lack of respect for others. His $40m+ bonuses during times of layoff show his lack of compassion for others. He has shifted the compensation from rank and file to senior executives dramatically, and seen loyalty and employee satisfaction plummet under his leadership.

I remember hearing the stories of former HP CEO Lou Platt flying in economy class and eating in the cafeteria. He was a legend for his personable style and support of a happy workforce, which he saw as a crucial ingredient to growth through delighting customers. Loyalty in those days was renowned, and HP was on all Best-Place-To-Work lists. Times have changed since Lou’s days, and the American worker has to accept adjustments to globalisation. But we do not have to accept adjustments to our fundamental values of respect and integrity.

Our challenge is to find a CEO who can balance both profits and people, a person willing to embrace the balanced values of the HP Way:

We have trust and respect for individuals. 
We focus on a high level of achievement and contribution.
We conduct our business with uncompromising integrity.
We achieve our common objectives through teamwork.
We encourage flexibility and innovation.


Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)