Scott McClellan’s lessons for business leaders

BETHESDA, MD.
June 12, 2008 12:01am

Former White House spokesman Scott McClellan’s recent mea culpa admitting to passing along lies to the American people can serve as an example for business leaders, suggests Stephen Goldman, a law professor at Catholic University of America and author of the new book, “Temptations in the Office: Ethical Choices and Legal Obligations” (Praeger Publishing June 2008).

“We all know that loyalty to your business is of critical importance,” says Mr. Goldman, “but loyalty is not the highest ethical value. Telling the truth is higher.”

(Stephen Goldman talks about business ethics in the wake of the McClellan revelations in today’s CVBT Audio Interview. Please click on the link below to listen or to download the MP3 audio file to your computer or iPod.)

Mr. Goldman says companies should make trust a central part of their operations.

“Where a company hasn’t made trust and honesty a central part of its brand, people will see the large temptations and be seduced by them,” Mr. Goldman says.

He also says that many businesses become embroiled in scandals of their own making by ignoring business ethics. “A company brings an ethical crisis upon itself either by tolerating behavior that simply shouldn’t be accepted or failing to take action when specific warning signs develop,” he says.