Norman Augustine on Business Ethics

In 1992 Norman Augustine gave a talk on Business ethics. He started with this disclaimer, having been praised for his achievements and his character:

Thank you. It is indeed a pleasure to be here. I hope that I can live up to the expectations that have been created by that generous introduction. It makes me feel a little like my friend David Roderick, the former chairman of US Steel, who was once introduced to an audience as the most gifted businessman in the country evidenced by the fact that he "had made a million dollars in California oil."

When Dave came to the podium, he was a bit embarrassed. Those facts, he said, were essentially accurate, but it wasn’t oil, it was coal…and it wasn’t California, it was Pennsylvania…and it wasn’t a million…it was a hundred thousand…and it wasn’t he, it was his brother. And he didn’t make it, he lost it!

You can read his talk here. You can read more in Len Marella's In Search of Ethics: Conversations with Men and Women of Character

Comments

[Herb Ely]

I can see your point. maybe you will be a little less disheartened, if you know that i've long been an admirer of Norman Augustine. His understanding, ethics, and gentle humor have helped me on many occasion. Ten years after retirement as a US Army civilian, I still find myself referring to "Augsutine's Laws" as one of the best books of managerial wisdom that I've ever read.

[thebizofknowledge]

It's rather disheartening that we are so struck by an example such as this, where a leader in industry actually corrects exaggerations and misconceptions about himself. We tend to think businessmen have no code of ethics! How sad!