When Values Go Wildly Awry
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The financial crisis we are witnessing today was fed by greed, lack of leadership, lack of controls, and a whole lot more. All this has happened before. sometimes at some of the most well known companies in America. Sometimes, it is hard to remember that well-respected people were making all sorts of bad decisions, decisions that sometimes led to personal and business failure.
Archer Daniels Midland Company has been a well respected pillar of the chemical, food and agricultural community for a long time. Things were wrong there in the early nineties. ADM's story is important because it reminds us that, while things have gone wrong today what with the financial mess we are experiencing, they have gone wrong in the past as well. That this has gone on in the past is not a pretty reality exactly.
The story boils down to this: a president of a division at ADM was stealing from the company to the tune of about ten million dollars over some years. To cover his tracks, he made up a story about someone from abroad threatening his family - and called the FBI. The FBI investigated, and, to continue to cover his tracks, the president reveals a whole series of illegal indiscretions the company has made and that he was privy to: price-fixing on an international scale and theft of company funds on a large scale (Eichenwald,30).
The story is intriguing and interesting. The facts are proven. People went to jail. Careers were ruined. That's all well and good.
The message of all this, while blatant, is subtle at the same time. Let's call it the "slippery slope" we are all so used to.
At ADM a culture grew in which both theft and price-fixing were accepted. Everyone did it. No one objected. It appears that some people left, but not many. The FBI was astounded that one person would reveal so much - the president of a division, no less - and further, that no else in this very large scheme even considered saying "This is wrong, we've got to stop," much less called the FBI. Some of the players were internationally known business leaders with contacts very high in the federal government. OK, greed played a role. The "I deserve more - this is a good way to get it," mentality grew too large. Lots of people participated.
This book should be required reading for all sorts of managers. Business schools should require it. Why? Because it reminds us all how easy it is for things to go very wrong in the management of a company. It happened to ADM. It can happen to your company, or mine, as well.
Reference
Eichenwald, Kurt. The Informant. A True Story. Broadway Books. 2000.