Broken Business

PART VICONCLUDING THOUGHTS AND LEADERSHIPROADMAP

THE THIN LINE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL

One of the central messages of this book is that it is all too easy for individuals and organizations to drift across the integrity line separating winners and cheaters, good and evil, light and darkness. They can do so unwittingly and with the best of intentions and, as such, it is not always easy to distinguish between heroes and villains.

As I mentioned in the opening of the book, my formative experiences as a child in El Salvador have shaped my understanding of just how faint this line can sometimes be.

One of the most famous and revered El Salvadorians is newly canonised Archbishop Óscar Romero, who spoke out bravely and frequently against the widespread poverty, violence, and inequality that afflicted the country. He was one of the first prominent citizens to openly criticize the corruption of the country's legal system and would use his pulpit to tell stories of injustice and shed light on what was going on.

One day in 1980, he delivered a sermon in which he called on the soldiers of the country to stop carrying out the government's ongoing violations of human rights. The next day, he celebrated mass at a small chapel in a church-run hospital. After he finished his sermon, a red vehicle pulled up in front of the chapel, and a gunman emerged from the vehicle and fatally shot Romero in the heart before speeding off. It was a devastating shot that was heard all over the country and beyond. ...