Chapter 4
Rotten from the Core
Often the driving force behind a business, even a large one, rests with a core group of people. These are the people with the vision and the foresight to enthusiastically grow and push the business in new directions, which are often directly tied to the values, needs, wants and focus of the core group. The power of that core can be significant and have positive results. But when the personal needs and wants of a company's leaders become the primary driver in the business, the result often has disastrous financial outcomes. Business headlines have illustrated these failures time and again — occupational fraud, bankruptcy and corruption.
CBA Construction was a company dominated by a core group. CBA specialized in the engineering, design and construction of power, governmental, transportation, civil and industrial projects. Like many large construction companies, CBA was international with various divisions and focuses. As a complex company, CBA needed dynamic leadership to be successful. At CBA, that was driven by senior managers who understood the company, its clients and its markets. At the heart of CBA's leadership team were Jason Cunningham and Mark Nicholas.
Cunningham had served as CBA's CEO for several years. Although relatively new to the position, he had a powerful influence on the company. He recognized immediately that his personal success was tied to CBA and quickly took the reins of his new position and ...
