CHAPTER 64 BE ETHICAL
A former boss of mine, who was also the sponsor of one of the largest transformation programs we were running, got sacked for approving a six-figure contract with a consultancy who’d flown him around the world on a speaking tour. Everyone knew the deal was going to happen — especially the consultancy, who didn’t even submit the correct paperwork.
When I quizzed him on whether it was the right decision to employ the consultancy — ethically, this was my responsibility — he said that the value they offered far outweighed that of the other applicants, and given our current working relationship with them, it was too risky not to engage them for this larger piece of work.
All of that, of course, might have been true. They might have been the best option, providing the best people and delivering the most value. However, by sidestepping the process and accepting an all-expenses-paid trip, he had undermined his own integrity, which put all his actions under scrutiny.
It didn’t take the audit team long to uncover other issues including gifts, golf days and other trips. The consultancy hadn’t done anything other than demonstrate a very old-fashioned way of working (which is still alive and well in some businesses). My boss, though, had demonstrated a lack of ethics by putting himself before the organisation.
Ethical decisions start almost as soon as the project starts. Over the life of a project or program you will face severe ethical tests, so you should always start ...