What’s in a word?
They said they were being “aggressive” and “creative” but the jury decided it was illegal and they were “guilty.”
Yesterday I attended a breakfast meeting of FCD, Forum for Corporate Directors, www.fcdoc.org, to hear a presentation by John C. Hueston, an attorney with Irell & Manella LLP, www.irell.com. John was the lead prosecutor in the trial of Jeffrey Skilling and Kenneth Lay of Enron.
There were two significant take aways that I wish to share with you. The first is to realize that everyone does what they do for a reason. It is important to be aware and pay special attention to their behavior as opposed to the words they use.
Let’s consider two of the more salient facts. Skilling resigned after six months in the position of CEO of Enron. Lay sold $70 milion of Enron stock. Both shared with their management people that things were “not good.” A few days later they told the press everything was fine. One of the core pillars of the government case was that the facts betrayed they had lied.
The prosecution did a masterful job of showing how the facts differed from their public statements and made it very clear and simple for the jury. Focus on peoples behavior to understand their motives.
The second take away is that quality communication is an absolute necessity in dealings with other people. When you read the actual letter that started the Enron legal saga, it screams “foul.” Lay got the letter describing the aggressive and creative accounting practices and passed it on to his advisors waiting for their recommendations. The attorneys and the accountants then proceeded to dance around the facts and figure out ways to protect the players and “their own huge fees.”
There was little or no concern for trust, respect, understanding or empathy for the investors. The result was a verdict of “guilty.” It was a similiar story in the case of Richard M. Nixon or Bill Clinton saying “It all depends on what “is” means.”
It’s easy to get wrapped up in all the details and convoluted versions of facts and figures or “he said, she said.” The bottom line is based on your behavior. Are people that know you or witness your behavior able to easily decide that they “trust and respect” you. Do you have understanding of yourself and others and does it include “empathy?”
“Two roads diverged in a wood and I - I took the one less traveled by and that has made all the difference.” Take time to reflect and evaluate which road you are going to take. It comes down to what and how you think, then say and ultimately, what you do (behavior.)
