Ethics: Could your company be the next Volkswagon?

by Salty Thomason, President, LeaderShift, LLC

The Volkswagon scandal will be a hot topic for many years to come and eventually be the subject of books, business magazine articles, TED Talks, and TV documentaries.  Today, there are endless questions with only a few answers.  What happened?  Who was responsible?  For how long did this really go on?  Stay tuned, the story will unfold and it will not be pretty.

The scandal will cost VW billions in fines, judgments, revenues, and legal fees.  Add to that the loss of trust from their current and potential customer base, shareholders, vendors, loss to dealers, and to thousands of VW employees worldwide.  This has already and will hurt a lot of people.

Even VW’s competitors will most likely suffer more regulatory burdens and customer scrutiny as a result.  Sure, Toyota, Ford, and GM may sell a few more vehicles as a result of VW’s fall from grace, but do you really want to see your competitor flame out like that?  Short term thinking:  Yes.  Long term thinking:  No.  It’s unsettling and puts a stain on the industry.

C-Level executives, board members, and shareholders of companies all over are asking themselves one question, “Could this happen to us?”  The answer is yes, it could.

What happened?  For a moment, let’s take the focus off the people at Volkswagon who cooked up this scheme.  I’m sure they will be identified quickly and dealt with accordingly by VW and/or whatever authorities have jurisdiction in these matters.

My guess is there are some ethical “bright spots” out there, individuals who knew something was wrong and blew a whistle, reporting their concerns to colleagues or superiors.  What happened to those folks?  Are they still with the company?  Did they get rewarded or punished for “doing the right thing”?  We’ll see if there were any “heroes”.

But, what about those individuals who were on the sidelines, perhaps not decision makers, who were aware of what was going on and remained silent?  How many (missed) opportunities were there for someone to point out that what was being discussed, proposed, and eventually implemented was just plain wrong?  Are there dozens of people in this category?  Hundreds?  Could there be more?

If you have ever worked in any organization, you have probably experienced or witnessed groupthink, compliance, going along, being a team player and not rocking the boat.  Maybe you are experiencing this right now?  If so, I wonder if your CEO, shareholders, or board of directors would want to know?  What would they think if they knew?  What would they do?

But in the end, it really comes down to what do YOU think?  What would YOU do?  Companies don’t have ethics or integrity, people do.

There may be a cost or risk to blowing the whistle, but my guess is those who knew what was going on at VW and remained silent are going to wind up paying a huge cost nevertheless.

Improving Northwest Harris County

The Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce is committed to support both the business community and the interests of the community-at-large in northwest Harris county. We have had this commitment for 36 years. An undeniable fact is that the success of this wonderful community has bred its own collection of challenges. And after a number of recent community meetings and individual conversations, I sense an unparallelled level of fear in the community. And some are capitalizing on it.

The Chamber of  Commerce has chosen to take on challenges that most chambers leave to others. While other chambers focus on tourism and collaborations with city government and/or management districts to battle blight and economic issues, we tackle these issues virtually solo. We work with our county and state leaders, but there are significant limits to what these entities can do for us as an unincorporated community. We will continue to forge ahead with our plans including these two projects:

* Green Medians – the Chamber has devoted numerous man hours and administrative resources to support this effort, and this project, under the visionary leadership of committee chair Barbara Schlattman,  has been one of our finest pursuits. Donations are still needed by the way: www.GreenMedians.org

* Community Redevelopment – The Chamber has been running through this maze for many years in an effort to uplift a sagging local economy and an aging infrastructure that has resulted in abandoned, empty buildings, a criminal element (massage parlors, gambling, grafitti, etc.)and a lowering of sales tax revenues in some areas. Its kind of like capping an oil spill. Our greatest progress, stacked on top of the good works of previous efforts, has been two studies that will result in specific recommendations for solutions. The Lone Star College System contracted TIPS Strategies to conduct a study of our northwest service area and generated some excellent recommendations. Then in January of this year, the Chamber worked to reorganize Renaissance 1960, a 501 c 3 non-profit devoted to community redevelopment along the FM 1960 corridor. Renaissance 1960 asssigned a new Board and hired Steve Spillette, an urban consultant, to identify real solutions to address FM 1960. Steve’s final report is not complete, but in the process we have learned of various organizational options that we as a community can pursue. Steve received support from Renaissance 1960 Board chair, Neal Rackleff, whose firm, Locke, Lord, Bissell and Lidell donated hours of Neal’s municipal legal expertise to this project. Neal lives in our area and is vested in positive solutions for our community.

A complete report of recommendations will be announced by Renaissance 1960 in late summer and then covered at the September 9th Chamber Luncheon meeting. Steve identified three distinct zones along the FM 1960 corridor: the west zone, the central zone and the east zone, each with its own unique characteristics that would benefit from one of several solutions. These “solutions” are funding mechanisms such as public improvement districts (PIDs), Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones (TIRZs), and federal and local grant programs. We will give priority to solutions that do not require taxing businesses, however some solutions may require some sacrifice. Renaissance 1960 cannot make any sweeping announcements at this time because of their need to check in with various stakeholders. Please be patient a while longer.

Having asked for patience, I think it is important to note that one thing this community does NOT need is another organization organized to work on these community development issues.  We need unity, we need collaboration and we need assertion that there are some things we as a community have the power to address and others that we do not. Those things within our sphere of influence are being tackled.

We have a lot to cherish in this community and not all of which were in place 30 years ago. Our arts culture has blossomed and we see progress weekly in our quest to have some of the best parks and greenways in the region. Have you noticed that we are becoming a regional destination for the arts and eco-tourism?  Just stay tuned.

www.HoustonNWChamber.org

www.GreenMedians.org

Bandit Signs Everywhere

Just in the last 2 weeks, the number of bandit signs has proliferated around the FM 1960 area. I phoned one violator today and he indicated that he was from out of state and was not aware of the law. He said that since everyone else was posting signs in the right of way, he assumed it was OK.

These illegal signs are like grafitti…if you leave it, it multiplies. Any citizen can pick up a throw away a sign in the right of way. If you are unsure of the legalities, email the Chamber and when enough caring citizens respond, we will request a bandit sign class to train bandit sign rangers. Just email ChamberInfo@HoustonNWChamber.org

To state it simply, the law prohibits any sign, other than those authorized by a government authority, to be placed in the right of way. The penalty when prosecuted is $500 per day per sign. This will add up quickly! While signs placed by candidates are allowed on private property with the owner’s permission, even campaign signs are not allowed in the right of way. Please candidates, pick up your signs now that the elections are over for now.

I have all networks except YouTube connected with ping

Stop the Signs

I should have a blog, so now I have one. I hope to use this space for ultimate good, although I reserve the right to editorialize. My blogs are not necessarily representattive of my employer, the Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce.

Over the last year or so, the Chamber has introduced several strategies to combat illegal signage in northwest Harris County. We have had two meetings with the then asst. district attorney reponsible for enforcement. Our strategy was to photograph illegal signs, being sure to document and capture in the photo the exact location and then email it to the asst attorney. This resulted in about a dozen active cases. Many of these have incurred fines, but the illegal posting of signs has continued. The word is not out yet on the street.

The key link for us was transferred to a new area in the County Attorney’s office and we have to establish a new relationship with our new liaison. In the meantime, the Chamber has collected a list of the citizens who took the Constable’s “Bandit Sign Training’ in 2008. We only have contact numbers for a few of them, so we hope others will surface and be willing to join our effort.

We seek a champion for this effort, but in the meantime, we move forward with this team of bandit sign zealots to curtail this problem. They do nothing to enhance the aesthetics or value of our community.