——The Avodah Institute's —– Faith & Work Blog

The “Occupy Wall Street” protests have gone viral, and are now occurring in many major cities and countries outside of the United States of America.

Photograph: Haydn

Tomorrow morning, I will be interviewed by the BBC for a weekend edition of “BBC World Service’s Heart and Soul” religion program. It will be about the “Occupy London” protest and the demonstrators  now based on the property of St Paul’s Cathedral in the City of London (London’s version of Wall Street).

The Occupy London version of Occupy Wall Street has its own unique dimensions, involving an unusual cast of characters actors, including the Occupy London demonstrators, the Stock Exchange, the City of London, the Church of England, and St. Paul’s Cathedral. And while it echoes many of the issues raised by Occupy Wall Street, it also has some different dimensions and topics that the media and the general public are debating, including: what role does/should the church play in this public conversation? What role should the financial community have toward Occupy?  Where does the government fit in all this? And more broadly, how does religion view wealth, wealth creation, wealth distribution, and the use of created wealth?

To be sure, many in the Occupy phenomenon are simply “professional protesters” and rabble rousers, happy to gather and cause social unrest whenever they can. Sadly, the volume of this circus sideshow risks overshadowing the Big Tent issues.

And those Big Tent issues are ones that any good citizen, business person, banker, and person of faith should care about. For instance: What role of public trust should we have in and expect from bankers and business? How do we reclaim healthy forms of capitalism and reform its deviant forms? What is the purpose of the financial services industry, and more broadly the modern corporation itself? Is it merely profit maximization, or is it the creation of goods and services, resulting in wealth and a better life for the common good? Or is it just to serve the interests of the so-called “1%”, the de facto ruling elite?

And what’s faith got to do with it? Some would say “nothing!” Yet others would say, “everything!”

Please join me as we enter the Big Tent and try to think about the real issues.

Tomorrow’s interview will be hosted by BBC religion reporter Jane Little.  I’m told we’ll be “exploring how the Occupy London protests have been handled by the Church of England, what this means for the church, and the issues it raises about the relationship between religion, politics and money.” On the panel, I’ll be joined by Ruth Gledhill, religion correspondent for The Times of London and Rev. George Pitcher, Anglican priest at St Bride’s, Fleet Street, and former public affairs secretary to the Archbishop of Canterbury.

So, here’s your task… if you were on the interview panel instead of me, what points would you  make? What questions would you ask? What assumptions would you challenge? What solutions would you offer?  Please comment below – right now! – and let us know your thinking. I’ll take your ideas into the interview studio with me tomorrow morning at 8:00AM eastern time. Thank you!

“Vision is everything”

“There is no ‘I’ in team”

“Everyone can be a leader”

Leadership advice like this is plentiful, cheap, and often a useless collection of platitudes. Yet now and then one comes across a real gem about leadership. Recently I received one of those gems, in the form of a short reflection on what constitutes leadership by a friend and great business leader himself, Russell Reynolds.

Russ is legendary in the executive search business as being the founder of the renowned Russell Reynolds Associates. Not satisfied to have one legacy achievement to look back on, he currently is the founder and chairman of RSR Partners , a thriving niche player in the search business for corporate directors and senior executives.
 
Here’s something Russ recently wrote on leadership:

I believe the first characteristic of any leader is to put other people’s interests ahead of his or her own. By this I mean you have to wake up in the morning and worry about doing “the right thing”. This means doing the right thing for your customers, your employees, and your stockholders.

Leaders of good public companies think about long-term results rather than quarterly earnings. They look people in the eye and are good listeners. They want to know what other people think. Leaders get out of their own office, and into the offices of their customers, suppliers, and investors. They lead to serve others, not themselves. A true leader makes sure other people are paid well before he thinks of himself. Excessive compensation is a sign of greed, not leadership. In my opinion, leaders put their families and their family’s well-being ahead of their business interests when realistically possible.

Leaders have confidence. They have to appear to be self-assured without being arrogant. They should be well-dressed, neat, clean, and well put together. They should have nice clothes but not be extravagant. Leaders must be able to express themselves in public speaking. If they are not good at it, they should take courses and get coaching.

Leaders should also be altruistic. Well-run companies should be good citizens of the community, their country and the world, by supporting worthwhile causes charitably, and encouraging their people to do the same thing. They should get involved politically, regardless of party affiliation, to express their views as part of a democracy. Having a faith is also helpful.

In addition to the above, leaders have to work harder, be well prepared for meetings, know more about their client than the client knows, and set an example for everyone else around them, which they want to follow. In other words, being a leader is not always easy and it is not always fun. Leaders are supportive of their people, their predecessors, and their successors. They are positive. While being realistic, great leaders motivate people by seeing the good and the positive in what they are doing. All of us spend most of our lives working in an office. It should be fun, enjoyable, and rewarding, and good leaders make that happen.

In these 376 words, Russ eloquently captures what others have deduced through research and practical experience, and expressed in best-selling books. For instance:

• Leadership guru Jim Collins in his book, Good to Great, speaks of a “Level V leader,” who is grounded in humility, and exhibits a tenacity and self-will that is focused on attaining the organization’s goals.
• AT&T executive Robert Greenleaf’s in his book Servant Leadership, argued for the contrarian idea that a real leader is a servant leader; one who focuses on serving his or her own people, thereby inverting the typical corporate organization chart.
• And in the best-selling book of all time, the Bible, we see the portrayal of the ultimate servant leader. In one the New Testament books, we read of how the one who had ultimate power and every right to demand servitude from his followers, chose instead to invert the power paradigm.  “Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power…”  The author the Gospel of John goes on to describe an extraordinary scene. Despite having all the power imaginable at his disposable, “he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” In ancient near-eastern times, foot-washing was the job of faceless low-level servants, akin maybe to the ladies and men who mop and clean the public toilets in roadside gas stations. The son of God came to serve, not be served.

 Our modern-day leaders – Reynolds, Collins, and Greenleaf – all know something crucial about authentic leadership. Real leaders are focused on others, on the well-being of others, the success of others, and the growth of others. In an era of inflated egos and celebrity CEOs, this message is easily lost. It is easy to conflate salary with self-worth. It is easy to become absorbed with one’s career instead of one’s character. It is easy to focus on one’s press instead of one’s people.

How to avoid these trappings of false leadership? Russ Reynolds may well offer us the key. Almost in passing, Reynolds observes, “Having a faith is also helpful.”

“Why is this Sunday different than others,” to paraphrase the ancient Passover Seder question. This Sunday is the 10th anniversary of 9/11. 

We will all be reflecting on 9/11 in our own ways. Some are drawn to it; others are repelled by it. Some vow never to forget; others trying to forget.  Whichever category you fall in, 9/11 remains painful.

In the 9/11 acts of violence we saw humanity at its worst. During the acts of rescue and recovery we saw humanity at its best.

As with any tragedy, healing comes slowly, and hope can be elusive. For many, their faith helps bring both healing and hope.

To offer you a fresh sense of hope, I share with you the below video performance of a poem.  The short video is called “Thank You for Everything,” based on a poem written by Michael Simon Hall, from the theatrical production “Pieces of Paper – Aspirations of 9/11.″ 

The poem (below) is recited in the video by various volunteer people and groups that served in the aftermath of 9/11, at St. Paul’s Chapel, the Salvation Army tent, Chelsea Piers, Point Thank You-West Side Highway, and by Clergy and Red Cross volunteers.  Author/director Michael Simon Hall created this video as a tribute to all 9/11 volunteers and to volunteers everywhere. 

9/11 conjures up many different memories for all of us. For me, this poem is very personal. I served as a chaplain at Ground Zero for nine months, based in St. Paul’s Chapel, working the nightshift on weekends. In the video, I am standing outside of the now peaceful gates surrounding the chapel. It was a violently different picture ten years ago, with the fallen Trade Towers and pieces of paper strewn all around…

As part of the 9/11 10th anniversary remembrance I had the privilege of being asked to give a 9/11 sermon at Witherspoon Presbyterian Church in Princeton, NJ. In addition to the video below, I invited you to listen to the sermon as well. Click here to listen to the 9/11 10th Anniversay Sermon at Witherspoon Presbyterian Church – Princeton, NJ.

This Sunday is different than any other. Faith offers hope.

Paper pieces
Falling down
Into our eyes

In our heart
This city breathes
Within us we move
To do something
What?

What can we do?

What will we do?

We will deliver boots and buckets and Socks and water
And listen and pray and hope
And feed and clothe and administer what we can.
What we can do What we can do
What we can do is change this
In some small way.
What we can do is not stand back.
What we do is to heal our own hearts.
To feel alive,
To feel a part of life,
To know we are alive,
That we can reach the future
A moment at a time.
We are reaching,
We are reaching out.
 Pieces of Paper
Going up
On walls.
And so we work.
We organize,
We communicate,
About things that are
Needed and wanted.
We do the simple,
The simple things we can.
We do something
To ease a suffering
In all of us.We are alive,
We are breathing,
Breathing,
Together.
We can change this.
We are changing this.
We can communicate.
We change.
Together, we change the condition of things.

Thank you.

Thank you,
For everything.

Excerpt from Pieces of Paper -Aspirations of 9/11 Michael Simon Hall 2011

Earlier this week I blogged on the recent spate of public school teacher cheating scandals and considered that in light of the recent Wall Street prosecutions for insider-trading (another form of cheating). And while the vast majority of public school teachers and workers in the financial sector are indeed honest people, these recent cheating discoveries in both sectors were very disturbing.

It did not bring me any more comfort to learn this week that the U.S. Navy just fired the commander of the USS Memphis, a nuclear submarine, and 10% of its crew for participating in a cheating ring on Navy examinations. Nor did it bring me any comfort to learn that Villanova Law School, part of a Catholic University, recently admitted cheating by its administrators who submitted false admissions data to the American Bar Association. At least Villanova, according to news reports, upon discovering their transgressions voluntarily reported it to the ABA. Yes, confession is good for the soul!

On the bright side, in both of these cases the authorities took swift and appropriate action. I wonder, however, whether the leaders in these organizations are pausing to consider if there is a wider spread issue or an underlying reason for each of these serious cheating breaches?  Perhaps we all ought to view this as a “shot across the bow” and consider the status of our own organizations…

“Everyone is a scumbag!” pronounced Rengan Rajaratnam in a secretly recorded phone conversation with his brother, Raj Rajaratnam, the former head of hedge fund Galleon Group (who is now awaiting sentencing for 14 counts of conspiracy and securities fraud). Rengan was referring to a McKinsey executive, also later indicted in the scandal. The “Galleon case” broke open a wide insider trading ring, that has implicated approximately three dozen business executives and traders, and spans from Wall Street to Silicon Valley, and touches blue chip organizations, as well as those at the margins of Wall Street.

Were these just a few isolated rogues? Are you shocked? It’s easy to sit on the outside and throw stones. But what do insiders think? In a 2007 poll, 2,500 Wall Street professionals were asked if they would use inside information to make a quick ten million dollars if there was a fifty percent probability of getting caught. Only seven percent said ‘yes’. If the probability of getting caught was zero percent, though, a whopping fifty-eight percent said that they would use the inside information. Perhaps, many would be tempted to agree with Rajaratnam in that everyone on Wall Street is a scumbag. Wow, who taught them that was okay? As such, I suppose many would be tempted to agree with Rajaratnam in that everyone on Wall Street is a scumbag.

Let’s jump shift for a moment to the world of education. That’s right, teaching, a long-respected and noble profession. One would imagine education and Wall Street to be worlds apart. Cynics would say that the unethical, shortcut-taking people go to Wall Street; the idealists go into teaching.

And yet in the past few months, the largest cheating scandal in American educational history has been uncovered in the school district of Atlanta. A state-run investigation of the school district found cheating on standardized exams in 44 of 56 elementary and middle schools investigated. That cheating occurs is no newsflash. But who is doing the cheating?

This cheating wasn’t orchestrated by the students, but by the teachers. That’s right, the teachers! Through the collusion of at least 178 teachers and 38 principals. The cheating that occurred ranged from giving students answers or sitting low-scoring students near the high-scoring ones in order for them to copy answers, to a group of teachers holding “test-changing parties.” Oh, and this is not just an Atlanta problem. Teacher cheating scandals have also come to light in other school districts: Michigan, Baltimore, and most recently, Houston. It has even occurred internationally. Still, the recent allegations made in the Atlanta scandal would make this the largest case of systemic cheating in American history.

So, are educators no better than the much-maligned Wall Street traders?

Let’s dig a little deeper into the possible causes behind these scandals. Many would quickly point the finger at the emphasis placed on standardized tests by the No Child Left Behind Act that rewards schools based on test scores. This kind of simplistic, mechanical incentive process, the argument goes, will cause teachers to get desired test results by hook or by crook.  But this rationale is too simplistic, demeaning the countless ethical teachers who are appalled by these revelations, Moreover, while some of the cheating incidences are more isolated, the Atlanta scandal seems to have been more endemic.

Perhaps, the answer may partly lie in “corporate culture.” As the New York Times reports about Atlanta’s superintendent: 

“Dr. Hall’s administration punished whistle-blowers, hid or manipulated information and illegally altered documents related to the tests, the investigation found. The superintendent and her administration ‘emphasized test results and public praise to the exclusion of integrity and ethics,’ the investigators wrote.”

Leaders have an important role within any organization, whether it be a bank or a school district, to set and instill a healthy and ethical “corporate culture.” While every employee is ultimately held responsible for his or her actions, those in positions of leadership are held to a higher standard because of the power they have and the broader responsibilities with which they have been entrusted. There is an imbalance of power between boss and employee, administrator and teacher. Perhaps this is why Jesus had many choice words for the religious authorities of his day. The issue is not the imbalance itself, but how those leaders handle the power they have attained and steward the resources that they oversee. 

This stewardship of resources and power extends itself to the classroom. No one doubts the amount of influence teachers have over not just the intellectual training, but also the character development, of their students. This may be the impetus behind an ancient biblical warning to teachers: “Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly” (James 3:1). James aptly goes on to speak about the potential destructive power of the tongue, and by extension, our words. The words and actions of teachers have a great impact. They can easily start large “forest fires” in society (James 3:5).

The Wall Street trader’s illegal actions have a significant impact upon large amounts of economic and social capital, as evidenced by the Galleon scandal and Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. And yet teachers deal with human capital, arguably the most important resource in an economic system. And thus the consequences of unethical actions by teachers can arguably be more far-reaching.

The pressure our teachers are under is undoubtedly great, and their compensation is obviously not commensurate with their societal importance.  But is this a legitimate excuse for teaching students that cheating is okay?

Are all Wall Streeters “scumbags?” Of course not. Are all teachers “scumbags?” Of course not. Both have a fiduciary and a social responsibility. Indeed, some of the best managers and leaders are at heart teachers.

Can you think of any managers/teachers who have had a major effect on your own ethics and character development?

You don’t have to be a crossword puzzle fan to know the answer to this one: “In ___ We Trust”? The U.S. Department of Treasury first began to print the motto “In God We Trust” onto coins during the Civil War, and since 1957 it can also be found on American paper currency.

But do we?

Forgetting for a moment the debate surrounding this motto and the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, the question is a good one. In whom or what do we place our trust? In money? In our 401k? In ourselves, our hard work, dedication, and talents? In dumb luck? In others?

The Bible – both the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and the New Testament  – is very interested in the concept of trust.

“It is better to trust the LORD than to put confidence in man” (Psalm 118:8).

“The fear of man brings a snare: but whoever puts his trust in the LORD shall be safe” (Proverbs 29:25).

“Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God! (Mark 10:24)

Well, these verses are all fine and good for someone’s private spiritual life, but what’s “In ___ We Trust” have to do with one’s public business life? With competition, careers, and cash flow? 

Earlier this summer, I participated in Jeff Sonnenfeld’s Yale CEO Leadership Summit held at the Mecca of American capitalism, the New York Stock Exchange.  This twice-yearly invitation event is attended by some of the nation’s most prominent and well known CEOs. They gather to wrestle with and consider practical answers to their most timely and important business concerns. It turns out, trust is one of them. 

Jeff and I share an interest in business leadership and questions such as what makes some executives fail while others succeed? When leaders stumble, how do they restore their reputation and reenter the C-Suite? The recent June CEO Summit was built around the theme: “Settling Old Debts, Taking on New Risks.” During the day, several CEOs lamented that too many of our bright young college graduates, particularly those with science and technology degrees, were lured into high-paying finance sector jobs, instead of embarking on entrepreneurial or corporate careers where they would generate new product ideas, businesses, and jobs. Others lamented the cynicism, selfishness, and lack of civility extended toward others that seems so widespread in society.  The final session of the day had the subtitle: “Investing in Legacies for the Future.”

As the high-octane and highly interactive CEO Leadership Summit was drawing to a close, Jeff asked to me give some closing reflections on the wide range of stimulating ideas that Jeff had so artfully elicited from this room of coporate titans and entrepreneurs.  Summarizing the day would have been impossible. But here is what I said:

I suspect most would agree it is nearly impossible to lives our lives without at least some trust in others.  Trust is the cornerstone of business. But how much? And in whom? What does trust look like in a litigious society? Can you still do business on a handshake?  Or, has trust been relegated to just our private sphere of family, a loyal friend, or faith?

“In ____ We Trust…”  In light of the video clip and these reflections, how do you answer the question? In what or in whom do you trust?  Is there anyone you need to trust more? Is it possible that a lack of trust in those around you or in your faith is limiting what “could be”?  Is it possible that the answer really is God?

Please comment below and share your thoughts.

Next week is the spring season finale  of the “Faith & Ethics in the Executive Suite” series, hosted by the Princeton Faith & Work Initiative (FWI). I’ll have the privilege of interviewing the legendary John Bogle, Founder, Chairman, and CEO (ret’d) of The Vanguard Group (and Princeton ’51).

Bogle is probably best known for promoting low-cost investing by being the first to offer individual investors access to index funds. As an ambassador for common sense investing, Bogle has written eight books on the subject. He is also the recipient of numerous awards for his work including being named one of the investment industry’s four “Giants of the 20th Century” by Fortune magazine in 1999, and one of the “world’s 100 most powerful and influential people” by TIME magazine in 2004. And it all started 60 years ago during his time as a Princeton student, when an article in a 1949 issue of Fortune magazine on mutual funds inspired  his senior thesis on the subject.

On Friday, May 27th at 3:00PM, I will interview Bogle on the Princeton University campus in McCormick Hall 101 as part of Reunions Weekend. It is open to the public. We will discuss, among other things, what role his Protestant tradition played in “charting the course” of his business practices and shaping and informing his ethical foundation.

So how would you like to be part of this interview?  What questions do you think I should ask Bogle? Should I ask him about the Buffett/Sokol situation? Should I ask him about CEO compensation? Should I ask him about “serving God and Mammon?” Please let me know your thoughts by commenting below, and I’ll try to incorporate some of them in the interview!

Background to the Series

For those not familiar with the “Faith & Ethics in the Executive Suite” series,  this series of live public conversations with CEOs and senior executives of various religious backgrounds is in its third year and has become one of the hallmarks of the Faith & Work Initiative. Through live conversations with leading executives and public figures we learn about the role their faith tradition plays in influencing their leadership style and ethics. For those of you who are too far away to join us in person you can watch the event later on our website.

As part of the series, this past spring we have had the privilege of welcoming:

• Dale Jones, Vice Chairman, Heidrick & Struggles
• Max Anderson, Co -founder and Author of the MBA Oath; Client Service Specialist at an institutional asset manager
• Ken Melrose, Chairman and CEO (ret’d), The Toro Company
• Anne Mulcahy, Chairman, Save the Children; Chairman and CEO (ret’d), Xerox Company 

These interviews can seen by clicking on the links above.

I hope you can join us on the 27th. And please don’t forget to post your interview questions!