Critically acclaimed investigative journalist and CNBC TV personality, Charles Gasparino, joins Dennis McCuistion for an intense discussion and look at the last 30 years that led to today’s financial meltdown.
Charles Gasparino talks about Wall Street’s “love affair” with risk. From the 1980’s and the advent of mortgage-backed securities, to the packaging of mortgages to bonds, to the selling of those to Wall Street. He speaks on the bond market situation in 1986 and Alan Greenspan, the former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank, who in 1987 lowered interest rates and bailed out Wall Street.
Charles Gasparino explains the trail of culpability, including the Government’s encouragement of home ownership which prompted mortgage brokers to give loans to people who did not have the means to pay back the money loaned and the underwriters who invested in risky debt. He states the outcome was an abdication of collective responsibilities on the part of government, homeowners and financial institutions and for Wall Street – greed and risk taking.
Overall, Charles Gasparino says it was about avarice, arrogance, stupidity and greed… and the “selling off of the American Dream.”
Niki Nicastro McCuistion
Executive Producer/ Producer
***
1812 – 01.24.10
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Homelessness in America is a growing problem. Today’s recession may force over 1.5 million into homelessness over the next two years, according to estimates by The National Alliance to End Homelessness. In a 2008 report, the U.S. Conference of Mayors cited a major increase in the number of homeless in 19 out of the 25 cities surveyed.
On average, cities reported a 12 percent increase of homelessness in America since 2007. Estimates of actual homelessness vary, depending on the methodology used to survey the homeless population. Numbers also vary substantially depending on whether a measurement is taken on a single night or is extrapolated to a given year. To date, estimates range between 2.3 and 3.5 million people who are homeless. According to a 2008 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development report:
An estimated 671,888 people experienced homelessness in one night in January 2007. 58% of them were living in shelters and transitional housing and 42% were unsheltered.
The face of homelessness in America is changing.
Joining the discussion are panelists:
- Mike Rawlings - Appointed by the Mayor of Dallas as Dallas’ Homeless Czar
- Mike Faenza – President and CEO of the Metro Dallas Homeless Alliance
- Bill Thompson - Executive Director of the Union Gospel Mission
- Lynne Sipiora – Executive Director of the Samaritan Inn, McKinney – Collin County, TX
Although homelessness is a difficult number to measure definitively, it appears that more people—especially families—are sleeping in shelters, living in their cars, and taking up residence in tent communities. The definitions of homelessness can differ based on context, however, homelessness is generally defined as a person who “lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate night-time residence.”
Many cities around the country have taken major strides in working with the homeless in new ways with great success. New Ways of Transitioning the Homeless focuses not so much on the root causes of homelessness, mental health and addictions, but ways to successfully transition them to permanent housing.
Homelessness in Affluent America
Lynne Sipiora’s situation in Collin County, TX, one of the most affluent counties in the nation, is somewhat shocking. The Samaritan Inn shelter has 130 beds. Ms. Sipiora states,
“At one time every head of household in the shelter had a college degree. The economy is causing episodic homelessness, people who have lost their job. People who at one time may have been volunteers in the shelter or donors, now find themselves clients of the Samaritan Inn.”
She points out that the face of the homelessness has changed due to the economy.
The Bridge
The city of Dallas, TX is setting an innovative pace for other U.S. cities with an aggressive 10 year strategic plan to end homelessness. The city has built a campus called The Bridge, a housing coalition that serves as a transition for those who can then go to permanent housing.
Mike Rawlings and Mike Faenza talk about the work of The Bridge and its revolutionary concept, which provides education, job counseling and health care under one roof. The Bridge pulls together a number of associations that collaborate on the concern, leveraging government and private funding. It is a true one-stop shopping concept – one location that handles severe persistent mental issues and focuses on the chronically homeless as well.
The Bridge was initially started with a $23 million bond election 4 years ago. The founders argued that this was better than the alternative – having people on the street.
As a result of The Bridge there has been a 59% decrease in those sleeping out of doors or abandoned buildings and a marked decrease in crime in the area.
Union Gospel Mission
Bill Thompson with Union Gospel Mission tells us their mission which focuses on the inner core of an individual and their spiritual side. They focus on the failure in a person’s life that may have gotten him or her to the place of being homeless. Union Gospel Mission introduces standards to its clients by which they are going to live the rest of their lives and gives a sound stable foundation. It addresses the causes of homelessness not its symptoms.
New Ways of Transitioning the Homeless paints a grim picture of what can happen to those who may not have a safety net. It also gives hope that people do care and cities are working hard to alleviate this growing concern.
Once again, thanks for joining us as we talk about things that matter… with people who care.
Niki Nicastro McCuistion
Executive Producer/Producer
***
1822 – 05.23.2010
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Giving charitable donations is the focus of today’s episode on women and philanthropy. The Boom generation may be one of the most talked about cohorts in history. Born between 1946 and 1964, (though some experts, such as William Strauss and Neil Howe, state 1943 to 1960) they changed the social landscape.
Panelists include:
- Margaret May Damen, CFP, CLU: President of the Institute for Women and Wealth and co-author of Women, Wealth and Giving
- Niki Nicastro McCuistion, CSP: Co-founder and producer of The McCuistion Program, consultant for non-profits internationally, and co-author of Women, Wealth and Giving
-
Becky Sykes, President, CEO of the Dallas Women’s Foundation
- Jim Falk, CFRE, President, CEO of the World Affairs Council of DFW
After World War 11, American couples married in unprecedented numbers. In the next several years the US experienced a birth explosion, 78 million baby boomers were born. This generation became one of the most polled, analyzed, interviewed and criticized generations ever. Who they are, what they want and how they have influenced America continues to be news today. 
The references, beliefs, values, and convictions of our society have been largely shaped by boomers. They control the wealth, direct governments, businesses and the social and political policy of America. Today the producers of most TV shows and movies are boomers. Our technology wizards, from Bill Gates to Steve Jobs are boomers. The President of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, as well as the President of the United States, Barack Obama- yes- they are boomers. As is Hilary Clinton and our first lady, Michelle Obama. And the list goes on.
Every hour 330 baby boomers turn 60 years of age and 50.8% of these are women. Retirement is fast approaching for many in this group, although the economy in the last couple of years has changed this expectation somewhat. There is much that ties this generation together, not the least of which was the advent and influence of television. In 1948, 172,000 US households had TV sets. In 1952 that figure had jumped to 15,000,000. Music, news, lifestyle and politics greatly influenced this generation, much of it watched on our TV sets.
This was the generation of flower power and free love, civil rights and women’s rights, marches, protests and picketing, the Beatles, Motown and Woodstock, Haight Ashbury, sex, drugs and rock and roll. The outcome was a free-wheeling, free-spirited, individualistic group, of activists and idealists, oriented to social causes and who absolutely believed in their capacity to change the world. Not just their capacity, but their mandate to. From President Kennedy’s, Ted Kennedy’s and Martin Luther King’s assassinations to Nixon, Watergate, oil embargoes and high divorce rates, it was a generation raised not to trust anyone over 30.
Yet this activism and skepticism was channeled into an idealism that made the boomer want to change society for the better, most especially since they as a collective group had formed much of the damage. It is of the good as well as the history, that Women, Wealth and Giving focuses. The television program airing this Sunday talks about a small part of the of the research undertaken by Margaret May Damen and myself, that chronicles, through extensive research and interviews, the Boom generation and what they want today.
The resulting work of the same title focuses on the Boomer woman, and how she has turned her idealism toward a new frontier philanthropy. Our research showed that Americans are the most generous group on the planet. In fact more Americans give charitable donations than vote. In 2008, even when the economy took a downturn, Americans gave over $307 billion dollars tin charitable donations. And of this group it is women who are the most generous. Management guru Tom Peters says, “women are the largest national economy on Earth.” The Harvard Business Review, September 2009 issue backed this up, “As a market women represent a bigger market opportunity than China and India combined.”
Women today control 60% of the wealth in the US, initiate 74% of all new business startups and employ 13,000,000 people.
An economic force to be reckoned with, they are opening up their purses and giving charitable donations that systemically impact society, and as program guest Becky Sykes, President and CEO of the Dallas Women’s Foundation states, “most especially to women and children’s issues.” Currently there are approximately 175 women’s foundations in the US, with the Dallas Women’s Foundation the largest in asset size.
Jim Falk, President and CEO of the World Affairs Council of Dallas Ft. Worth, says,
“Women do sometimes have a different objective. A man I recently met with for fund raising for the WACDFW was interested and talked about networking. On the other hand, a woman I met with later that day asked and talked about, how can I make a difference, in this society? It really crystallized the difference for me.”
And as Margaret mentions: “It’s not about conspicuous consumption anymore. Women are rewriting the rules for a caring society.” I believe, that more than in any other venue, the achievement of financial independence, the freedom to decide the use of money, has made women equal partners in the decisions to save the worlds we have created. The “power of the purse” is the power to rewrite the rules for a caring society, not only through its use in philanthropic endeavors but also in how money is invested in the financial and business institutions that control our capitalist system. The “power of the purse” has an exponential advantage as women unite, network and agree on the importance of particular causes.
As one of our book interviewees, Dallas boomer, Brenda Pejovich said,
“By increasing our participation in the competition for ideas, women will continue to contribute to a better society. It’s our checks that influence and it’s never been more important to open our wallets and give.”
Her sentiments are echoed by Marilyn Wechter, a Clayton, Missouri boomer and psychologist, who tells us,
“We are experiencing a paradigm shift that well may change our lives forever. This new world has us moving from consumption to collaboration and we’re staring to realize what’s really important- and recognize how little it takes to make us feel valued.”
In the aftermath of the financial debacle, credit crisis and government mishap of the last couple of years, Women, Wealth and Giving offers more than hope; it offers a philanthropic business strategy to direct all of our, men and women’s philanthropic initiatives to put us back on course.
Thank you for joining us as we talk about things that matter… with people who care.
Niki Nicastro McCuistion, Co-author of Women, Wealth and Giving
***
1821 – 05.02.10
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Philip K. Howard joins Dennis McCuistion to discuss the flaws of the legal system today. Philip K. Howard is the Founder and Chair of Common Good, a nonpartisan national coalition dedicated to restoring common sense to America. He is the author of Collapse of Common Good: How America’s Lawsuit Culture Undermines Our Freedom and Death of Common Sense: How Law Is Suffocating America.
ftp://www:@ve.w6pvr668.vesrv.com/Philip K. Howard, whose purpose is to simplify government, wrote the forward to Al Gore’s Common Sense Government. He has worked with OSHA on safety regulations and assuring that safety plans and regulations for companies make sense and real people can abide by them. He states that people don’t act sensibly. From teachers to doctors, he discusses the need to change the rules so teachers can teach and doctors can doctor, without the restrictions that impose higher costs and inflationary standards. He continues on and addresses how schools are drowning in law, demonstrating his point via a three foot long flow chart, what a school must go through to suspend a student. All in all, a simple process that took minutes now takes several months. Host Dennis McCuistion comments, “When I was a kid if I didn’t listen to the teacher, I got paddled in school and doubly at home.”
Not today, cautions Philip Howard: “We thought that to correct real abuses we would guarantee fairness. Kids today are trained that they have rights… 78% of teachers have been threatened with lawsuits. It’s a reflection of the corrosion of authority.”
He claims that there is something seriously wrong with our legal system: “Politics trump common sense and partisanship.”
Philip K. Howard, a practicing lawyer himself, lays a practical game plan to restore our country to sense and individual responsibility, the premise of our Constitution.
As always, thank you for watching as we talk about things that matter… with people who care.
Niki Nicastro McCuistion
Executive Producer/Producer
***
1820 – 04.25.10
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
17% of our GDP is spent on health care, thus health care has gone from being a personal issue to a public policy debate. In this 20 year retrospective on this issue we feature various perspectives: liberal, conservative and libertarian.
Dr. Ed Annis on the Health Care Debate
In 1994 Dr. Ed Annis the author of Code Blue joined us with his views. Dr. Ed Annis had rebutted President John Kennedy on his platform on health care.
We asked him, “How did the national health care debate come about?”
Dr. Ed Annis responded, “Well there were philosophical flaws, politicians were biased and the media was belligerent… The problem is government not health care.” He addressed Medicare by saying, “People should be allowed to provide for themselves if they can.” Dr. Ed Annis stated that just because one has a birthday of 65 does not mean one is entitled. He then addressed permeation and gradualism.
Max Sawicky on Health Care as a National System
Dennis quoted Arthur Schlesinger, from The Partisan Review of 1947, on the transition to socialism. And we made the transition to Max Sawicky of the Economic Policy Institute who joined us in 1999. Max said, “I would move health care into a national system.” Max believes we can’t afford anything else. “If health care is made on the basis of profit- everyone is priced according to their worth.”
Dr. John Goodman on the “Bureaucratic Health Care System”
Dr. John Goodman, the father of medical savings accounts, joins us in 2010, and has this to say:
“We have a bureaucratic, dysfunctional health care system with perverse incentives… In 1993 Hilary Clinton, wanted to nationalize health care. She failed. Look at the “S Chip” program for children that ration health care, and the difficulty seeing doctors. Expenditures for health care have gone up from $500 billion in 1990 to $2 trillion today.”
Impact of Drugs on Society
From health care we go to drugs and their impact on society and our system overall. Jacob Sullum, Senior Editor of Reason Magazine, joins us in 2007 and comments on the direct correlation between prohibition and drugs. We hear from several voices on various sides of this issue. Philip Jordan, former director of the El Paso International Center, seemed to find a similarity between prohibition and drugs, even though the drug enforcement code Dennis reads says differently. Rusty White, a former prison guard says, “In a controlled environment like a prison, drugs still get in.”
From drug use to new cures and behaviors we visit with Dr. Kevin Gilliland, CEO of Innovations 360. “Drugs,” he says, “wreck a person’s self image. They rob you of your sense of self. Addiction is not a moral failing.”
On that same program in 2009, Christopher Kennedy Lawford joins us with his story of the genetic disease within his family, how as an adolescent he lived through the assassinations of two uncles, and he comments on the conditions within his family and how this led to a very troubled youth. He comments, “traumatized and troubled youth, sometimes turn to drugs or alcohol”. He says, “Drugs and alcohol gave me a way out. They saved my life.” Christopher Lawford Kennedy is now an activist, educating others on alcohol and drug abuse.
Health and Wellness
From drugs and dependence we go to health and wellness, with a look at a revolutionary new care, Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment. Alene Creacy and her husband Bill join us with their story and the importance of this treatment. Claudine, a Canadian mother, talks about the process and how it has helped her sons, born with cerebral palsy. Claudine actually demonstrates the chamber and how the oxygen helps.
In terms of wellness, Dr. T. Colin Campbell joins us in 2009 to talk about good eating habits. Dr. T. Colin Campbell, author of The China Study, the most comprehensive nutritional study ever conducted, became a vegetarian as a result of his research. He shakes his head at the hosts’ eating habits and says, “no to sugar, no to burritos, but salsa isn’t bad. And chocolate, well, that’s a plant based food!”
***
#1819 – 04.08.10
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Join Dennis McCuistion in the fourth of a six-part retrospective series – 20 Years of McCuistion: Media and the Internet.
When we joined the ranks of the media in 1990, the worldwide web had just been invented. In fact, very few people even had access to email. Today? Blackberries and iPhones, Facebook, Twitter, and Google are all household names and media itself has changed as a result.
Now, many of us are getting our news online and foregoing paper copies altogether. Former news people are blogging and while many of us question the new style, we read the blogs and blog ourselves. This program explores how the Internet has changed our way of getting news, what news and the press really mean and its impact on democracy and public opinion.
In the last 20 years we have interviewed some of the most prestigious names in journalism including: Bill Moyers, Sam Donaldson, Bob Schieffer, Jim Lehrer, John Solomon, and joining in from a recent program, which featured Manny Mendoza and he and Mark Birnbaum’s doc-film, Stop the Presses, are Ben Bradlee, Anders Gylenhall, and Charles Ealey.
From the business world we’ve interviewed: the Father of the Internet, Dr. Vinton Cerf, and Tim Berners-Lee, creator of the World Wide Web. We’ve gotten a perspective on news today from Steve Forbes and Mary Mapes, author of Truth and Duty, a book about President George W. Bush’ military incident that led to CBS’s firing her and eventually Dan Rather. Jeff Crilley, an award winning Fox News reporter, ends the media segment, commenting on its changing landscape and the dangers and opportunities this presents.
This retrospective episode entertains and informs as it gives us a very interesting snapshot of the new world of media and communication, a world that through its ever changing evolution leaves many of us struggling to keep up.
Niki Nicastro McCuistion
Executive Producer/Producer
***
1818 – 02.28.10
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Motivation is often defined as that which gives purpose; action toward a desired goal. Sharing their stories on motivation and leadership on this 20th anniversary segment are several of the leading speakers and leaders in the country.
We hear from motivational speakers:
- The late, Rosita Perez, CPAE
- Ed Foreman, CPAE, Founder of the Successful Life Program
- Vinnie Roazzi, successful businessman and the author of The Spirituality of Success
- Margo Chisholm, mountaineer and author of To The Summit
We also hear from corporate governance and leadership experts:
- Sharon Allen, Chairman of Deloitte and Touche, LLP
- Bill George, professor of management practice at Harvard Business School and former Medtronic CEO
- Todd Bluedorn, CEO of Lennox International
… and many, many more.
Motivation
The late, Rosita Perez has the audience chuckling in the segment on The Healing Power of Humor as she describes her cold remedies when she is under the weather.
Ed Foremen joined us in 1994 and again in the studio the evening of the program’s taping. He talks about a motorcycle trip- and driving back to Texas from Louisiana. To test the bike he pushed the speed and flew down the road. All was well until he saw the flashing lights behind him. He had one thought (only briefly) of gunning the motor and crossing the Texas border. Of course he didn’t and when he stopped, the State Trooper asked for his license and said he had been clocked at 113 mph. Looking the license the trooper did a double take- “You’re 75 years old? Maybe you should act your age and you’d be a lot safer driving your age!”
Vinnie Roazzi and Margo Chisholm joined us in 1999, along with the late Art Berg, CPAE. The each spoke about their separate life challenges. Art Berg shared his story of the car accident that left him a quadriplegic and how life still goes on after the worst happens.
The notables are joined by Bob Buford, author of Halftime and Jim Sirbasku, of Profiles International, who assesses Dennis McCuistion’s leadership style- on camera, much to Dennis’s and the audience’s amusement. The motivation segment concludes with the late Ray Pellitier, CPAE, talking about coaching champions, as well as this author, Niki McCuistion, a coach and consultant, on the critical role coaching plays in helping individuals reach their goals.
Leadership and Governance
From motivation the program goes on to discuss leadership and governance. Dennis McCuistion talks about Jeff Skilling of Enron and how values and ethics are critical to successful leadership. Sharon Allen, Chairman of Deloitte and Touche, LLP and Todd Bluedorn, CEO of Lennox International, Inc. both comment on governance and ethics in corporate America, and how critical a role values play in the success of a company.
And to end the retrospective on motivation and leadership, Bill George, former Chairman and CEO of Medtronics and a Professor of Management Practice at Harvard, joins us from another segment to emphasize values in leadership and their critical role.
This program on motivation and leadership is one you won’t want to miss as it goes from humor, to inspiration and on to practical “how to’s”.
***
1817 – 02.21.10
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
In part two of the 6-part series, Twenty Years of McCuistion focuses on three key issues critical to our future: energy, the environment and immigration. Several notable guests join us in this retrospective look at the past as they add new information. We promise you a heated program as the participants express their views with passion, conviction and their perspectives.
ENERGY
Discussing global warming and climate change are:
Dr. William Kellogg with the National Center for Atmospheric Research, who joined us in 1992. Commenting on global warming as it was then titled, he said,
“The fact is that the global average temperature has been going up in this century. I think scientists have a great responsibility to define or to express whether they’re talking about science, which they have a right to talk about with some authority, or whether they’re talking about social /socio-economic problems, which they are probably not necessarily qualified to talk about anymore than the so-called ‘man in the street.’”
Some heated remarks are made by Cato’s Dr. Pat Michaels, who comments,
“Every measure we have of global temperature shows nothing in the last decade and every climate model we had that was the so-called consensus of scientists said it was to have been warming rapidly. Aside from that there’s no scientific problem with Global Warming. If there are floods, it’s because of global warming. If there’s a drought it’s because of global warming and if there isn’t a flood or a drought, it’s because of global warming.”
Dr. Sterling Burnett, Senior Fellow with The Center for National Policy Analysis, who has been on several programs on this issue joins us in the studio. Dr. Burnett takes us from Kiyoto to Copenhagen and today’s present status as in regards climate change.
ENVIRONMENT
The segment on the environment comes in for its fair share of disagreement as well, as Dennis McCuistion moderates the 1995 “debate” between Dr. Fred Smith of the Competitive Enterprise Institute and Ted Eubanks, then Director of the National Audobon Society. John Leedom, of the Weather Modification Association talks about the criticality of water in a segment taped in 2007 and Dr. Rilwanu Lukman, Secretary General of OPEC, gives us his opinion on the oil issue in 2007. Matt Simmons, author of Twilight In the Desert, joins us in 2006 as does Scott Naumann, Manager of Economics and Energy for Exxon. Scott adds,
“We do a detailed estimate of the world’s global resource base. One number we can all agree on up here on the panel is how much we have produced since the beginning of time. So we produced 1 trillion barrels out of 4 or 5 trillion barrels. Nowhere near half way. Nowhere near peak.”
The oil debate goes on with Amory Lovins, PhD of the Rocky Mountain Institute and Ed Wallace, historian and anchor of a KLIF radio program chime, who joined us in 2005.
IMMIGRATION
The Immigration segment continues the heated discussions with several key experts who joined us at different times with their views on this other controversial issue. Jacob G. Hornburger, who in 2007 said,
“We’re building a Berlin wall on the southern border of the United States. This is inconsistent with a great nation, a nation that prides itself on freedom. We say it’s time to recapture the principles of open immigration and freedom in which this country was founded.”
Dr. James F. Hollifield, Director of The Tower Center of Political Studies at SMU- Dallas lays out a foundation for the immigrant waves of immigration and says,
“Immigration is part of the founding myth of this country, but we have gone through four great waves of immigration in our history. So this is a country that certainly was built on immigration and immigration has
always been controversial.”
They are debated by Republican Colorado Representative Tom Tancredo, who states,
“You have to look at whether they want an America as described by Jacob, no borders, just a place on a continent inhabited by residents, not citizens, just people who are gathered together around one set of principles, almost all economic in nature. But you have to make this decision. Do you believe in borders or not? That’s the first question you have to ask yourself. Are they important? Do they matter? Before you can even begin to agree that borders are important, that they do matter, then you have to think about what that means. If you have them, are you willing to actually enforce them.”
The segment concludes with Herb Meyer, author of The Siege of Western Civilization, who joined us in 2008. Meyer talks about demographics and the diminishing birthrates that will affect immigration. He states,
“Last year in the United States 23% of all births in this country were to women who themselves had not been born in the United States. Now there is nothing wrong with this. We just need to understand this. We should be in favor of immigration. That’s how we got here.”
This is one segment that will have you on the edge of your seat. Join us as we once again talk about things that matter with people who care…
Niki Nicastro McCuistion
Executive Producer/Producer
***
1815 – 02.14.2010
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
The virtual loss in 2008 of the large investment bankers on Wall Street was shocking. The forced sale of Bear Stearns, the bankruptcy of Lehman, the controversial sale of Merrill Lynch and the changes at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have rocked the world.
This program addresses several areas that led to our system almost going down:
- Where were mistakes made and by whom? What changes are needed and by whom?
- What is the current mood of investors and how do they feel about corporate performance?
- What about Madoff, Stanford and other frauds?
Panelists Include:
- Max D. Hopper: Founder, Max D. Hopper Associates
- Robert J. Potter: President, R.J. Potter Company
- Shad Rowe: President, Investors for Director, Accountability Foundation
Dennis McCuistion starts by chronicling the above, “our nation’s source of building capital has instead become merely the capitol of greed.” He follows the statement by asking Shad Rowe why he is so angry.
Shad replies,
“I don’t look that angry. But I am angry at what’s happening in corporate America. Our system almost went down the drain. Why? The real cause in my opinion is that corporate boards are not representing owners, not thinking like owners and are allowing chief executives to make ‘heads’ I win; ‘tails’ shareholders lose, bets that have jeopardized our system.
Shareholders are directly represented by their corporate directors. It’s the law, but it’s not conventional wisdom and… it needs to become so, so we can preserve and enhance our system … Ownership is the litmus test. Private companies treated money like it was their own money. Directors are the legal representatives of shareholders!”
Bob Potter adds,
“Directors are absolutely responsive/responsible to stockholders. In the companies I serve as director, we have created incentive plans to management that are tied to stockholder performance. Some companies have allowed management to not act in the best interests of shareholders. We see excessive salaries, for instance. But they were approved by the compensation committee.”
Max Hopper says,
“Most corporate board directors really do represent shareholders. But some companies have gotten so big, that directors can not get their arms around what’s going on within the companies themselves. Too large a growth may be detrimental to their shareholders.”
All agree that more stringent rules need to be applied and that directors must act in the best interests of the shareholders. They also state that most companies are in fact doing their best to do so, yet we hear the bad news, not the good. Tune in for lively, straightforward talk about greed and Wall Street and what needs to happen to preserve capitalism.
As always we’ve been talking about things that matter with people who care. Thanks for joining us.
—
Niki Nicastro McCuistion
Executive Producer/ producer
And a special thank you to the Institute for Excellence in Corporate Governance, University of Texas at Dallas, School of Management, (http://som.utdallas.edu/iecg/) for providing the guests for this 4 part series on Corporate Governance.
***
12.27.09 – 1810
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Amidst the financial meltdown over the last few years, there has been a seeming breakdown of the ethics of corporate executives. Some observers believed that the regulatory changes under Sarbanes-Oxley legislation passed in 2002 would eliminate illegal and unethical behavior, but is that the case?
Joining Dennis McCuistion to discuss this and other issues surrounding this question are:
- Sharon Allen: Chairman of Deloitte LLP
- Todd M. Bluedorn: CEO of Lennox International,Inc
- Jared Richardson: Sr. Counsel of Energy Future Holdings
Todd Bluedorn tells us that essentially corporate ethics are about basic compliance, “you don’t lie, cheat or steal.” He believes that there is more to this though, “It’s about selfless leadership… and a balance, not just being selfish. It’s also courage and an internal and moral ability and willingness to speak to truth.”
Sharon Allen tells us that the overall outlook for corporate America is good, it’s encouraging. Companies are focused on being good, ethical citizens, extending that to their employees and the individual stakeholders they serve. “It’s important to instill that… It’s too easy to say, ‘that’s business and that’s personal.’ No, ethics are ethics.”
Jared Richardson tells us that in any industry there is a code of ethics. A company is its “Ethos – which develops from the people that make up the organization.”
Dennis mentions Enron, one of the biggest debacles and corporate bankruptcies in history and asks about Enron’s corporate ethics. He mentions that Jeff Skilling had been interviewed by us in 2001 and made a point of referencing the companies 64 page ethics manual. Skilling also spoke to a group at Southern Methodist University that day- and he shows a short clip of that presentation, asking “was a lack of ethics involved in the downturn of Enron?” Todd’s comment: “Skilling would have failed the selfless test!’
The guests agree it’s important to differentiate what has happened in the last 18 months from “just” ethical causes. The meltdown was as a result of much more- structural issues and other fundamantal causes.
As Sharon reminds us regarding Sarbanes-Oxley,
“No oversight will ever solve internal problems… It still comes down to how an organization presents and governs.” Sharon cites a Deloitte study, that employees first look at ”their manager and then their direct supervisor for their moral compass,” before other factors such as positive reinforcement, compensation and their peers.
Todd reminds us that,”It’s important to have structure and compliance and to force people to face commitments. It’s not only relying on good people and leadership.”
Jared agrees, that yes, it’s about the tone at the top and the direction from senior leadership and establishing a culture of ethical compliance. But, he says,
“It goes beyond that, beyond the legal limits, if you will. It’s more than just the folks at the top, it’s at every level. The person you hire today at a starting analyst position may be a senior manager tomorrow.”
In response Dennis introduces a Pinkerton study that says 30% of the population not only will steal if the opportunity arises, they will create an opportunity to do so. Forty percent will steal if there is little danger of getting caught, and 30% won’t steal at all.
The guests discuss the pressure that organizations are under to produce, most especially in business downturns. They touch on the global economy and how there may be “unique practices acceptable elsewhere but not here.” Yes, global organizations are coalescing around acceptable standards.
Statistics on why people make unethical decisions in the workplace are discussed:
- 80% Lack of personal integrity
- 60% Job dissatisfaction
- 44% Financial rewards
- 41% Pressure to meet goals
- 39% Ignorance of code of conduct
They concur that at the end of the day- its still about personal integrity.
Todd Bluedorn leaves us with a thought that summarizes the theme behind this program, “If you live for today, you’re going to lose tomorrow.”
And a special thank you to the Institute for Excellence in Corporate Governance,University of Texas at Dallas, School of Management, (http://som.utdallas.edu/iecg/) for providing the guests for this 4 part series on Corporate Governance.
As always, thank you for joining us to talk about things that matter with people who care,
Niki Nicastro McCuistion
Executive Producer/Producer
***
1808 – 11.15.09
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
