Here’s a boring little secret. I often read annual reports. Back in business school, it was required as form of analysis. What did the Chairman really say in his letter? Did the financial evidence support the words? Today, I no longer look from that vantage point but I do zero in on things like “corporate values”. This became of interest to me after the Enron crisis when that silver-toothed energy trader claimed “integrity” as a hallmark of their corporation. I began to realize the “sameness” of values and how unless they were embraced at the top and infused into decision making – including employee selection, there was really no point. It’s a bit like all of those folks with milk mustaches. Got Honesty? Got Integrity?

Embracing Diversity

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