Jeff Skilling Tells the Truth about US Corporate Ethics
by John Schroy filed under Equities, Corporate Managers, Leadership
As reported in the BusinessWeek Online article, “The Skilling Trap” (June 12, 2020), Jeffrey Skilling, former CEO of Enron, said on the courthouse steps, after being convicted of white-collar crimes that will send him to jail, probably for the rest of his life,
 Gamblers' Ethics: Win Some, Lose Some
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“Obviously I’m disappointed. But that’s the way the system works.”
The BusinessWeek article, went on to say:
… walking out of his trial into the prospect of decades of imprisonment, he stayed in character. He did not say that he was robbed of justice or express regret or defiance. He proved himself, considering the circumstances, a maestro of emotional detachment.
Jeff Skilling’s comments suggest a professional gambler who, having lost a fortune, shrugs and says,
“That’s the way the game is played. You win some, you lose some.”
It may be unfortunate and lamentable for society, but Jeff Skilling was simply telling the truth as he saw it, according to tenets of moral relativism learned at the Harvard Business School and his interpretation of corporate behavior observed while working as a consultant with McKinsey and Company.
