Every so often a general counsel is invited to speak to company leadership on the state of the ethical ship.
According to the Seattle Times, Boeing GC Douglas Bain actually dropped the gloves and spoke candidly to a company that has been mired in compliance issues and governmental investigations.
Here’s something that distinguishes Mr. Bain from the stereotypical run-of-the-mill, buttoned-down GC:
He appeared to take the “scared straight” approach, personalizing the scandals for his executive audience. “These are not ZIP codes,” Bain said, as he rattled off the federal prisoner numbers of Darleen Druyun, formerly a top Air Force procurement officer and then a Boeing executive, and Mike Sears, former Boeing chief financial officer.
I have suggested using a picture from the results of a previous corporate prosecution as a means to liven up ethics training sessions.
The WSJ Law Blog is also on this, courtesy of the Corporate Crime Reporter.
Like safety briefings at the start of a commercial flight, the standard ethics training can induce attendees to daydream or worse.
Thanks to Mr. Bain, Boeing’s leadership are perhaps now in a more upright and locked position.