Enron and Arthur Andersen, ImClone and Martha Stewart, Merrill Lynch, Tyco, and now MCI WorldCom: The impact of flat-out corporate lies is profound. Beyond the Securities and Exchange Commission tasks, a handful of felonious individuals have had a far more enormous impact in homes across America, one measure of which might be reflected in last week’s poor showing of consumer confidence. (Add to that results from a survey by Opinion Research Corp. International for AmeriDebt released last week, showing Americans are less likely to travel this summer and fall because of concern about the economy and joblessness.) Worse, these times are especially troubling for CEOs who have given great care to the integrity of their company, invested in that belief and likely took the longer road to assure the bottom line is unequivocally correct. |