the mount vernon report summer 2002 - vol. 2, no. 3

8/8/2019 The Mount Vernon Report Summer 2002 - vol. 2, no. 3

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Grant T hornton, LLP, the global accounting firm for middle-market companies, could have rubbed it in this summer whenit carried off a series of raids to acquire several key offices, a dozen middle-market partners and more than 100 profes-sionals from badly floundering former giant Arthur Andersen, LLP.

It was the perfect chance for Grant T hornton to say: We knew our day would come. Instead, it chose to issue only a shortand simple news release announcing the acquisitions with no highbrow quotes or flourishes.

TASER International, Inc., the stun gun maker, had a similar oppor tunity when it dumped Andersen and chose Deloitt e& Touche, LLP as its independent accountant .

Instead, like Grant Thornton, TASER played it straight, noting obliquely that the decision was made only after careful con-siderationas developments regarding Andersen external to the company have emerged.

T hese companies chose the path of civility and arguably are the better for it and cert ainly no worse. Chest-beating or bit-ter recriminations might have made a better story, but to what end? By displaying common sense respect, Grant T horntonand TASER were able to let audiences know they were acting as reasonable stewards of their businesses without undermin-ing important internal and external relationships.

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Leave it to the tobacco industry to provide an exam-ple of corporate boorishness.

In a report last year, the Philip Morris Companies,Inc. actually listed premature death as a positiveeffect of cigarette smoking. T he report explainedthat cigarettes arent a drag on the economy and thenational budget, because the government saves money

Issues A ff ectin g Reput ation Man agement and St rategic C ommu ni cation

{ S E E U N C I V I L - P G 2 }

{ S E E C H O O S I N G - P G 4 }

Civility is spawned through close, orderly interaction with others. Without saying aword, your character can often be judged by anecdotal evidence. T he old adage,

"Clothes doth announce the man," has never been more true. W hen we take the time to

carefully choose what we wear each day, how we look, what attitude we will take, we are

sending two messages: I care about myself and I also care about others around me.

{ S E E C I V I L I T Y- P G 3 }

Choosing the Path of Corporate Civility

on health care, pensions and housing when smokersdie prematurely.

Philip Morris ultimately issued a public apology and

admitted the reports conclusions were inappropriate.

But still, the blunder provides a staunch illustration of

the sheer lack of civility among Americas top enterprises.

Despite Uncivil Headlines, a Ray of Light Can Be Found

Civility and Reputation


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Unfort unately, examples of companies and CEOs actingless than civilized are plentiful:

Most recently, Tyco Int ernational CEO Dennis Kozlowskipadded his own pockets, while the companys share pricecollapsed. Kozlowski dumped his companys stock priorto its plunge, but assured investors and employees thateverythin g was fine. N ow investor s hold stock that haslost most of its value.

Less than a week before filing for bankruptcy, retailinggiant Kmart gave a $1.75 million retention loan to itsCFO who had been on the job for two months, one ofmany loans given to executives totaling $30 million. Twomonths later, the same CFO left, and the companyannounced 22,000 people would lose their jobs.

Polaroid's former chairman and CEO Gary T. DiCamillo

was accused by former employees and company insiders offavoring management and directors with preferential pen-sion treatment and generous payments and bonuses.Meanwhile, he dismantled benefits for retirees andemployees. In addition, D iCamillo sought and won bank-ruptcy court approval to give himself and 40 t op man-agers large bonuses, even as health insurance, severancepayments, and some employee pensions were discontinuedor drastically reduced. DiCamillo was further criticizedwhen employeesshares in a company stock plan were soldoff without their permission after the firm d eclared bank-ruptcy. Workers had been forced to buy and hold the

shares while their value declined from $60 in 1997 topennies in 2002.

Sadly, stories like these are all too common. Cases of cor-porate greed and disregard for employees, investors and thecommunity are rampant.

But t here is a ray of light in what sometimes seems to be agloomy environment. In the wake of September 11,corporate America donated billions of dollars in time andresources to helping the families and victims of the terrorattacks. Even prior to that tragic date, certain companies

across the U.S. took civility, dignity and communityinvolvement t o heart.

O n December 11, 1995, three buildings of Malden MillsIndust ries fleece manufacturing facility in Lawrence,Mass. burned to the ground. Instead of laying off 1,800employees and moving the factory to Mexico, Chairmanand CEO Aaron Feuerstein gave his workers three monthspay, and built a new plant on the same site. Today,Feuerstein is considered a local hero and is still fightingto keep his people employed.

San Francisco-based clothing manufacturer Levi Straussunderstands the importance of civility and communityinvolvement . The company gives employees five hours ofpaid time off a month to work for nonprofits, and is opento flex time to give employees the chance to volunteer on

regularly scheduled workd ays.

In the face of severe market tightening in 200 1, belea-guered telecom giant Cisco Systems offered 6,000employees a choice: Accept a tradit ional layoff packagethat meant cutt ing their ties to the company and receivingsix month s of severance pay; or stay on the company pay-roll for a year at one-third their salary, and go to workfull-time for a no nprofit. T his innovative cost cutt ingmeasure not only created goodwill for the company, but italso supplied an influx of top t alent to the San Franciscocommunity. And the displaced employees, referred to asCisco Fellows, got to keep their health-care benefitsand stock options as well as their foot in the door forfuture jobs at the company.

In an age where the headlines seem to be dominated by sto-ries of corporate greed and incivility, these three examplesillustrate that it is possible for a company to remain a topcompetitor while still treating their employees, investors andthe community-at-large with d ignity, civility and respect.

~ John Lamontagne

{ U N C I V I L- cont. from pg. 1}

T hree things in humanlife are important;the first is to be kind.T he second is to be kind.

And the third is to be kind.

~ H enry James


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{ C I V I L I T Y - cont. from pg. 1}

In this ever-changing business world, opportunit ies circulate in and out. W hile it is important to provide superior service during aengagement, it is also impor tant to acknowledge colleagues as relationships come to a close. Knowing how to say T hank you in woand deeds creates a culture of mutual respect and admiration that will be remembered long after a project is complete.

T he following examples illustrate some different ways to express thanks. Some are unique and some are simple, yet all convey the sameanings of appreciation and gratitude.

T he Many Ways You Express Thanks

Words:It has been a pleasure working with you.

We hope that our input and guidance was an important partof your success. We know that we have benefited from thisrelationship.

T hank you for the opportunity to work with you.

We have made great progress and could not have done itwithout you.

You have made this project both fun and interesting.

T hanks, I have learned a lot from working with you.

A simple, yet tried and true: T hank you.

Gestures:Send a handwritten thank you note to each individual. Sharewith them something that you remember that is unique to them

T hank someone you are working with beforehand. Send alongsomething that will be useful for the situation (from pens andnotepads to chocolates and coffee.)

Create a personalized gift basket for out-of-towners a sur-vival kit of sorts and have it waiting for them at their officeor hotel. Fill it with local maps, dinner suggestions, and food-stuffs that will make their time spent away from home moreenjoyable.

Someone having a rough day? Send an impromptu pick meup a surprise lunch, penny candy, even cookies and milk!

Plan an event that everyone can participate in a basebalgame, casual picnic or a wrap-up dinner. Keep business talk toa minimum and enjoy.

~ Margaret Brady

Our manners, our choice of words, our smile, our tone of voice,our gestures, eye contact, all embody our presence in the world.T hey become the outward manifestations of our personalities andcharacter. Social graces are more than just niceties. T hey help bringorder to chaos. T hey give us guidelines for acceptable behavior,

establishing the common ground where society meets as equals.

Manners are a reflection of our upbringing and environment.T hey are the evidence of the company we keep, the role modelswe have followed caring teachers, involved coaches, businessmentors and, more often than not, the friends we choose.Manners and civil behavior reflect the norms of our culture andour society. T hey define what is acceptable and what is uncouth.

T his issue of T he Mt. Vernon Report focuses on the importanceof civility in the corporate context our desire as human beingsto get along with one another, to help each other, to extend kind-

ness. Civility is the key ingredient to a reputation. Without it, weare less than we can be. With it, we are greater beyond our self.

Good manners do not depend on wealth. N or are bad manners lack of civility ever to be considered politically correct. O ur natiofounders were, above all else, gentlemen, while at the same timleading a nation of farmers and front iersmen. T he early immigranoften came to America with nothing, but quickly strived for

better place and station for their children.

Civility means putting the needs of others before your own. Onemy favorite examples is the CEO of a major company who wshort in stature but giant in character. W henever he entered a rooful of people, he invariably sought out the person on the lowrung of the corporate ladder. H e made it a point to listen to thperson, to learn what he or she was about and to introduce himher to others in a way that was honest, friendly and never condscending. H e always made it a point to remember names.

Did it matter? I think so. I was one of those people he met andwill never forget him. I also try to follow his example. So with th

issue, we urge you to consider accepting the challenge of civilitya potential path to better business and a better society. T hank You

~ Peter Morris


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Civility is a code of conduct in which otherwise common socialinteractions play out with a touch of class. Most often appliedto interpersonal contact saying please and thank you,holding doors open for others, stopping to let pedestrians crossa busy intersection civility also can have a dramatic impact onan enterprises corporate reputation.

A recent survey by Public Agenda, a non-profit research groupbased in N ew York, found that eight in 10 Americans see a lackof courtesy at work and in everyday life as a serious prob-lem. And, with headlines such as Restoring Trust in CorporateAmerica (BusinessWeek) and System Failure (Fortune), theresno time like the present for a company to consider what role

civility has and should play in the way it is perceived by its keyaudiences.

During the first quarter of 2002 alone, the Securities &Exchange Commission launched more than five dozen account-ing and financial reporting probes more than double theentire total for all of 2001. And that doesnt count the investi-gations opened by other federal regulators, states, municipalitiesand Congress. No industry, it seems, has been left untouched bythe renewed int erest in corporate behavior.

As Fortune put it: Phony earnings, inflated revenues, conflictedWall Street analysts, directors asleep at the switch: all are indica-

tive of a systemic breakdown in corporate America. N earlyevery known check on corporate behavior moral, regulatory seems to have fallen by the wayside, replaced by the stupendousgreed that marked the end of the tech bubble. T he result is acrisis of investor confidence, the likes of which hasn't been seensince the Great Depression.

T he pillars of civility seem well suited for companies hoping toemerge better positioned from the current confluence of

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The Mount Vernon Report is published by Morrissey & Co., an independent strategic communications and public relations firm headquartered at 1 21 Mount Vernon Street, Boston, MA 02Further commentary or response to any of the topics discussed in this issue is welcomed and should be directed to 61 7-523-4141 or via email to peter@ morrisseypr.com.

{ C H O O S I N G- cont. from pg. 1}

investor anger, executive isolation, customer disaffection andmedia scrutiny.

P.M. Forni, co-founder of the Johns Hopkins Civility Projectidentifies the most important facet of considerate social conduct as paying attention to others. For todays company, thatmeans seeking out, listening to, and when possible, respondingpromptly to what clients, partners, investors, employees andother stakeholders have to say about the way you do businessIts a broad but important rule that can transform everythingfrom the service delivered at a call center, the way a phone mes-sage is taken, or the amount of financial detail released duringa quarterly conference call.

Forni also considers the ability to admit mistakes and acknowl-edge ignorance as two other impor tant rules of civility becauseboth convey respect and represent an acknowledgement of flawas the first step toward self-directed, constructive improvement

Equally as important, particularly for companies who trulybelieve themselves to be unfair targets of criticism, is the 17thof Fornis 25 Rules of Considerate Conduct: Assert Yourself.

Being civil in the corporate world does not need to mean, be adoormat. With the proper balance of corporate leadership andcommunications counsel, it is entirely possible for a company

thats under the microscope to be polite and tough, respectfuand rigorous, agreeable and aggressive.

Often, its not what you say but the way you say it that mattersmost. In the current atmosphere, ironically, a companys route togold may rely heavily on its ability to follow T he Golden Rule.

~ Ed Cafass

T his issue of T he Mt . Vernon Report was inspired part ly by thework of P.M. Forni, who led the Johns H opkins Civility Projectin an effort to assess the relevance of notions of civility,politeness, and manners in America today. Dr. Forni recountedthe lessons he learned on the project in his recently published

The Civility Projectbook Choosing Civility T he Twenty-Five Rules ofConsiderate Conduct. More information on Dr. Fornis work inthe field of civility can be found athttp:/ / www.jhu.edu/ civility/ .

~ Megan O rendorf

~ George Washington

Every action done in company ought to be donewith some sign of respect to those that are present.

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