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ignore (and process) those reports, she pointed out to him that she thought he’d “inadvertently” made a mistake on his report. The word inadvertently was carefully chosen. It was her way of giving him the benefit of the doubt, as well as a way to correct the problem without having to admit that he’d been dishonest. It also sent a message that someone was watching. This encouraged him to keep more accurate expense reports in the future.

Fight Subtle Pressures

Unethical behavior doesn’t always involve conscious fraud. Unconscious self-deception can fuel the fire, too. For example, many executives tend to view unethical behavior as “someone else’s problem” rather than their own, says Oak Park, Illinois, psychologist Laurie Anderson. If they behave in a shady manner, they justify it as a necessary reaction to others’ misconduct.

“Nobody ever owns up to being an unethical person,” Anderson says. “It’s everybody else who’s unethical.”

Rationalizing ethical slips isn’t hard for people who must reconcile competing professional pressures. A prominent health-care attorney with a major Chicago law firm cites the situation in fee-for-service medicine, where overzealous physicians might rack up legitimate (but unnecessary) charges in the name of conscientiousness.

“Never mind what the client really needs,” says the attorney. “Doctors and lawyers make those decisions for them. And sometimes those decisions are costly.”

Excessive demands from higher-ups can also be a factor. For example, consider the timekeeping wars that go on in the legal world. I spent five years of my career as office manager for a medium-size general corporate law firm and was responsible for collecting and monitoring attorneys’ time sheets. During my tenure, there was an ongoing push for associates to generate more billable hours, which in turn generated a silent feud among several of the associates.

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All the firm’s associates worked similarly long hours. However, one associate with some particularly “creative” timekeeping strategies made it look as if he was putting in more hours than his colleagues. One very meticulous, hard-working associate (who put in 10-hour days every single day) resented his colleague’s timekeeping strategies, the partners’ tacit agreement to look the other way, and the subsequent pressure it placed on him to work harder and bill more hours, too.

His personal integrity created a double bind. He didn’t feel it was his place to blow the whistle on his colleague, nor did he wish to put in more hours than he already was. He certainly wasn’t interested in padding his time sheets. But he worried that the partners would think he wasn’t productive enough. He need not have worried. Working in the same office with him every day, it was impossible not to notice how diligently he worked.

As it turns out, both men became partners in the firm at the same time. Despite the conflict over billable hours, they were competent attorneys who achieved good results for the firm. But one was honest and capable, while the other was devious and manipulative.

It would be comforting to believe that, monetarily speaking, “crime doesn’t pay.” But that isn’t always true. Sometimes, crime can be very lucrative. And just because the two Beech-Nut executives got caught doesn’t mean that the next group of corporate thieves will suffer a similar fate. Besides, people who don’t get caught don’t make the six o’clock news.

The executives weren’t even true bad guys (although they did show very poor judgment, for which they paid dearly). Their intention was to keep their company solvent and profitable. In their own minds, they probably genuinely believed that the “financial bottom line” of their company was more important than the law, fair business practices, or their own personal reputation. What they needed was a lesson in “Business Ethics 101,” with special emphasis on personal integrity and social responsibility.

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Find a Role Model

From a career perspective, if it doesn’t bother you to “play dirty,” it’s up to you. As long as you confine your activities to legal ones, you can let your conscience be your guide. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that you can’t win playing fairly. Whoever said “nice guys finish last” most assuredly wasn’t a nice guy. He obviously didn’t have any appreciation for the financial value of such intangibles as consumer trust, employee loyalty, fair business practices, or quality service. You don’t have to take him as your role model, either. Why not look for better role models with more character and integrity?

In government, former Attorney General Janet Reno stands out for her principle-centered leadership. Reno wasn’t afraid to take tough stands and live with the consequences. As the first woman to hold the Attorney General’s office, she blazed new trails for women. But beyond the politics of gender, her ability to lead with integrity brought a strength of character to the role that hadn’t been seen since Bobby Kennedy held the office. When Reno became Attorney General, she announced that her decisions would be guided by one question:

What’s the right thing to do?

Given the intricacies and manipulations built into the legal system, isn’t that value-centered vision what you’d want from someone in that role? Reno didn’t pussyfoot around issues or talk out of both sides of her mouth. She said what she believed and stood by those beliefs, even when things didn’t turn out as she hoped. During the tragic and highly controversial Waco incident, in which several FBI agents and many followers (including children) of Branch Davidian cult leader David Koresh, were killed, Reno stood her ground when facing a scandalhungry media and announced, “The buck stops with me.”

More than anything, our workforce needs people who are willing to accept responsibility even when things go tragically wrong.

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Defend Your Rights

Ethics isn’t a set of moral positions; it’s a process. It’s a way of living in the world with integrity and self-respect. That means standing up for yourself when your rights have been violated and “doing the right thing” even when there’s pressure to back down.

In the movie Philadelphia, Tom Hanks plays a corporate lawyer named Andrew Beckett who is fired from his senior associate’s position, ostensibly for incompetence. In fact, however, Beckett is certain he was dismissed because he’s gay and dying of AIDS. For Beckett, the ensuing lawsuit is as much a matter of principle as personal integrity. As his dying act, the once-successful attorney wants to restore his reputation and clear his name of any wrongdoing.

In a poignant scene, he asks his family’s support for a lawsuit that will bring a great deal of public scrutiny and embarrassment to them. His mother shows her wholehearted support by saying: “I didn’t raise my kids to sit in the back of the bus. You get in there and fight for your rights.”

His mother’s blessing notwithstanding, Beckett has a hard time finding an attorney willing to go against his powerful former bosses and defend his rights. As the movie unfolds, it also becomes a story of growing respect between Beckett and his homophobic lawyer, played by Denzel Washington. Gradually, Washington’s character learns to see beyond his personal stereotypes and view his client as a whole, real person. Meanwhile, Tom Hanks’ character holds other people accountable for their actions—in this case, lawyers who have broken the law.

There are real-life heroes who exemplify this spirit as well. If you’re old enough to remember baseball great Hank Aaron, you might also remember the year he began inching toward Babe Ruth’s home-run record (which he eventually broke). That year, Aaron also started receiving hate mail from die-hard Ruth fans who didn’t appreciate that a black ballplayer was about to shatter their hero’s records. The

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