A Question of Ethics.

I knew what I'd done as soon as the door closed. Five years of busting my ass for this company, for this family, had come down to a two-word question: “Will you?” And a one-word answer: And, “No.” I worked diligently for five years and now have nothing to show for it, and a possible shattered reputation for my efforts.

I just couldn’t bring myself to lie to a client. The client had a multimillion-dollar investment in our equipment and many more millions in production revenues depending on its output. They sold the client one product and shipped a “New and Improved” version. The new series never worked, even in the R and D lab. It was buggy and very poorly designed. The owners had maneuvered me into their scheme before I could figure it out. But this was too much, even for me. They let me have the R and D boys disassemble one of their returned units and start to redesign and repair it for the client. We then had a meeting with client and gave them firm dates for shipping and final repairs. When we returned to the factory, they instructed the R and D boys to literally push the units aside and work on a new project for a new prospective client, and told me string the old client along with excuses and new problems. Hence the question: “Will you?” and my reply, “No.”

I learned my ethics in politics of all places. Even in the trenches of political campaigning there are hard and fast rules. Rule number one is, “You lie, you die”. It’s okay and even expected to mislead and avoid hard positions; to redirect questions and to tell the people what they want to hear, just don’t lie. Just as soon you lie, the media and the opponent find out about it, and they always do faster than you imagined possible; you die politically. Your chances of winning are cut to nil. How often have you watched a candidate try to defend or deflect the effects of a lie to the media? Every election, that’s how often. It happens at every level, and the results are the same; money that should have been used sending out the message is used trying to fix the mistake; a mistake that can’t be fixed. You can unbreak an egg, and you can’t untell and lie. Once a trust is broken it will never be the same. The same is true in business and every other aspect of life.

I didn’t have many options, stay and be marginalized and fired at their convenience, or go for a quick break; resign now and walk away। I opted for the break. I figured that they are going to blame me for as much as they can, so I needed to set the record straight. I may not find a comparable job any time soon; some will call me disloyal, but I have a clear conscience.