What Moffat and McChrystal Can Teach Business Owners
By all accounts Robert Moffat led a charmed life. He married his college sweetheart, started working at IBM the day he returned from his honeymoon, and by virtue of a strong work ethic and a knack for numbers rose through the ranks of IBM during his 31-year career to stand on the threshold of becoming its next CEO. Yet on October 13, 2009 his world came crashing down around him. He was arrested by the FBI on insider trading charges as a result of his indiscrete sharing of confidential information with Danielle Chiesi. It was information that was sealed with a kiss, and her ties to the Galleon Group Hedge Fund scandal caused Moffat to resign from IBM several days later.
General Stanley McChrystal also experienced stellar career success. During his 34-year military career he rose through the ranks to become a four-star general and the top commander in the Afghan theater. He is highly regarded in the Special Operations community, admired as a hero for his resourcefulness in analyzing and acting on intelligence to combat insurgent leaders in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is also highly admired for his tenacity and willingness to endure the same conditions the troops under his command did.
Although McChrystal survived the hostile fire of the battlefield, it didn’t protect him from the firestorm that erupted with the publication of a Rolling Stones article featuring him as the “Run Away General” and quoting him and his staff making disparaging remarks about senior members of the Obama administration, including the Commander in Chief. The comments were supposed to be ‘off the record,’ but two days before the Rolling Stones article was released it became clear they weren't. General McChrystal was relieved of his duties in Afghanistan several days later.
Both men thought that the confidential information that they were sharing would go no further. Both men were betrayed. They both forgot a fundamental principle of confidentiality that every kindergartner knows. If you want to tell a secret you swore someone not to tell. You got that commitment up front. You didn’t assume it. The grown-up business version of this is called a confidentiality agreement.
Moffat and McChrystal’s second fatal flaw was they they didn’t secure their legal rights.
But, their number one fatal flaw was to trust the wrong person. The best contract in the world won’t protect you from someone who is determined to betray you for their own agenda.
While we can question the integrity of those who engage in betrayals, the sad truth of the matter is you can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube once the damaging news is out. The law can try to make you whole for the damages you’ve suffered – but that only works if you’ve secured your legal rights and it can take years of legal fees before you’re vindicated. Even then, it may only be a hollow victory if your life has been radically altered in the meantime. It's always better to deal with high integrity organizations and individuals.
And what if you can’t obtain a “confidentiality agreement”? Or there is no way to verify the integrity factor?
Well, then you exercise caution. You go into Miranda mode. You assume that everything you say can and will be used against you. You don’t share information that can destroy your business, or your career and everything you’ve sacrificed a lifetime to achieve. If not, you could find yourself resigning in disgrace, with your reputation in shreds and you’ll have to ask yourself whether it was all really worth it.
What would you rather do?
