Oh, how the mighty have fallen: A cautionary tale for taking the easy way out

Since the news of Wells Fargo’s egregious sales scandal, stories contrasting the company’s former glory with recent tales of professional negligence have transpired in nearly every media outlet. How can a company who’s CEO, John Stumpf, was named 2015 CEO of the Year by Morningstar research firm, go from being lauded for shunning “activities that put profits ahead of customers,” to being fined $185 million for unlawful activities?
The answer lies in how people (and organizations, too!) cope with difficult periods in both the business and economic cycle. According to reports, aggressive sales goals and intense internal competition led thousands of employees to create unauthorized accounts for customers. While this situation is an extreme example, it reminds us all that bad decisions can snowball.
During recent periods of economic uncertainty, many organizations have been forced to resourcefully cut corners. Yet, doing so doesn’t mean compromising the integrity of the company. According to business guru, Niall Fitzgerald, “Corporate Social Responsibility is a hard-edged business decision. Not because it is a nice thing to do or because people are forcing us to do it because it is good for our business.” This mentality certainly comes from the top down and in the case of Wells Fargo’s CEO this was completely ignored.
For Wells Fargo, coming back from such a scandal will take time, and the company will undoubtedly be hard pressed to earn the trust of clients and employees again.