You are reading the FRACAT Blog Archive (also known as "FRACAT 1.0") for all posts prior to October 29th, 2007.
Is Your Company’s Character Changing Yours?
Back in the Enron heyday, I worked with them in a couple of different capacities. I had contractors out there for a few projects and I worked with a lot of the Enron folks who were looking for a new job.
Enron had a character problem. That might not be surprising to hear, but it isn’t the character problem that most people associate with Enron.
The upper management absolutely had a problem with lying, greed, and an unhealthy level of competition.
But upper management doesn’t really set the character of any company after it gets to be a certain size. The employees set the character.
That was the case at Enron and it is the case at your company, too.
WHOSE CHARACTER IS INFLUENCING WHOM?
From what I experienced in my association with Enron, I can tell you that the character problems at Enron permeated the entire company. Almost every person I dealt with at Enron who had been there for more than a year was willing to do anything to get ahead.
My question was always whether the culture of Enron changed the people who worked there or just attracted those sorts of people.
As usual, God’s Word has an answer:
“Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’ ” -1 Corinthians 15:33
So, what is your company’s character like? Is your character influencing the company or is the company’s character influencing you?
I’ve talked to plenty of candidates who did things they “would never normally do” just to survive in a company with bad character.
Has your company asked you to lie, cheat, steal, or otherwise shame the name of God? I know some of mine have.
What does God say about what you did at work today?
Enjoy the Search!
-Dan
Photo by: RossinaBossioB
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