Mitchell Report

If you are a baseball fan the past couple of days have been shocking to say the least. The use of steroids in baseball is at a level that people could have never imagined. There are potential hall of fame players that are being accused and their reputations are in jeopardy. My question is are they a by product of a culture that demands the pressure to succeed?

In business, like baseball, people are constantly looking for an edge. In business it might mean acquiring a new company, hiring a top executive, or hedging the company's assets for capital. Depending on the culture of the organization all of these are relative and the culture decides how far you should go. I once worked in a culture that was so driven by goals you felt that at any given time you could lose your job if you missed the numbers. Regardless of tenure or experience you miss the goals 2 months in a row and you better get your resume ready. I worked in this environment for 6 years and throughout that time I seen numerous people being fired for compliance/regulation reasons. Yes, these people were jeopardizing their careers in order to keep their careers. It seems strange, right? The answer is no, the culture demanded that you hit your goals but did not demand you have the utmost integrity.

I view the situation with MLB to the situation that happens everyday in business. At an early age people are learning how to beat the system, cheating on tests, staying past curfew, under age drinking. So why do we expect these same people once they are in a leadership positions to change. If you do not like the actions that are taking place take a look at the culture and environment. If you change one person you impact one, if you change the environment and the culture you will impact many!