Stories about executives who sought profits at all cost made the headlines this week.  But there are many companies that are run by leaders who are people of integrity and who follow ethical business practices. If you’re not working for one of them, maybe it’s time to leave.

In this edition of By Your Life, we’ll talk about what to do if you feel you need to compromise your values at work.

Mass Readings Audio
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/2019/19_02_10.mp3

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time – February 10, 2019

Welcome to the forty-sixth episode of By Your Life. Thank you for joining me. If you haven’t already, please subscribe via iTunes, Stitcher, or on the right side of this page so I can send you notifications when each new episode is posted. And please forward to a friend you think would benefit from By Your Life.

My goal is to inspire, empower, support, challenge, and encourage you to connect Sunday, with Monday-Friday, in a secular, business world. It is my desire to help you live our Catholic faith in the marketplace and to trust that it is good for business. I hope to offer you practical ways to go forth and glorify the Lord by your life.

In this edition, we will reflect on the readings for the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Earlier this week, I was listening to a talk show on the radio where they were discussing the documents filed in Massachusetts court implicating the Sackler family, owners of Purdue Pharma, board members, and executives for allegedly knowing that the painkiller OxyContin was causing overdoses, yet they continued to aggressively market the drug, even as deaths mounted. These allegations will be tried in court, and Purdue Pharma will have the chance to tell their side of the story, so it is not my intent to presume innocence or guilt here. However, what stood out to me as I listened to the commentators discuss the case was that documents revealed that “staff warned its board that [two doctors] had prescribed opioids inappropriately, but no one in the company immediately reported it to medical licensing officials.”

In addition, “staff told the Sacklers that drug overdose deaths had tripled since 1990, while OxyContin had become the top-selling painkiller in the country,” and “that tens of thousands of deaths were only the ‘tip of the iceberg.’ … [F]or every death, there were more than a hundred people suffering from prescription opioid dependence or abuse.”

Then today, I read about the auditor who had inspected the mining dam that collapsed in Brazil. He said he felt pressured to attest to the dam’s stability, despite indications it was unsafe. Although his report identified several risks and included recommendations for repairs, he signed off on the safety of the dam because he feared losing business with the mining company.

I thought about those people who were making a good living in pharmaceutical sales and one day coming to the realization that the product they were selling wasn’t helping people, it was killing them. And then this auditor, who warned his client about the safety issues at the dam but knew that they weren’t listening and was complicit in risking the lives of the employees and people of the nearby community. Did they feel like the prophet Isaiah in the first reading when he said, “Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips”? (Is 6:5) What would you have done if you were in their situation? Maybe you have been.

This reminds me of the story of Walter Pavlo, Jr. I heard Walt speak at a conference and I also interviewed him when I was in the process of writing my book, The Value of Core Values. The short version of Walt’s story (which you can read in his book, Stolen Without A Gun: Confessions from inside history’s biggest accounting fraud–the collapse of MCI Worldcom), is that he was a decent guy, a former altar boy, with a lovely wife, two kids, and a promising career, who got caught up in a culture of greed and it took him down. Walt witnessed everyone around him getting rich and decided he should have a share in the wealth. He ended up pleading guilty to obstruction of justice, money laundering, and wire fraud and served 24 months in federal prison.

When you read his story, you have to wonder, how does this happen? How can good people end up doing such bad things? The short answer is that they—we—justify it. At MCI Worldcom, salespeople got rich opening accounts with mobsters and criminals who weren’t paying their bills, but the company turned a blind eye, happily recording record revenue growth while at the same time hiding the mounting receivables from investors and potential acquirers. The goal for the executives was to cash in their stock and all would be well.

In the midst of this culture of greed, Walt was approached by his future partners in crime who had devised a scheme to blackmail the criminals and embezzle discounted payments in exchange for keeping the accounts at MCI Worldcom open which allowed the thugs to stay in business. Walt agreed to participate as the inside man who altered the books. He justified his actions by rationalizing that MCI Worldcom was never going to get paid by the criminals anyway, so they weren’t really being harmed. And what’s so bad about squeezing a few dollars from the crooks? After all, they were criminals and got what they deserved.

Near the end of the book, in a discussion with his younger brother, as he is being driven off to prison, Walt said, “In the movies, you can tell the bad guys because they wear the black hats. In our dreams, they are witches or demons. But you know what? In real life, the bad guys are people like me.”

But that wasn’t the end of the story because Walt was redeemed. The former altar boy turned con man has used his experience for good. As Frank Abagnale said in his endorsement of Walt’s book, his story “explains, but does not excuse, how people take the wrong path.” Walt acknowledged his failure and took responsibility for it. At his sentencing hearing, he said, “It has been said that the road to a righteous life is narrow, but it is nonetheless a road and not a tightrope. I should have known better and I vow to do better.” And he has. Walter Pavlo, Jr. now teaches Ethics and Corporate Responsibility with lectures, live guest interviews and case study analysis of current issues facing management.

This is the message of this Sunday’s readings. Through God’s grace, we are convicted of our sin, but in his mercy, God redeems us and calls us to go out and serve. In the first reading, Isaiah’s unclean lips were touched by an ember and his wickedness was removed and his sin purged. (Is 6:7) Then Isaiah says, “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send?  Who will go for us?” “Here I am,” I said; “send me!” (Is 6:8) And, in the second reading, St. Paul writes “I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective.” (1 Cor 15:9-10) And, in the Gospel, Simon Peter exclaims “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.” (Lk 5:8) But Jesus said to him, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” (Lk 5:10)

No, sin wasn’t the end of the story for Walt Pavlo, for the prophet Isaiah, St. Paul, nor for Simon, the fisherman, and it doesn’t have to be the end of the story for us, either.

So, what if you find yourself caught up in something you just know isn’t right. It may be the normal course of business for your industry, but you are uneasy about it. Rejoice! The discomfort you feel is God’s grace working within you. Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher to the papal household said, “If you have no struggle at all, be afraid and question yourself. Recognize that either this has happened as a free gift of God—in which case you should simply thank him and feel unworthy of it, or else it has happened because you have become accustomed to evil and compromise—in which case it is time for you to wake up.”

The Evil One is ever-present, doing his thing, and taking us down with him. It happened to Walt Pavlo. He didn’t set out to commit fraud on a grand scale. It started with one small journal entry, and then another, and then he was numb to the sin. Wake up! Pay attention to that feeling in your gut. It is the Lord inside you, speaking to you. If you want to combat the devil, listen to the voice.

I understand that sometimes fear gets in the way. We are afraid to speak up when we witness something wrong. Or, we speak up but get shut down, so we decide to keep quiet. We are afraid of losing our jobs or a big client. We are afraid because we’ve kept the Lord out of our work lives. Fear is not faith.

After fishing all night, alone, doing things his own way, Simon Peter caught nothing. But then, he allowed Jesus into his boat—his place of business—and what happened when he was obedient to Jesus? “They caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing. They signaled to their partners in the other boat
to come to help them. They came and filled both boats so that the boats were in danger of sinking. (Lk 5:6-7) When he willingly cooperated with Jesus, he was overwhelmed by the catch, so much so, that the overabundance of God’s grace spilled over to the boats alongside him.

And so it is for us when we surrender all our life, including our work, to Christ. It is not enough to listen to him on Sundays. Do not be afraid to take Jesus to work with you.

When I first heard Walt Pavlo tell his story, it occurred to me that the news is filled with stories about companies like MCI Worldcom that fail because their leaders fail. These sensational stories make headlines. But we don’t hear much about the leaders who run companies that are successful and are doing things the right way. For some reason, this type of leadership isn’t newsworthy, but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.

There are many companies that are run by leaders who are people of integrity and who follow ethical business practices and whose companies are profitable too. But profits aren’t their measure of success, rather they are a means to accomplish their mission and bring value to all their stakeholders—their customers, employees, shareholders, and the communities in which they live.

Maybe you aren’t working for one of these great companies. If so, maybe it is time to leave if you must compromise your values to stay. Do not be afraid. You may have to let go and leave behind the security you are clinging to in order to receive what God has planned for you. I did. Sixteen years ago, I knew my priorities were out of order and I left the security of a well-paying job. Simon Peter walked away and left everything and followed Jesus. Both Peter and I have been richly rewarded. Trust that you will be too.

Let us ask the Holy Spirit to enter our lives completely, so we may detach from material possessions, power, pride or whatever is keeping us from him, so when he asks, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?,” we will respond, “Here I am, … send me!” (Is 6:8)

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful, and kindle in them, the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth.

May God bless you abundantly this week and may you glorify the Lord by your life. Amen.

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