Not OxyContin!  Not Oxytocin!

Included in our delicate design and complex composition is a chemical substance that is the key to moral behavior.  This “moral molecule” according to author Paul J. Zak accounts for why some people are generous and caring and others are cheats and frauds.

In his recently published book, “The Moral Molecule:  The Source of Love and Prosperity”, Zak posits that the chemical substance Oxytocin—the same substance used as a female reproductive hormone—creates a surge that induces us to behave more properly.  And then somewhat incredulously Zak adds, “Fortunately, all you have to do to trigger this Moral Molecule is give someone a sign of trust.  When one person extends himself to another in a trusting way, the person being trusted experiences a surge in oxytocin that makes her less likely to hold back and less likely to cheat.  Which is another way of saying that the feeling of being trusted makes a person more…trustworthy.”

You’re probably thinking what I thought.  Let’s give all the potential Bernie Madoffs a heavy dose of oxytocin.  Certainly less risky than my trust!  And I suspect that you are as dubious as I that there’s a magic pill or injection that can transform greed and corruption into Honest Abe behavior. 

I do embrace and support Zak’s notion that trust in others may make the trusted person even more trustworthy.  Yes, we know it’s not 100% applicable and we know that we must be diligent, prudent and common sensible when it comes to trusting others.  As President Ronald Reagan so well put it, “I trust you but cut the cards.”

Another study (Wall Street Fleet Street Main Street:  Corporate Integrity at a Crossroads), more pragmatic than the Zak research, was conducted and reported on in July 2012 by Labaton Sucharow, a long-established and noted law firm for their corporate governance and more recently their whistleblower representation services.  Labaton surveyed 250 companies in the United States and 250 companies in the United Kingdom in various segments of the financial industry. Questions were posed about personal ethics, corporate culture, possible misconduct, competitors, regulators, and compliance authorities.  Here are the results summary:

·        Misconduct is still widespread in the financial services industry; 26% of respondents indicated that they had observed or had firsthand knowledge of wrongdoing in the workplace.

·        Nearly one-fourth of respondents believed that financial services professionals may need to engage in unethical or illegal conduct in order to be successful.

·        An alarming number of financial services professionals, 16% of respondents, would commit a crime-insider trading-if they could get away with it.

·        Nearly one-third of all financial services professionals reported feeling pressured by bonus or compensation plans to violate the law or engage in unethical conduct.  Nearly one-quarter of the respondents felt similar pressure from other sources.

·        While enforcement actions are on the rise and new reforms have strengthened financial regulators and law enforcement authorities, only one in four financial services professionals believe these watchdogs are effective.

·        Despite the encouraging 94% of financial services professionals who indicated a willingness to report wrongdoing, given the protections and incentives such as those offered by the SEC Whistleblower Program, less than half of the industry is aware of the SEC;s new program.

After reading the Labaton report, one may feel he must rush to OxyContin, the pain reliever and not Oxytocin, the so-called (and I think exaggerated) trust-inducing chemical.   

The Labaton report suggests an alternative approach to addressing the trust crisis which is much preferable to either a pain reliever or a “devil made me do it” antidote:

  “The best way to ensure that the financial marketplace operates with greater transparency, fairness and accountability is to recognize the powerful troika—regulators, corporations and individuals—that has the ability to establish and strengthen a culture of integrity that will create lasting change in the financial markets.” 

Yes, companies, institutions, all forms of organizations and of course individuals must step forward and lead with integrity.  And there are many, like the Scooter Store (“Always do the right thing”) who tell the world that ethics, trust and integrity aren’t just nice words but the operating and intrinsic core of the company.  You may know many companies, firms or individuals who embrace and promote integrity and trust.  Share them with me and I’ll begin highlighting some of these.  We’ll receive quickly the bad news of the unethical—the cheats and the greedy.  Let’s focus a much larger part of our attention to the ones who behave and conduct themselves in a trustworthy manner. 

Not OxyContin.  Not Oxytocin.  Let’s try leadership!

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