Tag Archives: ethics

Working In Corrupt Societies

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Two weeks ago I shared a list of questions that I’ve used consciously, and unconsciously, to make decisions when my surroundings didn’t make sense anymore.

Until I turned 30, corruption was something that happened to other people. Looking back, either I was the problem, or I was far too self-absorbed to take a look around. Probably a mix of both.

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Cycling (today) is providing a case study of what happens when multi-generational corruption comes into the public domain.

We are reading frequent insider references to cycling being a corrupt society (Hamilton, Millar, Vaughters). Against this background, it is useful to remember that most elite athletes are good people. Within my own circle, I don’t know any evil cheaters – they are simply cheaters. 

How do good people create, sustain and cope with life in a corrupt society? Deciding that there isn’t a problem (triathlon) is one way. Another way to cope is to become part of a “solution.” Activists working to change a corrupt society are given a pass because we balance their good deeds against their continued participation in corruption. I’d point out that anyone cashing a check at the top of cycling is part of that society. Best to be honest with one’s self.

With truly good people, their goodness will drive them from corruption. Reading the cycling autobiographies, I was struck by how the lying drains the joy from cyclists’ hearts.

I don’t blame others for taking the money. As a young man, I had my price.

When I have set my price (via wins, money or recognition), I knew it was time to leave.

 

Admission Essay on Goals and Aspirations

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Briefly discuss how your family, school, neighborhood, and background have impacted your educational goals and aspirations. 

Since graduating from McGill University in 1990, I have pursued overlapping careers in finance, business and elite athletics. Working in these fields, I’ve seen ethical compromises made in the name of “success.” I’ve seen how different societies are structured so that good people can create unjust results.

The pivotal events in my life involved a choice when faced with deeply embedded corruption. Rather than fight, my choice has been to change direction and find a new community. I’ve left a marriage, a private-equity firm, a friendship and a sport to remain true to my personal ethics. These decisions have caused short-term pain but generated long-term satisfaction.

Over the last year, I’ve looked deeply and considered the most honorable people in my life. This circle of friends, and mentors, is dominated by doctors. The most honorable acts that I’ve witnessed have been doctors helping strangers. I’m aware of the ethical dilemmas due to Big Pharma, reimbursement incentives and liability avoidance. Notwithstanding these challenges, the most compassionate people in my life are physicians.

Coming out of high school in 1986, science was the road not taken. Influenced by my times, I enrolled in a business program and pursed personal profit. I enjoyed success, while learning that the pursuit of money lacks deeper meaning. 

My goal is to discover if an aptitude remains for a career in medicine. My aspiration is to combine my business background with medical knowledge and improve the delivery of healthcare in the State of Colorado.

 

Identifying Corruption

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Taleb writes that to see fraud, yet remain silent, makes us a fraud. It’s a powerful argument but, before speaking up, I like to think things through.

What should you do when you realize that your spouse, your boss, your business partner or your peers might be corrupt? Before taking action, I have some questions that I ask myself:

Look around and ask… Am I sure? – this question has saved me from many mistakes. Most of what I see in others in generated by something inside of me.

Look around and invert by asking… What is the likelihood that all these people are not corrupt? This method brings me clarity when faced with white lies and circumstantial evidence.

Consider the implications of no-action… If they turn out to be crooks, and I stick around, then what’s likely to happen to me?

Consider the breadth of corruption: is it local; is it in the leadership; or is it through the entire organization?

When I’ve been faced with difficult decisions, these questions have been extremely useful. I’ll share case studies over the next few weeks.

Skin In The Game

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Sticking with the Antifragile theme, Taleb (and Gordon Livingston) write that honor flows from demonstrating courage when exposed to risk due to one’s beliefs. Taleb uses the example of enduring ridicule, and financial risk, for being true to his beliefs. 

Last summer, I listened to elites hammer on about the underclass not having skin in the game. This discussion seemed to lack justice but I wasn’t able to put my finger on an exact reason.

Having worked alongside the wealthy, I have experience with the problems of the rich. My move to the US gave me a chance to dig deeper into tax policy and I’ll be sharing some observations about that in future articles.

At the top of society, what does an honest person risk?

  • Size of main residence
  • Frequency, location and duration of vacations 
  • Number of years until retirement
  • Proportion of personal budget dedicated to luxury spending
  • Amount of capital passed to the next generation

Facing the above doesn’t require courage – no wonder extreme activities become popular in societies with wide income differentials.

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In Taleb’s worldview, meaning comes from exercising courage with regard to one’s beliefs. I tend to derive meaning from the pursuit of excellence, working on my goals and meeting my obligations to my family. There’s not much personal risk in the way I roll through life, but it seems to work for me.

I enjoyed the Antifragile book, so I’ve been considering how I might be fooling myself. I’ve come up with a few areas.

As a 4th generation, first born, white male… the world has been skewed in my favor since birth. Listening, to my peers complain about the burdens of sharing society with their fellow citizens, demonstrates an ignorance of my reality. Seeing older versions of myself complain offends something inside me – my time in Asia taught me that I rarely have anything to complain about.

There is a disconnect between my reality and what the public is told about people like me. My effective (US) tax rate is similar to what I paid in Hong Kong. Having lived in Europe, Oceania and Asia – America is a low-cost, and very attractive, place to live and work.

Taleb makes the point that seeking to change the human condition is folly and warns against seeking to remove greed. He advises regulation to protect our societies from the effects of greed. Examples would be getting rid of banks that are too big to fail and applying criminal sanctions for white collar criminals. There have been a lot of examples in the news recently. HSBC banking drug cartels and Barclays fixing global interest rates. If a small institution took these actions then their directors would be going to jail, or at least losing their banking license.

Remember that we only see a portion of the corruption in our societies.

  • What do the financial scandals tell us about that society?
  • What does the USADA report tell us about endurance sport?
  • What lessons can we learn from these real-life dramas to make better decisions in our own lives?
  • When faced with an ethical choice, do we take the money or remain true to ourselves? 
  • Is it possible to do both?

I’ve spent a lot of time considering the above and my latest book shared a road map for how I live.

Before we publish on Amazon, my editor asked me to include the human side of how I arrived at my framework. Over the next few months, I’ll be sharing the stories that created my way of living.

Secret Lives

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This past year has been a tough one for confidence in my peers. Historically, I’ve had some form of ethical event about every five years and 2012 will stand out. The developments in cycling, and their implication to my sport of triathlon, have impacted me quite deeply.

My wife thinks that I’ve been focusing on Lance but it’s the implications for my athletic life, combined with local scandals, that have been most difficult for me. 2012 saw the discovery of many secret lives in my peers.

If you read Charlie Munger then you’ll find examples of the corrosive effects of creating incentives for people to lie. What starts as an individual tragedy flows into society when a class of people starts lying to themselves (sports figures, politicians, financiers). Living in a society that is filled with secret lives damages everyone. I prefer wide latitude for personal freedom with clear, and certain, punishments for crossing the line.

Secret lives come in many forms – drug use, alcoholism, theft, marital infidelity, disordered eating, overeating, sexual preference, sexual deviance, financial fraud, agency risk…

Coming out of cycling, the best confession (for personal ethics) that I read was Floyd saying (and I paraphrase) that he did it and he’d probably do it again. Pretty much everybody else has fallen back on the “I had a dream” defense and/or “I was only following orders.”

This hits me hard because I’ve left a marriage, a partnership and put companies into bankrupcy because I felt it was necessary to remain true to myself. The short-term costs to me have been material but far outweighed by the long-term benefits (and I can sleep at night without presciption medication).

Everybody doesn’t do it.

Perhaps Floyd’s honesty is mirrored behind closed doors – it’s better in the long run to be honest with yourself. As Gordon Livingston tweeted this week – it’s easier to tell the truth to others when we’re not lying to ourselves!

In Boulder, we’re highly indignant of doping cheats (that get caught). However, we’re surprisingly lax about other forms of cheating that have a much greater impact on families. I wonder if the haters would be as venomous if they knew the moral ambiguity pervasive in elite segments of society. Perhaps they’d share my 2012 crisis of confidence.

Would helping you connect the dots increase, or decrease, suffering? I’m mulling that over. Suffice to say, the public only knows a faction of what happens in sport, in finance and in business. I keep changing fields and it keeps following me.

Anyhow, I have come up with an idea to be part of the solution with respect to elite sport and will be sharing my biological passport over at Endurance Corner.

A very smart friend advised me to stay positive and stay on message. Reading all the hate is wearing me out – no need to add to that, or bring down my pals.

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Back to my original point about secret lives – if you read about cycling (The Secret Race, Racing Through the Dark), you’ll see what kills (non-sociopathic) people is knowing they are living a lie. Forcing good people underground weakens society.

We might think that raging against the dopers is just but do we want to train an anger response in our lives?

Consider eating disorders – I have a number of pals that have confided that they can’t come forward and tell everyone what it’s really like because ‘everyone will think I’m a headcase.’ Truth is most top athletes are headcases – there aren’t too many ‘normal’ people that want to exercise themselves towards their maximum genetic potential.

Or sexual preference – imagine being born a certain way and living in secret, often from your own parents. Even with tolerance and compassion, it isn’t easy rolling through life as a visible minority. Collectively forcing these men and women to live a lie is unjust and sets up a corrosive internal rationalization that can take years to unwind.

Closest to home is sexual abuse. I graduated from a Catholic high school, where I won a student-of-the-year scholarship. Ironically, my award was named after a priest that abused my friends. The boys have become men and continue to carry a pain from being victims of a very ill man.

Far better to release the past than carry the pain forward.

Live an open life.

Sport In The Context Of A Just Society

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A friend asked my opinion – this is an edited version of my reply.

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This essay might help you place your feelings: http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rawls/

I was introduced to Rawls by the Harvard Justice course.

For me, “just” success comes from an honorable path. It’s a fundamental error to let the pursuit of winning get in front of the pursuit of honor. The value of athletics to society comes from the virtuous pursuit of honor. It sounds like a quaint concept but that’s what athletics is about.

Early in my finance career, my Dad passed along advice that he received from the owner of the bank where we worked – always be willing to make a little less money to maintain your ethics. I’ve taken that further to “always be willing to be a little less successful.” The ability to leave a little on the table greatly reduces the chance that we’ll end up in jail or disgraced.

Livestrong is a powerful shield for Lance because it gives the appearance of a large benefit to the masses from one man’s success. That is an extremely powerful concept in terms of social justice (see Rawls). Based on the public facts, Livestrong may be an illusion. The clearest example is the splitting of the .com and the .org to personally benefit the founder – the fact that the millions of dollars from Nike, Trek and Oakley weren’t enough is telling. 

The joy we felt was real and you should feel lucky to have the capacity to feel joy from sports. I’ve lost most the joy I felt with elite sport. I know what lies beneath the surface and the illusions held by the masses bother me at some level.  I’m surrounded by constant reminders of athletic cheating.

Hold on to joy, release the hate and focus on being a good guy within your family. You’ll get the best return for your own life by emotional investment in those that are near to you. They know who we are and like us anyway!

The elites in society have a duty to hold themselves to a higher standard – most (many? some?) top athletes fail that test. Criminal violations by elites should be punished.

By “elites” I mean the top 1% of our society, not some poor guy making $35k a year with a pro triathlon card!

 

Not Normal

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Whatever your thoughts on Lance, you’d have to be quite a hater to miss the fact that he has a great sense of humor. An example from Tyler’s book being his use of “not normal” to describe the performances of his competition. 

One of the sad things about losing confidence in a situation is the filter that it places over the actions, and performances, of individuals. Lance says “not normal.” My favorite observation is “improved nutrition.”

Since reading Tyler’s book, I’ve been chuckling to myself as a lot of “not normal” incidents come back to me. It can take take an established pro years to get their nutrition “just right.” It’s healthier to laugh than to get bitter or angry!

In private, I’m often asked to name names when the topic of doping comes up. I’m very reluctant to do so. Across many years of hanging with triathletes and cyclists, I’ve only had two buddies admit to doping (but plenty that point the finger, usually at foreigners). That said, I have a good strategic mind and have been putting the pieces together.

What does a very sad situation in cycling tell us about the structure of a corrupt society? What’s “not normal” in triathlon, or any sport we love? Jot a few names down beside each of these bullets then connect the dots…

  • Athletes that test positive
  • Athletes that trained with teams that had a culture of doping
  • Athletes based close to centers of doping
  • Performances that defy human physiology
  • Cheat on their significant others and break business contracts
  • Cut courses
  • Lie about their backgrounds
  • Doctors and coaches with criminal convictions
  • Sudden, and large, performance jumps when previously well trained
  • Train abroad, far away from doping controls

For the group above, expand to include:

  • Closest training partners
  • Spouses and significant others
  • Athletes that dominated the people you think cheated

I don’t name names because the list above includes most my friends, some of my coaches and myself. The tough thing about losing confidence is my entire reality of elite sport crumbles. For my wife, Vino’s (of Astana) positive was her vomit moment. My vomit moments have hit far closer to home.

For the exercise physiology alone, at what level should we pitch our definition of normal? Pre-EPO (80s)? Pre-anabolics (70s)? Pre-amphetamines (60s)? Cyclists were blood doping at the 1984 Olympics, why wouldn’t triathletes? It’s too complicated so I opt out.

Tyler’s book gives a clear example of what happens when everybody loses confidence in their peers – you can’t have a good day without people thinking you’re a cheat. Corruption sucks the enjoyment out of life.

This brings me to the central truth about personal ethics… …if you are straight then you are the only person that will ever know. Do your work, stand back and be satisfied with your best. 

It is difficult, and unhealthy, to go through life thinking that everyone’s screwing you. Far easier to trust folks and avoid corrupt societies. This isn’t about a teenager’s “right” to be an elite athlete – we will each have to make the call in our own lives – at work, with friends, in our marriages and with our kids.

Most people choose to remain silent.

Conspiracy Theories

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A couple weeks ago, I wrote about financial karma. In my athletic life, I have been watching another example of karma – the exposure of an entire generation of athletic fraud. It’s a classic human drama and extremely painful to the millions that placed their happiness in the hands of sporting heroes.

When I lived in Asia, the staff at the office used to find my tendency to think the best of people to be quaint, and extremely naive. Despite chuckling at me, it was seen as a positive quality by my boss and peers.

The meltdown in cycling got me thinking about the different conspiracies I’ve experienced in my life:

  • Sexual Abuse of Children and Minors
  • Infidentily
  • Fraudulent Transfer
  • Larceny
  • Perjury
  • False Academic Credentials
  • Athletic Fraud (doping, course cutting)
  • Wilful Misrepresentation

That’s a pretty big list for simple guy from Vancouver.

As you’re pulling down the cycling posters on your garage wall, know that I feel your pain. I came to a similar conclusion about my own sport (triathlon) years ago. It really sucked for a couple weeks but I came out of it. You’ll come out of it.

Despite experiencing a laundry list of conspiracies, I continue to believe that trusting people is the best policy. However, I have certain rules of thumb that I apply in personal and business dealings.

First up, people generally focus on the financial risks of fraud. The true suffering is emotional and the true cost is lost time. So my tips are designed to minimize wasted time and limit the suffering when life disappoints.

There’s never just one cockroach – fraud runs in patterns, over time and in peer groups.

Force yourself to take references and listen to what people are telling you. People never want to give bad news, especially to strangers.

Check resumes – criminal and credit checks are far cheaper than what a crooked relationship will cost you. I’ve come across a surprising number of successful people that fake their credentials.

Follow the money – if you have concerns then audit the cash. A clear audit policy is a very positive incentive to the key people in your life.

Use the “death” penalty – remember that people rarely act alone, when you come across a serious violation of your personal ethics then clear out the entire group of peers. In business this can mean firing the entire management team. In my personal life, it’s more common to remove yourself from the peer group.

The points may sound draconian. To the above, I’d add forgiveness. Forgive people when things don’t work out – holding a grudge extends your suffering and costs you additional time, that you will never get back.

When you’re in the midst of the fraud, write everything down. We do a poor job of remembering when stressed. I started a habit of writing “file notes” when I was 20 years old and they have proven highly valuable.

While people change, the personality traits that cause people to make a habit of the easy way are tough to overcome. One of the reasons I write things down is because I’m always tempted to bring people back into my life after a few years have passed. Forgiveness is different than having someone in your inner circle.

In the uncertain world of human relationships, remember that past decisions are the most reliable indicator of future choices.

Be your own hero.

 

Family Values

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As part of my annual review, I finished a book on managing families across generations (recommend the book, regardless of financial position). 

Annually, I consider my values but I hadn’t formally considered our family values. My daughter is coming up on her 4th birthday and her behavior can mirror what I remember from my teens and twenties:

  • Compete with everyone, all the time
  • Near total focus on desired outcome
  • Random acts driven by impulse
  • Goodness with an element of cruelty, due to a limited capacity for empathy

Keeping in mind the lessons of last week and letting her learn by experience. My wife and I have been asking, “How should we treat this spirited young lady?” We decided to consider what we value within our own marriage. We came up with:

  1. Fair
  2. Truthful
  3. Train daily
  4. Golden Rule
  5. Always Polite

Even in childbirth (!), my wife has never raised her voice at me. How do I stack up when I consider the way I treat my own kids?

The goal of being polite provided an opportunity for insight – am I always polite to little people that are whining? Are there times when I fail to try?

As a parent, I want to hold myself to the same standards that my wife expects of me in our marriage. Because they live with me, my family will know my absolute truth.

As I improve myself, I gain empathy for others and find it much easier to handle emotionally-charged issues. My capacity to say no, discuss difficult issues, accept disagreement, let protests flow through me… all are enhanced by consistency within my own life and harmony in my marriage.

Holding myself to high standards requires effort when it is inconvenient. The payoff for this effort is internal harmony. Read the middle of this interview with Bassons for a practical example of the value of peace of mind.

I have work to do, especially when I’m tired and my daughter is melting down. Still, Monica has noticed a clear shift in my capacity to enjoy fatherhood. As an elite athlete, I took pride in doing what was required, rather than what I wanted to do. I’m tapping that trait to become a better parent.

Am I willing to teach my kids by setting limits on my behavior, my consumption and my choices? 

Nine years until my oldest is a teenager – I need to start working on my credibility now!

 

It’s Complicated

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Last weekend, the New York Times published an article by Jonathan Vaughters (JV) sharing his thoughts, and experience, with doping in professional cycling. If you’re interested in a deeper review of cycling then get a copy of Willy Voet’s book, Breaking The Chain.

JV talks about his choice to get the last 2% performance gain through doping. That had me thinking about my record in Ironman (2nd, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 7th, 10th). I think a more accurate description is JV received a 100% performance gain from doping. Cheat and he receives a pro contract, victories, trips to Europe and the exposure that, ultimately, brought him to his current position, working at the top of the sport.

JV is a stranger to me. However, something makes me like him (must be his fashion sense). My positive feelings towards JV, and others that have doped, are widely shared. Recently, I witnessed an exuberant standing ovation for an athlete with a similar background. Many cheaters are, and will remain, extremely popular figures in our society.

What to do? 

First up, I don’t waste energy trying to fix the situation. I have been gradually withdrawing from professional sports – I watch very little on TV, don’t follow the pros and spend my time with a small group of amateur peers. This frees up my mind for what’s important to me (wife, family, serenity, writing).

Second, I teach my kids that athletics is a journey of personal excellence and self-discovery. Professional sport is focused on winning. JV’s mission is winning clean but it is still winning. While that might generate value for sponsors, winning is what drives young people to cut corners. I wonder if my participation, at any competitive level, is part of the solution.

Once your goal is personal excellence the desire to cheat (on your spouse, on your taxes, for an insurance settlement, for another title) is greatly reduced. It is a wonderful filter to apply.

Two arguments that I hear a lot: we need highly-effective testing; and we should welcome the dopers because they enable us to make more money.

We want to be very careful about creating a police state in any segment of our lives. Once we accept total disclosure of an athlete’s life/location/biology, what’s to stop that spreading into areas of our society that actually matter! The world rolls along just fine with professional wrestlers and bodybuilders. 

The second argument, that charismatic dopers are good for the sport, rings hollow. Folks with charisma should not be rewarded for making poor choices. Good looking, charismatic athletes do not need our help. A quick review of human psychology will show that life is heavily stacked in their favor.

I ask myself where it would be appropriate to draw the line. It is important for each of us to think this through. Ethics in sport, finance, politics, business and matrimony are identical. In my own life, I remember the advice of Charlie Munger to stay a mile away from the line!

Now that I have kids, I understand the parable of the Prodigal Son and have become much better at forgiveness. It’s too hard to hate and the inspiration the dopers gave me was, and remains, real. Solo stage wins at the Tour continue to fire me up when I’m riding long in the Rockies.

Against that, I contemplate future races alongside ‘retired’ athletes with elite careers that used the best medical technology available. If I can perform close to their level then it might help my motivation. I’m not sure. It certainly is complicated. 

When I’m exhausted, and my daughter is melting down, I remind myself that character is defined by what we do when it is inconvenient. I love my kids and will focus them on personal excellence.

It is never too late to choose a life with honor.

Chapeau to JV.