What ex-HSBC boss Stephen Green’s book teaches: be honest and pay what you owe
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Version 0 of 1. If you were Lord Stephen Green, the multitasking banker/peer/minister/priest, and you found yourself at the centre of the HSBC tax scandal leaks, where might you turn for some advice? How about the wise words set forth in 2009’s Good Value: Reflections on Money, Morality and an Uncertain World, by none other than author Stephen Green? Full of soul-searching and wisdom, Good Value may not be a bestseller, (total worldwide book sales of 6,000, according to Nielsen BookScan) but as Management Today pointed out in its review, Good Value is nonetheless “a stunning tour de force analysis of the state of the world”. To save him some time – and £6.99 in case he needs to buy a new copy of his own book – here’s a reminder of some of the most enlightening lessons. Pay what you owe “There will always be those who have not merely more than others”, Green tells us in Chapter 6: Why Should I Do Anything for Posterity?. Some people will have “more than they could conceivably need.” How can we deal with this, morally? Well, Green says, we can simply “shrug our shoulders” or “we can hear the still, small voice of conscience” which “reminds us – if we listen – that something is owed by the affluent. And a debt not paid is a debtor who is guilty.” Take responsibility As the HSBC scandal unfolds nobody wants to take responsibility. Labour is blaming the Tories, the Tories blame Labour, HSBC says it has changed, and everyone is asking who knew what when. Will anyone take responsibility? Over to you, Mr Green. “As individuals, we do not govern our behaviour simply by what is allowed by law or regulation. We have our own codes of conduct, and hold ourselves accountable. We take responsibility for our actions,” he points out in Chapter 5: From Tulips to Sub-Prime to … In big companies, where does this responsibility begin? As HSBC’s former chairman, Green knows: “With their boards, of course. There is no other task they have which is more important. It is their job.” Be honest (everyone knows that) “Everyone knows about the importance of trust and honesty for sustainable business”, Green opines in Chapter 7: Faust and the Rich Young Man. An uncharitable sort might suspect that this would prohibit a subsidiary fooling the tax authorities on your watch … “Everyone knows that, though you can fool some people all of the time and most people some of the time, you can’t fool most people most of the time.” Don’t be shy of the big moral questions From Chapter 5: From Tulips to Sub-Prime to … again: “If we are to restore trust and confidence in the markets, we must therefore address what is at its root a moral question. Trust and confidence cannot be restored overnight, and they cannot be restored by the fiat: the process of renewal has to begin with a recognition of the moral dimension of what has happened.” Don’t panic, there’s always redemption What happens, for example, “when a young trader in a bank dealing room covers up his losses with fictitious transactions until they spiral out of control and into the limelight?”, asks Green in Chapter 7: Faust and the Rich Young Man. Or a politician is “brought down by a financial impropriety or a sexual misdemeanour?” The answer: fear not. “There’s always another way: there is always the possibility of redemption. What does it take to follow up such a path? Coming to terms with yourself and what you have done, for a start; then sensing that you owe something.” |