“Sarbanes-Oxley is not a cure all,” according to former Enron in-house counsel Stephen Wallace (now general counsel of Westlake Chemical Corporation), “laws and regulations only get you so far.”

     For more about Wallace’s view that a corporate culture nurtured by strong leadership is more important in promoting ethical business practices than legislation read “Former Enron In-House Counsel Look Backward . . . and Forward,” Corporate Counsel, February 22, 2006.

     While I agree with Wallace, I would take his observation one step further.  Business leaders with good intentions alone but without grounding in the spirit of the law will nonetheless find themselves saddled with more unwanted and ill-fitting laws.  Good intentions are not enough in today’s complex business environment. 

     Effective leaders avoid such unintended consequences by being mindful of the relationship between law and ethics.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 28th, 2006 at 8:23 pm and is filed under Quote of the Day, Compliance, Corporate Governance, Ethics, Leadership, Business Blind Spots. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.