Punk Rock HR Advice 2009: Don’t Be Dane Cook

The stories about the ethically-challenged in the world of business keep coming non-stop. Maybe that’s what we deserve for falling prostrate before the gods of the free market, believing that all’s ok when you continually put profits ahead of people.

While I’m not naive enough to think that there was some “golden age” of ethics in business, I do remember a time, at least in my own corner of the world, when there were some business owners, and others that you could look up to and try to pattern your life after.

Someone much wiser than me had something to say about the love of money, and evil.

Every time I hear about some celebrity hiring his/her relative or best friend as chief manager or financial planner, I cringe.

Lesson #1: NEVER HIRE ANYONE YOU CANNOT BRING YOURSELF TO FIRE. Suppose Cousin Susie or fellow theater geek Julian turns out to be incompetent, or succumbs to the temptation of skimming a little profit off the earnings, or grows into an arrogant condescending jerkface who mistakes nepotism for recognition of actual talent? How many child actors discovered that Manager Daddy had invested all those sitcom earnings in pyramid schemes and a stripper named Candi?

Not that I can muster much sympathy for Michael Vick, but he’s a fine example of what happens when you put your finances in the wrong hands: http://tinyurl.com/6bqchv