What happens when ethics arrive later than ambition

In my former job as legal counsel for Naval activities I gave seemingly hundreds of training sessions on what was called the Standards of Conduct, many lectures on ethics, and numerous formal and informal opinions on a variety of ethical issues. In my training sessions I often noted that if one had a well-developed moral and ethical compass one might not need to closely read the various regulations. However, if one had any doubt as to their inherent ethical character, they should read the regulations thoroughly, carefully, and broadly. When I retired my paralegal gave me my office’s poster, reading “Ethics Under Construction.”

Perhaps Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of the blood testing start-up company Theranos who was convicted earlier this month of fraud, simply skipped ethics training sessions.

In an article on January 4 the BBC noted that Holmes "…chose fraud over business failure. She chose to be dishonest with investors and patients…her defense countered with descriptions of a dedicated and driven businesswoman, making waves in a male-dominated industry."

In a New York Times article on January 3 by Erin Griffith and Erin Woo, it was noted that the case "…came to symbolize the pitfalls of Silicon Valley’s culture of hustle, hype and greed….Ms. Holmes rose to prominence by mimicking the disruptive change-the-world chutzpach of Silicon Valley heroes like Steve Jobs."

Additionally, the first article pointed out that Holmes' former boyfriend and business partner, Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, was pointed to by her defense as complicit and the second article mentions that Holmes soon after accused Balwani of emotional and sexual abuse.

As the son of a father who wrote the novel “Candles for the Boardroom,” extolling the virtues of a business career dedicated to positive values, I applaud entrepreneurs and established business people who are making a real difference, one paycheck at a time. I cite Costco as an established business that appears to follow those values. I also note, as written in a published article in Fudera by Lauren Diethelm on November 11, 2020, the entrepreneurial success of immigrant Eric Yuan for founding Zoom, and Shelia Marcelo who founded Care.com.

That article notes about Ms. Marcello:

"Finding the right person to take care of your children or loved one while you are at work can feel nearly impossible…That’s where Care.com came in. It’s an online database that connects caregivers with those looking for their services. The company was started by Shelia Lirio Marcello in 2006 when she was a young working mom who needed some help taking care of her two children and her aging parents. The company is now working to make systemic change across the care industry."

Using the old military term, it appears that Yuan and Marcello earned their stripes. Holmes, on the other hand, appears to have tried to pull a fast one; and then when caught played both the gender and blame-shifting games.

Sounds a bit like what the Bill Murray character in the movie “Groundhog Day” tried to do until he finally got it right and turned into a real man. In a way, Pinocchio tried to get away with doing bad stuff until he also got it right — and turned into a real boy.

Let’s look a bit deeper at both the wooden puppet turned into a boy and the self-centered egotist finally finding romantic love.

"Pinocchio," in its original 1883 writing by Carlo Collodi and much later in its Disney movies of 1940, and the live-action computer generated film due to be released later this year, is in my estimation a fascinating journey of self-discovery for anyone, at any age. But it's especially poignant for a young boy, and especially helpful as a guide for young boys today.

Geppetto is the father real-life Pinocchios of today need. Too often like Pinocchio, today’s youth (primarily young men) are wooden-like, encased in isolation with video games and most apt to tell tall tales. They need to go through a form of initiation to find themselves and their own brand of internal honesty; and in turn, in a sense, rescue their father from the whale. The Blue Fairy is a guide and instructive about honesty. Disney’s addition of Jimmy Cricket adds a helpful conscience.

The Bill Murray character in “Groundhog Day” has some highly unique advantages in finding his way. His day after day “repeat” is something we can sometimes do — but we sadly get older each day. Yet as we can explore another day, on a deeper level his one-sided mission to win his modern princess has some complex problems.

The missing ethics in the Theranos case are under construction in both “Groundhog Day” and “Pinocchio.” May the lessons continue.

Contact Larry Little at larrylittle46@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Larry Little: What happens when ethics arrive later than ambition