Also in this issue, I have raised a question about the connection between capitalism and job creation in the 21st century. Kenman Wong, our ethics advisor, returns after a short time away to address the challenge of a business leader who speaks out in an open electronic forum, potentially damaging his company. And Roger Eigsti comments on the Murdock news reporting and hacking mess.

Next month, we will begin a series of Conversations in the media field. Perhaps no other industry has been as hard hit by technology as the media (newspapers, TV, movies, books, music) industry. Our first Conversation in this series is with Darcy Antonellis, president of Warner Brothers Technical Operations.

We look forward to your comments.

Al Erisman
Executive Editor

John offers a look to the future in telecommunications technology, but passionately shows its transforming power through Trilogy’s wireless work in Haiti. Mobile phones play a role in communication there for people who have never had access to phones, and also serve as a bank and an emergency communication system during natural disasters.

The second Conversation in this field will be with Barry Rowan, the chief financial officer at Vonage.

In addition to the Conversation, we offer Roger’s comments on the news, David Gill’s insights on Mauldin Mills, and my thoughts on the conflicting roles of technology from connectedness to distraction. We look forward to your comments.

Al Erisman
Executive Editor

We started our discussion of health care in issue 73, featuring Conversations with two of the nation’s leaders in the field. In issue 74, health care will continue to be the focus.

In this issue, Luke McGuinness, CEO of Central DuPage Health, is featured in the Conversation. He began his work at this Chicago area hospital system in 2003 when CDH was on the verge of bankruptcy both financially and intellectually. Today it is rated in the top 10% of hospitals in the nation, attracting patients from many parts of the country. This release also includes two influential readings from the health care field, a new ethical dilemma with response from Kenman Wong in Ethix at Work, a new Essay from David Gill, and a News Notables update from Roger Eigsti.

In the next release of issue 74, we will feature a Conversation with Jonathan Perlin, the chief medical officer and president of physician services for HCA based in Nashville, Tenn. Before joining HCA in 2006, Dr. Perlin was Under Secretary for Health in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. As the Chief Executive Officer of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Dr. Perlin led the nation’s largest integrated health system.

Looking beyond issue 74, we will turn to the telecommunications and the movie industries for our upcoming Conversations. We have met with John Stanton, chairman of the board of Trilogy International Partners; Barry Rowan, chief financial officer for Vonnage; and Darcy Antonellis, president of Warner Brothers Technical Operations.

Al Erisman
Executive Editor

In the United States, health care costs represent about one-sixth of the gross national product. The U.S. spends significantly more per person on health care than any other nation in the world. Yet standard outcome measures (e.g., infant mortality, longevity, quality of life after 60) place the U.S. down about 20th in the world. A big challenge for health care as a business is the customer is generally not responsible for the costs. The most expensive areas of health care (e.g., emergency care, end-of-life care) come at the most emotionally charged periods of life. Compounding all of this, many people in the U.S. have no insurance, and hence no access to much of the health care system. It is true anyone can get emergency care, but in addition to its expense, it may be less effective because it bypasses the preventive parts of treatment. The recent health care legislation has been politically polarizing and played a major role in the last election. In summary, this is an important industry both undergoing and in need of major transformation.

Because of the size and complexity of the issues here, this issue will be larger than usual. We have identified three types of leaders and will feature three major Conversations on this broad subject. The first is with Dr. Robert Wachter, professor and associate chair of the Department of Medicine at University of California San Francisco. He is also chief of the Division of Hospital Medicine at the university. Modern Health rates him in the top 10 of most influential physician executives in the country, and the highest ranking academic on their list. We have posted the discussion in its entirety.

In several weeks, we will post our second Conversation — with Dr. Gary Kaplan, CEO of Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle. Virginia Mason Medical Center was named Top Hospital of the Decade at The Leapfrog Group’s 10th Anniversary Gala in Washington, D.C., December 2. Leapfrog is an independent rating group assessing hospitals around the country for both quality and cost of care. Kaplan has led the hospital’s step-by-step adaptation of the Toyota Production System, seeking to improve health care outcomes and patient experience while lowering costs.

In January, we will post a third Conversation, with Luke McGinness, CEO of Dupage County Healthcare system. A professional hospital administrator, McGinness has taken a hospital system on the verge of bankruptcy to one of the most respected regional hospitals in the nation.

These leaders, coming from very different backgrounds and perspectives, all weigh in on the subjects of health care costs and outcomes, challenges around end-of-life issues, use of specialized (and expensive) technology, and health care legislation.

Mark Neuenschwander, a health care consultant specializing in bedside bar coding, joined me in the first two Conversations and provided me with the introduction to Bob Wachter. A former pastor, Mark has himself contributed significantly to this field of health care safety. In December of 2010, the Institute for Safe Medication Practices honored him as the 10th recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award at their annual meeting. He has contributed an essay in this issue.

This is not the first time we have addressed health care issues in Ethix. In issue 41, May 2004, we had conversations with Dave McIntyre, responsible for a military health insurance business, and Don Labourr, a former executive with HealthSouth. Labourr left the for-profit health care business to start his own clinic in physical therapy, and we will also post an update on his work in this issue.

In the past, we have reviewed some key books in this field: The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande, and The Healing of America by T. R. Reid. Over the course of the two months of this health care issue, we will add some other book reviews on the subject. Another article that we would recommend, also by Gawande, was published in The New Yorker in June 2009. This article was influential in shaping the health care legislation in the U.S.

Al Erisman
Executive Editor

Guy Kawasaki has written the book on entrepreneurship (literally in Reality Check). The former Apple evangelist provides his insight into starting a business focusing on what venture capitalists are looking for when they decide which businesses to fund. His perspective provides “don’t miss” advice for anyone considering making a job rather than finding one. Collin Timms is a venture capitalist from the other side of the world, Bangalore, India. He has been at the center of economic development there including microlending, banking, and venture capital. He offers an unusual perspective in our second Conversation, focusing not on the business idea nor the team, but on an individual with character and passion.

Anyone starting a business needs a product or service to offer, but which product or service? I have found some ideas for this in the work of Clayton Christensen, which I discuss in Technology Watch].

The next issue will focus on technology and ethics issues in health care. We have lined up Conversations with Gary Kaplan, CEO of Virginia Mason Hospital (who has been leading the way with the implementation of lean production systems from the manufacturing field), and Robert Wachter (a highly respected “hospitalist” from University of California, San Francisco). Economics, safety, technology, access to health care, and medical outcomes are some of the subjects we will discuss.

We look forward to your comments on this new issue.

Al Erisman
Executive Editor

Marshall Carter, the focus of our current Conversation, is easily labeled with Wall Street and big finance. He is presently the chairman of the board of the NYSE group, and is retired chairman and CEO of State Street Bank in Boston, a Fortune 500 company. But you will quickly see as you read his responses that does not fit the stereotype ”Wall Street” label. We have divided our Conversation with him into two pieces. In Part 1, Carter talks about the speed of the market, the need for transparency, the challenges for business reform, and the financial reform legislation. In Part 2, posted in mid-September, he focuses on ethics, leadership, and offers advice to new leaders.

Elsewhere in this issue, Kenman Wong comments on what a company should do regarding its drift away from its foundational values, Roger Eigsti comments on the recent firing of HP CEO Mark Hurd, my column deals with the potential for cell phone technology to undermine innovation and society, and our guest essay writer, Jim Moats, discusses the “gift of limits” for business leaders.

We look forward to your comments on any or all of the articles.

The next issue will feature a Conversation with the ultimate entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki. We have reviewed his latest book in the current issue, Reality Check, which offers a treasure trove of advice for anyone starting a company. Look for that Conversation to be posted mid-October.

Al Erisman
Executive Editor

• Manufacturing is dead in the United States.
• Automobiles from U.S. manufacturers are not competitive with those from
manufacturers in Japan and Germany.
• A CEO from outside the automobile industry would not be able to provide leadership for the industry.
• The devastating impact of eliminating one third of the jobs in a company would leave those remaining in a demoralized state.

Alan Mulally is proving “many people” wrong. In 2006, he made the move from CEO of the Commercial Airplane Division of Boeing to CEO of Ford Motor Company. He reduced one third of the workforce, restructured the business plan through very significant borrowing, and walked the company through significant losses. But today, Ford is the only U.S. automobile company that is not in bankruptcy. The company is making a profit again. They are making cars in Michigan. And the positive response from the remaining employees at Ford places the company in the 87th percentile of companies in their comparison group for employee satisfaction.

Mulally is infectious in his enthusiasm for people, for cars, and for innovation. And he has moved the company in this positive direction by revisiting the original vision of founder Henry Ford, and reinterpreting it for the 21st century.

This is a truly remarkable story, and one worth learning from in this age of corporate greed and CEO failures.

Also in this issue, we have posted an essay by two partners in a consulting business who offer a four-step model for creating an ethical foundation for a company. Roger Eigsti offers additional comments on the news. Other features will be added soon including Technology Watch, more book reviews, and another ethical dilemma in the workplace.

The next issue will feature a Conversation with Marshall N. Carter, chairman of the New York Stock Exchange Group and deputy chairman of the parent company NYSE Euronext. David Gautschi (the new dean of the business school at Fordham University) and I talked with him in May, the day after a major drop in the market. He offers his perspective on what is wrong in today’s financial sector and what he believes will come from the current efforts to control the markets through legislation. This will be available in early August.

As always, we welcome your comments.

Al Erisman
Executive editor, Ethix

• Food production and distribution
• Health care that is cost effective, fairly available, and appropriate
• Environmental/climate issues
• The stabilization of the economy

All of the data made accessible by today’s technology does not seem to provide the insight to gain agreement on how to address these issues, as I discuss in Technology Watch.

We will focus on the first of these challenges, and food production and distribution in this issue. In some parts of the world, food shortages lead to starvation, while in other parts of the world too much of the wrong kinds of food leads to obesity. Roger Thurow and Scott Kilman address “Why the world’s poorest starve in an age of plenty” in their excellent book, Enough, which is reviewed in this issue. Michael Pollan discusses the issues of industrial food production and the alternatives in his book, The Omivore’s Dilemma, also reviewed here.

To get a different view on industrial food production, we visited with Greg Page, CEO of Cargill, perhaps the world’s largest industrial food producer. We asked him most of the hard questions raised in the two books, and he provides his perspective. To consider another view on the subject, we met with Peter Dill (organic farmer, community organizer, lawyer) in a second Conversation that will be posted in early April.

There are ethical issues related to the production and distribution of food, and we have tried to offer multiple perspectives for you to consider. We look forward to your comments on these difficult and current challenges.

The next issue will feature a Conversation with Alan Mulally, CEO of Ford Motor Company. The automotive industry has been one of the segments hardest hit by the economic times. Both General Motors and Chrysler have been taken over by the government to keep them operating, and Toyota is in serious trouble with recalls and cover-ups. Ford has stood out as the automaker that has remained solvent and is turning a profit. Mulally shares how they have done this.

Looking further ahead, the issue after this will focus on banking. We have scheduled a conversation with Marshall Carter, chairman of the New York Stock Exchange Group and retired CEO and chairman of State Street Bank and Trust Company, Boston. We will add some other perspectives to that issue as well.

Al Erisman
Executive Editor

P.S., We have made it easy to comment on each article posted. We look forward to your perspective as well.

Looking ahead, we are preparing an issue on food and food distribution that will begin in March. There are many issues here affecting food domestically and globally: food safety, food availability, bioengineered food, organic food, even bio fuels that affect pricing and availability of food. We are planning our conversation with Greg Page, CEO of Cargill, the largest privately held company in the world with its focus on food distribution. We will also meet with an organic farmer in Idaho as we develop the ethics and technology issues of the food industry. Several books on this topic will also be reviewed.

We are also planning an issue on health care, looking at the controversial issues that have generated a great deal of heat as the U.S. has been developing its national health care system. We hope to look at this issue from a political/policy perspective and a health provider perspective. We welcome your inputs as we prepare this material.

* * * *

It has been several months now since we started the electronic version of Ethix. We are still working out some of the kinks, but we believe we are getting there. You will find almost all of the archived material from past issues now available at this site, www.ethix.org, in a searchable and browseable form. We hope to have this completed by the end of January. One issue that has been identified is the need to maintain the integrity of each issue with an associated issue number. We are in the process of doing this.

We encourage our readers to spend time on the site and type a comment below as to ways we could make the material more accessible.

* * * *

As we complete the “naughts” and move into 2010, we recognize the naughts were rich in ethics issues. They created opportunity for discussion beyond anything we had anticipated when we started this effort in 1998. It would be great to no longer have any reason to continue this work, but that doesn’t look likely in the coming days.

We wish all of our readers the best for 2010.

Al Erisman
Executive Editor

As you explore our new website, you will see this is much more than a digital version of the old paper copy. Here are some of the things we hope will make this much more useful for all readers:

• Full search capability, including all of the archives
• Improved navigation
• More frequent updates –
  • We have succumbed to the trend toward shorter articles by delivering shorter pieces of the Conversation on a regular basis.
  • We will add to reviews, news notables, and other areas every two weeks or so.
  • We will notify those who register when new material has been added to the site.
• Eventually, we will include short video clips from the Interviews.
• We have made it very easy to comment on any article or review.
• We hope to reestablish the reader Forum in this more interactive environment.

For those who will miss the paper (and many wrote in to say so) we have made it easy to print specific articles to carry with you in a briefcase, if that is your preferred form of reading the material.

We look forward to your feedback.

This Issue

In this issue we begin the Conversation with Bonnie Wurzbacher, senior vice president of The Coca Cola Company. Most of us have only a vague idea of how a multinational corporation works, with all of its outsourcing, distributed activity, and the like. Her insight into this operation for Coca Cola helps us understand the local/global challenges of a modern global enterprise. Watch for further installments of this Conversation, as we discuss sustainability, ethics, and leadership.

In Technology Watch, I discuss the “implementation gap.” Typically, we look forward to new technology and the opportunities it will bring, along with its business and ethical challenges. However, many companies have done a relatively poor job of implementing even yesterday’s technology. I develop two examples where the implementation leads to questions of deception and ethics. We invite readers to contribute their own examples.

We have also used our “target” companies from the auto and home building industries to provide us with an update on the economic challenges. Both Don Flow (owner of Flow Automotive) and Perry Bigelow (owner of Bigelow Homes) talked candidly with us in the March/April 2009 issue about living through the downturn of the economy. They both offer glimmers of hope in the short updates that will be posted by November 15. Not surprisingly, maintaining integrity through the downturn has been at the heart of both strategies.

Coming Up

We are in the planning stages of future Conversations. By the first of December, we will post the Conversation with Lord Bryan Griffiths, former advisor to Margaret Thatcher and currently vice chairman of the board of Goldman Sachs.

We have scheduled a discussion with Greg Page, CEO of Cargill, in early December. Cargill is an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial, and industrial products and services. Founded in 1865, it is a privately held company employing 159,000 people in 68 countries.

Readers are encouraged to forward questions we could take to the Conversation.

Al Erisman
Executive Editor