Facing Justice, Facing Regret…
Richard Bistrong
FCPA, Anti-Bribery, Ethics & Compliance Consultant ?? Corporate Keynote & Workshop Speaker ?? Award-Winning E -Learning Training Producer ? Providing A Front-Line Perspective on Ethics, Compliance, Risk, & Integrity
Welcome back to the Compliance Corner ? newsletter, and hope everyone had a nice April!?First, thanks again to everyone here for subscribing, and it’s great to be back in touch! Lately, I have been thinking about several issues relating to my journey from corruption to compliance which might surface some stubborn lessons learned.?And before we start, take another look at that picture, captured when I was walking out of the United States Courthouse in 2010 after my plea hearing.
The pain on my face barely reflects what was going on in my life before and after that hearing (and we’ll talk more about regret later on).
The?article?that started my thinking was written by Richard Cassin, Editor at Large, The FCPA Blog, titled, “Three reasons (maybe four) why FCPA defendants might risk a jury trial.”?The reason why Mr. Cassin’s article sparked a reflection of my own crucible, was that it made me revisit why I?didn’t?risk a jury trial. First, I was guilty, and knew that if I was going to start anew, and to change the trajectory of my personal and professional life, that I would need to face justice and not delay it. As such, getting the calls from law enforcement authorities in the United States and the United Kingdom was one of the best things that could have happened to me. If that sounds counter-intuitive, let me explain.
‘Getting caught’ gave me the opportunity to reflect on a decade of corrupt conduct and face the consequences of my decisions and decision making. As a Department of Justice trial attorney shared to a United States Federal District Judge at my sentencing hearing, getting that call was my “line in the sand.” From that day forward, my conduct, thinking, values and associations would be forever changed. Trying to pursue some novel defense theory, challenging the government’s evidence, and other legal maneuvers, would have deflected and delayed my?emotional?decision: To come clean and surface all my illegal conduct, some of which the government knew about, and much of which they didn’t know about. As one of the FBI agents shared with me during our initial meetings, there’s no such thing as “partially coming clean.” It’s an all or none enterprise.
Yet, if someone engages in misconduct, even if well intentioned, including making a bad decision, misjudgment, or ethical error, how can we help them to course correct?before?it’s too late for everyone?
If you know someone who faces high risk in their work and roles, and they are not calling you for help and support, are you reaching out to them? Are you proactively asking?“how things are going, how can I help, and are there any risks or challenges I can help you with that are coming between you and success?”?After all, we know that no news doesn’t mean good news, and that bad behavior can hide behind good performance, if we are not careful. Speaking as former ‘commercial’ Richard, there is no substitute for such proactive and positive outreach. If we stay involved and engaged with those on the front-lines of operations, we can help them to surface problems and even mistakes instead of burying them, like I did, until I had to recount them in front of that federal judge. And if you are in a compliance role and want to shift the narrative from a “just say no” perception, to a business partner and enabler, then give it a try!
Why not pick up the phone to that ‘Richard,’ with no agenda, other than to check in, say hello, and see if you can help and support??It’s a volatile world out there right now, so there’s no better time to help people make principled decisions and feel supported among all the complexities in our global environment.
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And a final thought- back to that photograph. People often ask me if I regret my actions. And of course, I do- but did I really understand the full meaning and impact of regret? Well, I thought I did, until I?read?The Power of Regret, How Looking?Backward Moves Us Forward?by Daniel Pink. I’ll be writing and reflecting more on this powerful and thought provocative work soon, but it made me rethink the depth of my regret and to appreciate that:
“Regret makes us human.”
“Regret makes us better.” But only if we fully embrace it. . .
On a lighter and concluding note, I am so pleased to announce that my e-learning series, Compliance Corner?, is now officially a registered trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark office!?If you would like to find out more about this Telly Award winning series (for corporate training and communications), feel free to click?here!
And for those of you who are on Instagram, I’ve been posting some fun pictures of compliance events, as well as photos of places where I visit sharing my journey from corruption to compliance. Coming up, expect snaps from Copenhagen, London, Stockholm and Amsterdam. I can’t wait to be traveling overseas again, so feel free to join me on Instagram?here! And if you are in any of those cities, feel free to?email?me, as we are arranging for a few cross-industry ‘compliance coffees’ along the way!
Wishing everyone continued good health and safety!
Richard
St Giles Analytics
2 年Thank you for sharing, Richard. Your story has always been a fascinating one and continues to resonate
Helping organizations build strong cultures of ethics and integrity
2 年Excellent newsletter Richard - Thank you for your humility and your vulnerability. And I echo what Nita said”Here’s to moving on” (with purpose).
Financial Crime Consultant
2 年Well said, Richard. Having been there myself, and made the same decision, I know what you were feeling on that fateful day. I've been there. That is the day that your journey out of the darkness, and back into the light begins.
Richard, thanks for your continued meaningful contributions in compliance and ethics. I think regret is important. And I think the distinction between regret and remorse is significant. One can regret getting caught and yet not learn or change. When one also has remorse--a sense of being sorry for what they did and wanting to make amends (retribution) where possible and correct their course moving forward--that's an immensely more valuable thing. One sees examples of convicts who show no remorse, no understanding or acknowledgement of the damage they have done to others. And perhaps this is evidence of Daniel Pink's observation. In their disaffection and lack of empathy--in their lack of remorse--they don't seem human. They seem cut off from a natural ability to feel the pain of others. Perhaps regret, then, is a prerequisite to remorse. Perhaps an inability to have regret suggests a lack of humanity that, then, would preclude the person from ever being able to have remorse for their actions, from ever wanting to try to correct. What a wretched state it must be to be that "inhuman", that cut off from humanity and from one's own humanity. What must someone in that state have experienced in life to be in that condition?