What do a former prosecutor and his former defendant have in common?

Well, first, they- as in Billy Jacobson , Partner, Allen & Overy , and I, (pictured) are both Mets ?? fans!!? Admittedly,? he has never abandoned the team, while I have been more of a ‘fair weather’ ?? fan!???

But more than baseball, that’s exactly what Hema Lehocky (pictured), Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer, AFRY , wanted to know during the Transparency International Sverige Corporate Supporters Forum (now the Business Integrity Forum) Ten Year Anniversary Event in Stockholm on September 19th.?

While Hema started the panel by asking Billy, “What brought Richard in front of you?” and then asking me “how did it feel” to be sitting across from? Billy at a well-worn conference table at the US Department of Justice as the target of a criminal investigation for FCPA violations. Hema then fast-forwarded those initial interactions by asking us if such conduct remains “a common challenge so many years later, for both individuals and organizations?”

But I don’t want to give too many teaser alerts- when you can watch the panel and conversation here, where we start at the ?? fifty-minute mark. And a special note of thanks to Ulrik ?shuvud , Lotta Rydstr?m , Pontus Selderman , and the entire TI Sweden Board for all their support.?

Another panelist at the TI Sweden event was Anna Romberg , EVP Legal, Compliance & Governance Getinge , who along with Niina Ratsula , are co-founders of the Nordic Business Ethics Initiative . And after the ‘stop in Stockholm,’ it was off to Helsinki ????, where Anna, Niina, and I were joined by Patrick Rappo , Partner, DLA Piper , for an EthicsTalkLive, where we had an interactive discussion on “ Real-World Risks and Real-World Lessons.”? It was a lively discussion where we shared the practicalities of individual and corporate deterrence, and also addressed “what should be the key criteria to consider in order to achieve a fully ethical business decision?” adding? “Is it even possible to be ethical 100% of the time?” So without any more teaser alerts, and with thanks to DLA Piper and MySpeaker Finland for their support, here is the ?? link to the entire program.?

(And if you would like to join the Nordic Business Ethics Network (NBEC), which includes invitations to events, as well as receiving their monthly newsletter about EthicsTalkLive broadcasts, survey results, and other ethics and compliance developments, feel free to subscribe here. Alert; It’s a great newsletter! ??)

After our time in the studio, it was off to dinner ??, graciously hosted by the Forensic Risk Alliance , and Hannes Snellman (with thanks to Viktor Josefsson ). And who knew that two of my dinner partners, while legal leaders in their fields, are also engaging and inspiring podcast hosts?

So, over dinner chat with Maria Wasastjerna and Essi Weseri , we decided right there over dessert ?? to record a Leadcast episode together, which was launched this week, and where we addressed a number of ethical professional challenges.? But we also talked about learning from failure, the meaning of regret, and the importance of keeping close to your network of loved ones.?

As such, Essi and Maria addressed a number of 'emotional' touchpoints in my journey that I don't often share, and where they created such a 'safe space' to do so.? As you can see by this picture, it was both a fun and engaging session. I also loved the ‘ice-breaker speed questions’ at the start, including:?

What was your first job?

What was the last thing you googled?

What would you say is your superpower?

What's your most important everyday routine?

What’s your guilty pleasure?

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After those ‘ice-breakers’ we started sharing perspectives on ethics and compliance-? and here is the link to the entire episode ??.

Also, if you are interested in more of Maria and Essi’s work, here’s an incredibly inspiring TEDx ?? talk on “what makes a good leader.”

On the subject of travel,? last Spring,? while visiting Copenhagen, Amsterdam, London, and Stockholm, the subject of ‘how to maintain ethics in a hybrid world’ came up quite often as a compliance challenge. And with the input of compliance friends, colleagues, and peers, I recently published an article on this topic in Fast Company “Strategies for maintaining an ethical culture in a remote or hybrid workplace,” with special thanks to Ron Carucci , Dina Denham Smith , and Dorie Clark for their help and support during the writing process. I hope you find the article helpful and it can be found here.?

Finally, for those who have been following my e-learning journey, with thanks to Karen M. Griffin , Executive Vice President, and Chief Compliance Officer at 萬事達卡 , along with the entire Mastercard Ethics and Compliance Team, ?we are so thrilled to announce the release of our third vignette in the anti-corruption series, Ordinary Situations, Extraordinary Risks. If you would like to check out the teaser and evaluate the entire video for corporate licensing, feel free to join us here.

Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an issue, and as promised I will keep to my 'no more than once a month' updates!?