TemekuT: When you consider that most of the folks making the “real” money (high end attorneys, CEOs, investment bankers) are compensated largely through performance based objectives, the ethics breaches become more common and widespread. This is not to condone the behavior, simply to explain it.

There was an excellent article in the WSJ following the Enron debacle and the reporter was looking at all the ways in which Enron really dominated parts of the Houston economy and in spite of the oil wealth that was also present. They really spread the money and the influence around. It becomes remarkably easy to forget your ethics in your other pants as you head to work in that environment.

I worked as a CFO for one of the biggest insurance brokers in the world and primarily on the surety side (large market construction) of the business. You want to talk about sleaze and doing “what it takes” to get the bond and get the business? Pardon the crassness, but you get your cherry popped fast and hard, believe me.

I’ve been out of the corporate side and on my own since 1998 and I don’t miss it one bit.