and my exit from Leman had shown me Wall…
Page 87 and my exit from Leman had shown me Wall Street at its worst, everyone for themselves. Lou Glucksman had shown me morality and ethics can buckle under fear and greed.
— from True North (Ethics, Integrity, Truth, Values) · What it Takes, Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence
In the book
I have watched what happens when people fly on feelings instead. My exit from Wall Street at its worst showed me an everyone-for-themselves world where I watched morality and ethics buckle under fear and greed. The people who buckled were not stupid; they had simply stopped trusting the instrument and started trusting the spin. […] That, in the end, is what the old question "how should I live?" is really asking — about the proper orientation of everything you do, your true north, your moral center. Trust the instrument over the feeling. When fear, greed, or the crowd say down is up, hold your heading and do the right thing because it's right. Keep your word. Integrity is making and keeping commitments; let your word be immeasurable. — True North (Ethics, Integrity, Truth, Values)