Reviews and Interviews

Amazon Top 100 Reviewer (Linda Zarate) This is a chronicle of one man's attempt to do the right thing only to pay a high price in his personal and professional life. The book opens with a quote from Merrill Lynch's corporate counsel made when the author joined the firm, "[b]ut let integrity slip and take second place to revenue - then it will cost us more than dollars. The cost could be fatal." This sets the background in what was to become a war of one rookie financial consultant against hypocrisy and internal expediency that was the opposite of the lofty rhetoric of the corporate counsel. ...A few things about the story - there is no bitterness or rancor on the part of the author. He is fair and objective, and writes in an even manner. He names people by name, has thoroughly documented the episode and has left it to the [...]

Amazon Top 10 Reviewer (Joanna Danemen) What happens if a stand-up kind of guy decides to follow the written code of ethics in his brokerage firm? Well, the result is as if you sent a cub scout to join a den of vipers. ...Schooley soon found out that his office co-workers and supervisors were playing a bit fast and loose with their own guidelines in order to pass exams and win contests. When Schooley notified Merrill Lynch of violations of the ethics code as set down in their own documentation, his findings were hardly received with cries of joy. Rather, a cover-up on the scale of the Watergate break-in resulted. ...As far as taking care of the customer, including doing all in the customer's best interest and fully informing a client about the financial products they were investing in, that was not even a consideration. As one supervisor put it "Just sell." [...]

...Most readers who work for large corporations will relate to the disparity of their company image as projected to the public versus the reality of what goes on inside. Some will even relate to the moral and ethical dilemmas the author faced, and this book will perhaps inspire some to go with their conscience and others to take the easier path. Regardless of the path chosen, the story is a real life examination of integrity and ethics and how they relate to contemporary business values. It would make an excellent case study in a course on business ethics. It's also a book that should be read by anyone whose profession has a code of professional ethics.