Integrity

How the mighty have fallen. One of America's leading businesswomen, Hewlett-Packard chairwoman Patricia Dunn, announced her resignation today and acknowledged that she authorized an investigation that has plunged her company into turmoil.

Her rise to the top of American business began in the typing pool, and her fall began with her attempt to stop leaks to the news media that came from her own boardroom. While it's legal for companies to monitor the e-mails and phone calls employees make when they are on the job, HP resorted on deception. To uncover the source of the leaks, the company hired investigators who allegedly impersonated board members to obtain personal records.

Increasingly we are learning that the individuals and institutions that we once trusted are no longer trustworthy. Trust is the lubrication that makes relationships and business work. Our society is in a moral crisis. But don't just take my word for it. Look at what the news analysts have to say!

"I'm appalled, and I'm appalled because HP is not an ordinary company," said Silicon Valley analyst Paul Saffo. "It's an icon here in Silicon Valley. And once upon a time, it stood for something. The HP name remains, but the HP culture we all knew and respected is long gone," Saffo said.

"HP has lost its way so completely that a new warm body at the head of the table won't help," says Frank Hayes, Computerworlds Senior News Columnist. "HP needs a values transplant. Hard as it is to believe, the company that once was the epitome of wise management in the IT business has become a corrupt, dysfunctional travesty of itself. We need an HP with integrity."

All this from a company that prides itself on the HP Way and the following shared values:

• We are passionate about customers
• We have trust and respect for individuals
• We perform at a high level of achievement and contribution
• We act with speed and agility
• We deliver meaningful innovation
• We achieve our results through teamwork and
• We conduct our business with uncompromising integrity

We are reminded in Jeremiah 17:9 that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately corrupt. Our sin nature pulls us toward deceit and deception. Maybe holding both CEO and Chairman of the Board positions simultaneously isn't a good idea.

We are in need of heart transplants. And even as followers of Christ, we are not immune. We need mutual accountability with delegated authority. We are in need servant leaders who steward the influence that God has given to them and are willing be held accountable for their actions. We are in need of men and women with integrity.