I can’t help but wonder: If Bernie Madoff had known the stress and devastation his Ponzi scheme would cause his son, would he have done things differently?
Today—on the two-year anniversary of the disgraced former investment advisor’s arrest—his oldest son, Mark, was found hanging in his Manhattan apartment while his own two-year-old son slept in a bedroom nearby.
FOX News has reported that Mark’s wife was away when the suicide took place. Seeing this, my mind quickly turns to the man serving a 150 year prison sentence at the Butner Federal Correction Complex in North Carolina. As a father, I cannot imagine what is going through his mind right now, with his oldest son dead, arguably due to issues surrounding his own fraud. As both father and business owner, it is difficult to grapple with the notion that I could ever make decisions to cause my son Carter to feel his life was no longer worth living. This is especially true, considering that so much of what I enjoy and what I have accomplished is a result of my son’s presence.
Ethics should be incorporated into any management philosophy. But clearly, in the case of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC—led by the eponymous Wall Street swindler, who stole more than 50 billion dollars—this was not so. I am intrigued to understand why organizations make the moral decisions that they do, and if ever there is consideration for the legacy of said decisions.
It would seem that modern business culture brokers little consideration for perpetuation strategy. In privately-run organizations, children who graduate into leadership must sometimes carry through the questionable ideas and strategies of their forebears. It is a mistake to forego the preparation of a concerted perpetuation plan, when the heirs or heiresses of these organizations will live in either disgrace or distinction accordingly.
As the President and Chief Executive Officer of Hybrid Insurance Group, the lessons that I have learned as a father mold the policies that I employ in my trade. The decisions I make on a daily basis are undeniably executed with the intent of moving my organization forward. We make attempts daily to capture more market share, and to come up with creative and ethical ways to generate income and improve upon our bottom line. We did not become the multimillion dollar firm we are today without these ambitions. However, we have also never sacrificed our integrity for income.
What saddens me about Bernie Madoff—besides what he did to the victims of his Ponzi, as well as what he did to the financial system here in the United States—is that he was a multi-millionaire from stockbroking well before he started the Ponzi scheme. Essentially, if there were ever a person that did not need to commit fraud, it was Bernie Madoff. Providing for his legacy was never a question. So the fact that he roped in his children to this fraud, employing them as brokers, implies that Madoff failed as a father, as well as a businessman.
Being a father is arguably the most important role that I have. The scrutiny that I will face from my board dictates the decisions that I make on a daily basis in the same way that being a respected father will one day also be scrutinized by Carter, and perhaps a number of others. This reality affects the decisions that I make on both fronts—I look forward to the ability of my son to either work for the organization that I have created, or pursue his passions elsewhere.
Regardless, I do believe that the decisions that I make today and the day after affect his ability to do follow either path effectively. It may seem unbelievable to some that I attempt to consider the future sentiments and responsibilities of a now 22-month-old boy, but I do. Not only because I believe that such foresight is the responsibility of a good father, but also, because it is the least that I could do for someone that has given me so much.
Today—on the two-year anniversary of the disgraced former investment advisor’s arrest—his oldest son, Mark, was found hanging in his Manhattan apartment while his own two-year-old son slept in a bedroom nearby.
FOX News has reported that Mark’s wife was away when the suicide took place. Seeing this, my mind quickly turns to the man serving a 150 year prison sentence at the Butner Federal Correction Complex in North Carolina. As a father, I cannot imagine what is going through his mind right now, with his oldest son dead, arguably due to issues surrounding his own fraud. As both father and business owner, it is difficult to grapple with the notion that I could ever make decisions to cause my son Carter to feel his life was no longer worth living. This is especially true, considering that so much of what I enjoy and what I have accomplished is a result of my son’s presence.
Ethics should be incorporated into any management philosophy. But clearly, in the case of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC—led by the eponymous Wall Street swindler, who stole more than 50 billion dollars—this was not so. I am intrigued to understand why organizations make the moral decisions that they do, and if ever there is consideration for the legacy of said decisions.
It would seem that modern business culture brokers little consideration for perpetuation strategy. In privately-run organizations, children who graduate into leadership must sometimes carry through the questionable ideas and strategies of their forebears. It is a mistake to forego the preparation of a concerted perpetuation plan, when the heirs or heiresses of these organizations will live in either disgrace or distinction accordingly.
As the President and Chief Executive Officer of Hybrid Insurance Group, the lessons that I have learned as a father mold the policies that I employ in my trade. The decisions I make on a daily basis are undeniably executed with the intent of moving my organization forward. We make attempts daily to capture more market share, and to come up with creative and ethical ways to generate income and improve upon our bottom line. We did not become the multimillion dollar firm we are today without these ambitions. However, we have also never sacrificed our integrity for income.
What saddens me about Bernie Madoff—besides what he did to the victims of his Ponzi, as well as what he did to the financial system here in the United States—is that he was a multi-millionaire from stockbroking well before he started the Ponzi scheme. Essentially, if there were ever a person that did not need to commit fraud, it was Bernie Madoff. Providing for his legacy was never a question. So the fact that he roped in his children to this fraud, employing them as brokers, implies that Madoff failed as a father, as well as a businessman.
Being a father is arguably the most important role that I have. The scrutiny that I will face from my board dictates the decisions that I make on a daily basis in the same way that being a respected father will one day also be scrutinized by Carter, and perhaps a number of others. This reality affects the decisions that I make on both fronts—I look forward to the ability of my son to either work for the organization that I have created, or pursue his passions elsewhere.
Regardless, I do believe that the decisions that I make today and the day after affect his ability to do follow either path effectively. It may seem unbelievable to some that I attempt to consider the future sentiments and responsibilities of a now 22-month-old boy, but I do. Not only because I believe that such foresight is the responsibility of a good father, but also, because it is the least that I could do for someone that has given me so much.