The Result
2022 Reflection: The Nortel experience concluded as the second most devastating ethical challenge of my life. I have since dubbed it Anderson II. Without realizing it at the time, it was the second Big Chance for me: a problem to solve, in which I would once again challenge a corrupt system. But this time, I hoped to win. I responded by driving for win-win, but my response was vigorous, and deemed a threat by senior management. That was far removed from my actual intentions.
The result was that I became even more distrustful of authority. My problem with anxiety and self-doubt, and even depression, began then. I kept a positive face, because I consider myself at heart, a positive person.
But again, I was not aware that any of this was going on in my heart, mind, and soul, until years later.
I had attained a commendable position on an upward track in a respected company in a leading corporation in the exploding world of high-tech. I had been ethically tested, and crafted together a solution that was creative and, so I thought, a win-win. But it was not the spirit and letter of what I had been directed to do, two months before, by Senior Management. My momentum was abruptly halted. My career quickly unraveled.
I was a manager in a rather rag-tag team of marketing, training, and product veterans, that had been formed into a highly-effective team by our Director, Bertha Bartra. We surpassed objectives, and made a good name for ourselves. This lasted for not even a year, before the higher-ups began dismantling us.
I was one of the first to go. Management began by putting my Leadership Development program under the headship of a mediocre Sales VP that was a good friend of some in Senior Management. He was in charge of Sales for our weakest region, and over several years made little improvement to its performance. He was a pure salesman, lacking the ability to connect with the talented future leaders in our charge. We'll call him "Kevin." I traveled to Nashville to meet with Kevin, and my first impression of him was turning a corner to see a cloud of cigarette smoke engulfing him in a phone booth.
I was in Atlanta. Kevin was in Dallas, and right away he hired a Dallas-based human resources manager to run what had been my program. They threw out the policy manual that had been created over two years, by me and my team. They laid off my team of three or four administrative and human resources professionals.
I felt under attack. I was unfamiliar with corporate politics, and had always believed that if you choose to do the good, you will reap good rewards. It was the 1990s and such concepts as teamwork and ethics were valued. But what's talked about in conferences and board meetings does not always equal what's actually practiced. I was between a rock and a hard place, where the promotion of civil rights practices had negative consequences for me, in a company that had promised never to take the side of middle managers, in civil rights cases.
I had a frank discussion with Kevin. He was not impressed with my candor. I sought help from Human Resources. They told me their job was to protect the company, (or at least, the company in the short term).
I met with the Ethics VP mentioned above. His advice was sincere . . . but probably hurt more than helped.
I went for broke. My case was decidedly one of civil rights. I called the American Civil Liberties Union. They were not interested. I tried the NAACP, and spoke to one of their legal professionals. He just laughed at me and said "The NAACP does not get involved in nepotism."
For thirty years, I have considered both the ACLU and the NAACP to be worthless when it comes to real people, in the real world, trying to do the right thing in ordinary circumstances.
Nortel put me in a training organization for a year, in a position that I truly enjoyed, traveling throughout North America. At the conclusion of that assignment (it was 1995), they gave me my papers, made me sign an agreement not to sue, and handed me a rather attractive severance package
At first, nobody from the company, including my friends, wanted to return my calls. But finally two or three of them, in Human Resources, began responding. Upon receiving my assurance that I would respect their anonymity, they each confirmed that a letter had gone around, instructing managers throughout the company not to hire me.
I even called Kevin several years later. By then, he was retired and spoke cordially with me, over the phone. Regarding the whole matter, he said "Well, actually, you should have just done what you were told without hesitation."
I attempted to do the right thing legally and ethically. I sought counsel in good faith. I attempted to protect the good image of the company, to my recruits as well as to the respected business schools where we interviewed.
In the end, I had no defenders, no supporters, no encouragers. People that I considered courageous and of high integrity, turned their back on me. The experts that I always thought were on my side, weren't.
The result of my tenure with Nortel Networks, was probably a blacklisting in my industry. And, an unfamiliar emotion for me: that of mistrust of anybody, except for a very few people that I had known very, very well, for a very long time.
Next: A Nice Company Concluded
I was a manager in a rather rag-tag team of marketing, training, and product veterans, that had been formed into a highly-effective team by our Director, Bertha Bartra. We surpassed objectives, and made a good name for ourselves. This lasted for not even a year, before the higher-ups began dismantling us.
I was one of the first to go. Management began by putting my Leadership Development program under the headship of a mediocre Sales VP that was a good friend of some in Senior Management. He was in charge of Sales for our weakest region, and over several years made little improvement to its performance. He was a pure salesman, lacking the ability to connect with the talented future leaders in our charge. We'll call him "Kevin." I traveled to Nashville to meet with Kevin, and my first impression of him was turning a corner to see a cloud of cigarette smoke engulfing him in a phone booth.
I was in Atlanta. Kevin was in Dallas, and right away he hired a Dallas-based human resources manager to run what had been my program. They threw out the policy manual that had been created over two years, by me and my team. They laid off my team of three or four administrative and human resources professionals.
I felt under attack. I was unfamiliar with corporate politics, and had always believed that if you choose to do the good, you will reap good rewards. It was the 1990s and such concepts as teamwork and ethics were valued. But what's talked about in conferences and board meetings does not always equal what's actually practiced. I was between a rock and a hard place, where the promotion of civil rights practices had negative consequences for me, in a company that had promised never to take the side of middle managers, in civil rights cases.
I had a frank discussion with Kevin. He was not impressed with my candor. I sought help from Human Resources. They told me their job was to protect the company, (or at least, the company in the short term).
I met with the Ethics VP mentioned above. His advice was sincere . . . but probably hurt more than helped.
I went for broke. My case was decidedly one of civil rights. I called the American Civil Liberties Union. They were not interested. I tried the NAACP, and spoke to one of their legal professionals. He just laughed at me and said "The NAACP does not get involved in nepotism."
For thirty years, I have considered both the ACLU and the NAACP to be worthless when it comes to real people, in the real world, trying to do the right thing in ordinary circumstances.
Nortel put me in a training organization for a year, in a position that I truly enjoyed, traveling throughout North America. At the conclusion of that assignment (it was 1995), they gave me my papers, made me sign an agreement not to sue, and handed me a rather attractive severance package
At first, nobody from the company, including my friends, wanted to return my calls. But finally two or three of them, in Human Resources, began responding. Upon receiving my assurance that I would respect their anonymity, they each confirmed that a letter had gone around, instructing managers throughout the company not to hire me.
I even called Kevin several years later. By then, he was retired and spoke cordially with me, over the phone. Regarding the whole matter, he said "Well, actually, you should have just done what you were told without hesitation."
I attempted to do the right thing legally and ethically. I sought counsel in good faith. I attempted to protect the good image of the company, to my recruits as well as to the respected business schools where we interviewed.
In the end, I had no defenders, no supporters, no encouragers. People that I considered courageous and of high integrity, turned their back on me. The experts that I always thought were on my side, weren't.
The result of my tenure with Nortel Networks, was probably a blacklisting in my industry. And, an unfamiliar emotion for me: that of mistrust of anybody, except for a very few people that I had known very, very well, for a very long time.
Next: A Nice Company Concluded
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