Chapter 2. SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER

JAMES O'TOOLE

The truth that makes men free is for the most part the truth which men prefer not to hear.

—Herbert Agar, A Time for Greatness (1942)

In 2002, Enron's Sherron Watkins, WorldCom's Cynthia Cooper, and the FBI's Coleen Rowley were recognized as Time magazine's "Persons of the Year" for courageously bringing news to the men at the top of their respective organizations that those leaders preferred not to hear. As Time reported, the honored trio weren't looking to curry favor, weren't looking for publicity, didn't want to be whistleblowers, and all three—primary breadwinners in their families—courted great risk in terms of their jobs and careers. Sadly, not only did their warnings about serious ethical ...

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