Red flags for corporate scandals
- Technologies / breakthroughs too good to be true. Promise of cures, quick results, radical changes etc. are music to the gullible human ears; we as beneficiaries of the rational revolution since the Enlightenment are extremely prone to be disillutioned by "science & technology"
- High employee turnover. Especially at key technical (R&D, lab head) and executive level
- Culture of absolute loyalty. Employees are demanded 100% devotion to a "glorified mission"; juniors are brainwashed / intimidated into conformity; realists are dismissed as disbelievers
- Secrecy to both inside and outside. Avoidance of media exposure; aggressive NDA signings; aggressive protection of "intellectual properties"
- Nepotism & innercorporate personal relationships. Hiring close relatives or "inner circle" because trust & loyalty are more important than competence
- Disproportionate reliance on H1B workers. Foreigners on work visas have more to lose to speak up & less likely to complain or leave the firm
- Nonexpert celebrity board / endorsement. Retired statesman, military officers, former execs from unrelated industries, lawyers, professors
Other notes
- When you strike a King, you must kill him. Elizabeth convinced the board to keep her when they initially decided to replace her, but not immediately, until finding a suitable candidate. Should have been more decisive and fired her right away
- Industrial organization: market leaders have less FOMO. Walgreens, under FOMO, partnered with Theranos despite being skeptical. In market competition, pressure is on the second/third place players to catch up, where market leader can afford delaying an attack
