Pepsi: The choice of integrity
July 7th, 2006
You’ve probably read or heard that a disgruntled Coca-Cola employee tried to sell confidential product information to PepsiCo Inc. Pepsi executives turned the letter sent by the employee in question over the FBI instead. As a loyal Pepsi drinker for many years, I am very proud that the company I support chose the high road. Yet some people are reacting to this story with great cynicism, suggesting that Pepsi shouldn’t be praised for doing the right thing or even that Pepsi only contacted the FBI because company executives thought the letter might be part of a sting operation. I suppose I can’t blame them for being skeptical, especially given the absolutely disgraceful malfeasance we’ve seen in the corporate sector over the last few years.
But it is for the same reason that I’m choosing to offer this laudatory word to Pepsi. I think it is possible that some companies in certain industries with intense competitive rivalries might have chosen a different path than did Pepsi. Pepsi’s decision to obey the law shows that corruption isn’t a universal problem in Corporate America, and that it is possible to make a profitable product while acting with integrity.
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Entry Filed under: Principled Innovation Blog, What's New?, Random Thoughts
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