How Online

"With all the news coverage today on financial mismanagement, I can tell you from first-hand experience that there is one company that continues to prosper amid all the chaos — and I think it is worth trying to understand why," says HOW Online contributor Mats Lederhausen. The company? McDonald's, where he spent much of his career.

In communities where fathers build ships for their sons, quality is never a problem. Proximity is a good enough insurance policy against real quality problems. That’s why understanding how your products affect society, and getting closer to end-users, are paramount to avoiding problems, says HOW Online contributor Mats Lederhausen.

Tragically, humans only learn the real lessons the hard way. As the dust settles and we study the wreckage of once-impressive enterprises, HOW Online contributor Mats Lederhausen initiates a public dialogue on what contributions in society should have the highest rewards. A starting point: Financial industry leaders should identify their purpose beyond bonuses and returns.

Companies can no longer talk themselves out of a problem they behaved themselves into. In the past, bad news didn’t travel as fast or hurt as much as it does today. There has been, it seems a kind of death penalty enacted against corporate misbehavior, both in the minds of lawmakers and the general public. One thing is certain: the risk of corporate death has stimulated many more activities in our companies around ethical behavior.

Capitalism and the free market economy was never intended to be just about the money. Entrepreneurs rarely find the creativity, inspiration or intensity of passion necessary to start a business just to make money. The dream simply needs to be larger than that. In many cases, larger than life.