    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2002, Book II)]
    [August 13, 2002]
    [Pages 1379-1382]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the Corporate Responsibility Session of the President's
    Economic Forum in Waco
    August 13, 2002

    [Commerce Secretary Donald L. Evans welcomed
    the President and summarized the discussion to that point, including the
    remarks of Truett Cathy, founder and chief
    executive officer, Chick-fil-A, Inc., concerning why his company never
    offered public shares. Secretary Evans then introduced Dick
    Holthaus, president and chief executive
    officer, National Association of Investors Corp. (NAIC), who asked NAIC
    members in the audience to raise their hands.]

        The President. Great.

    [Mr. Holthaus described NAIC's activities as
    an organization of investment clubs.]

        The President. Dick, thank you. First of
    all, I want to thank you all for coming. This is--it's really a fine
    seminar because the quality of--the people are great. Wait until you see
    who's here when you go to lunch. It's really--impressed. And this is a
    topic that is a vital topic for the country, and that's trust. You know,
    how do we make sure people can trust what they see, can believe what
    they hear, can understand--understand that they're being told the truth
    when it comes to numbers, and make sure the fine print, you know, is
    fully exposed?
        I want to thank Dick from the New York
    Stock Exchange for helping set the tone for policing themselves. You
    know, the

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    Government can only do so much. And I can assure you we're going to hold
    people accountable. If they lie, cheat, or steal, they're going to be
    prosecuted--they just are. But there's a lot others need to do as well,
    and the New York Stock Exchange set a very good example, starting a
    process that will regain the trust of, you know, of just the average
    citizen in America. That's what we've got to do, and that's what we've
    got to hit head on.
        As the man who heads Albertsons in
    the previous seminar said, CEOs need to get out front. They don't need
    to hide during this period of time; they need to be out front. He's
    starting tomorrow by signing a letter that will verify the truth and
    verify reality.
        But I want to thank you all for coming. I can assure you that even
    though I won't be sitting through every single moment of the seminars--
    nor will the Vice President--we will look at the
    summaries, and we will look at any ideas that come out, as to determine
    whether or not there is more Government can do. In the meantime, I'm
    going to be calling upon the leaders in our communities, all across our
    communities, to do their job as responsible citizens.
        So thanks for coming. This is an important day, and I think, for
    those who are watching on C-SPAN, I think they are going to find that
    there's a lot of Americans like themselves who are deeply concerned
    about the future of this country. And I think you are going to find that
    a lot of us are very optimistic about the future of the country, because
    we are a fundamentally strong nation, full of great people.
        Welcome to central Texas.

    [Secretary Evans introduced Harry
    Alford, president and chief executive officer,
    National Black Chamber of Commerce, who stressed the need for honesty
    and integrity in corporate leadership.]

        The President. Well, I can assure you of one thing. If somebody
    broke the law, they're going to be held accountable. Dick came and I think
    Ken--both came to the speech I gave in New York. I was telling this
    story to one of the other seminars. And our business schools don't want
    to teach right from wrong anymore. They're afraid of taking a position,
    evidently. Michael probably knows more about
    that than I do.
        But anyway, in my speech I said business schools need to take a
    stand to teach their youngsters right from wrong. Just as you mentioned,
    Harry, there are some values that are true. And
    I was working a ropeline--a professor said, ``Well, thanks for saying
    that. As a business school professor, we needed to hear that.'' And a
    laboring man standing next to him said, ``Yes, if you really want to
    teach people right from wrong, put those who did wrong in handcuffs.
    That's the best ethics lesson that Government can do.'' And we're going
    to. We're going to.

    [Secretary Evans introduced Ron
    James, president and chief executive officer,
    Center for Ethical Business Cultures, who discussed the benefits of
    ethical corporate leadership.]

        The President. Where are you----
        Mr. James. Center for Ethical Business
    Cultures. We're in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
        The President. Oh, great.
        Mr. James. We partner with a couple of
    academic institutions, the Carlson School of Management at the
    University of Minnesota and St. Thomas' College of Business.
        The President. But is there a trend in these business schools, like
    this person pointed out to me, that there's kind of a----

    [Mr. James said that ethics was a core part of the
    curriculum at these schools, leading students to raise questions about
    the values of the organizations they considered working for.]

        The President. That's interesting.

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    [Secretary Evans introduced Anna Escobedo
    Cabral, president and chief executive
    officer, Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility, who stressed
    the need for greater diversity in corporate leadership as part of
    responsibility to the community.]

        The President. Well, I appreciate that. I think one of the most
    heartening statistics about Hispanic life in America is that the fastest
    growing segment of small-business growth--it's a different subject, but
    along the same lines--is the Hispanic owner. The Latino-owned businesses
    in California--the creation there is just unbelievable, and the same in
    my State of Texas, which is a really positive development.
        In terms of large, corporate America, there's no question there has
    to be a degree of sensitivity throughout the entire corporation in order
    for it to realize value. In other words, value is not just in numbers;
    value is in character as well. And I really appreciate Ron's point, that
    a company that has got a culture of responsibility is a company that
    benefits financially as well. It's kind of an interesting analysis.
        But thank you very much. I'm going to appreciate you coming.

    [Secretary Evans introduced Yale School of
    Management student Jill Gibson, who described
    how ethics is taught in her classes.]

        The President. How about Dean Garten?
    How's he doing?
        Ms. Gibson. He's doing a great job,
    excellent dean, thank you.
        The President. Tell him to give you an
    ``A.'' [Laughter]
        Ms. Gibson. I will. I'll make sure to tell
    him.
        The President. One of the things I hope to get corporate America to
    do is to give people time off to mentor children, as part of
    establishing a set of values within a corporation. One of the things
    that I think is beginning to happen is, corporate America looks at a
    potential employee's willingness to help a neighbor in need as part of
    whether or not that person will fit into the new corporate culture.
        I think a lot of folks would say that it's impossible to develop a
    culture within a large corporation; that after the entrepreneurial stage
    of corporate development, you lose your soul. And one of the interesting
    challenges for CEO America, as well as the business schools, is how to
    instill a culture within a large, kind of soulless organization. It's
    one thing to be Chick-fil-A; it's another thing to have evolved to this,
    you know, a conglomerate or a giant, where the ownership is dispersed to
    the point where people really wonder whether or not it's possible. I
    happen to think it is. I think you can instill a culture in any large
    organization. But one of the tricks is how to do so. And I believe one
    way to do so is for--is to encourage employees, as well as, you know,
    the people who run the company, to do something for somebody other than
    yourself. Part of that is to be a good community participant and a good
    community citizen.
        I'm glad you're here.

    [Secretary Evans introduced June
    Lennon of Martin and Lennon CPAs, who discussed
    ways to be proactive in ensuring corporate responsibility, including
    simplifying accounting rules.]

        The President. You ought to take a look at--Franklin can tell you, the Government accounting system is
    pretty--it's kind of hard to explain. [Laughter] I've been there for
    nearly 18 months trying to figure it out. [Laughter]
        But thank you very much for that, June.
        Listen, again, I want to repeat to you all--I've got to bounce to
    another seminar, but I do appreciate you coming. This is--the other
    thing that Americans have got to know is that by far the vast majority
    of our fellow citizens are upright, honest, moral people. By far the
    vast majority of people running corporate America are good, honorable
    people, good, decent people that care about their shareholders, care

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    about their employees, care about communities in which they live. And
    that's important for people to know--and that there have been some
    recently whose practices started a while ago and are now coming to
    light, that cast a shadow on all of us. And we've got to let the light
    shine in, and that's what we're going to do.
        But this is a unique land we're in. There is a moral compass amongst
    by far the vast majority of us, and that's what makes America so great.
    And our job is to--my job is to capture that spirit, to insist upon the
    best, call upon people to serve, hold people accountable when they
    don't. There's no question we're in a rough spot. But the good far
    outweighs the bad, not only in terms of statistics but, most
    importantly, because of the people and the character of the land.
        I do want to thank you all again for sharing your thoughts. I think
    this is a very important day. It's important for all of us here, but
    more importantly, or as importantly, it's important for people who are
    paying attention to what is said here. So thanks for coming. I look
    forward to seeing you at lunch. I'm impressed by the quality of the
    folks that have come.
        God bless you all. Thank you.

    Note: The President spoke at 9:46 a.m. in the Baylor Law Center at
    Baylor University. In his remarks, he referred to Richard Grasso,
    chairman and chief executive officer, New York Stock Exchange; Lawrence
    R. Johnston, chairman and chief executive officer, Albertsons Inc.;
    Kenneth I. Chenault, chairman and chief executive officer, American
    Express Co.; Michael Useem, professor of management, University of
    Pennsylvania; Jeffery E. Garten, dean, Yale School of Management; and
    Franklin D. Raines, chairman and chief executive officer, Fannie Mae.