[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 38, Number 33 (Monday, August 19, 2002)]
[Pages 1341-1344]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
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 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.

[[Page 1342]]

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.

[Secretary Evans introduced Ana 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.

[[Page 1343]]

[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 
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;

[[Page 1344]]

and Franklin D. Raines, chairman and chief executive officer, Fannie 
Mae.