What Took So Long?

The first day of the new year brought us news that Gilbert Arenas and his Washington Wizards teammate, Jarvis Crittenton pulled guns on each other after a recent practice. By my calculation, the event happened in December. Today, NBA Commissioner, David Stern, suspended Arenas indefinitely. Commissioner Stern is being hailed as a "zero tolerance" man coming down hard on Arenas. Not to be impolite, but WHAT TOOK SO LONG? It seems to me if an employee brings a gun to their workplace, they are gone. At minimum, a whole week has gone by without any action. In fact, Arenas was in Philadelphia last night and mocked the situation by being photographed before the game pointing his index fingers as guns in amusement. He played in the game.

I am not a big pro basketball fan (see paragraph above) but I do have some common sense. Why didn't the Wizards suspend him and Crittenton pending an investigation? A firearm in the locker room should not be tolerated for any reason. It's incredible that nothing happened until today. Perhaps the Wizards should change their name back to the Bullets.

It is my belief that the Wizards will never be a winning organization. Accepting thug-like behavior transcends the team and crumbles a positive foundation. In business, there are rules, procedures, policies and guidelines in place that set the tone and culture for all employees. It's not the written word that defines the culture but the actions that support it. How does your organization live up to its mission and core values? Many of you have them on the wall in the reception area or in the hallways. Are they for show or are all levels walking the talk?

It's hard to do the right thing because we've become jaded by headlines like these. Go back to basics, blow the dust off your values statement and set the right foundation for your organization. You'll be surprised at the results.