More from Michael Bloomberg

Being ethical does not require a master's degree. It requires having a conscience and following it.

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Michael Bloomberg

Harvard Business School Commencement 2019, 2019

7:12

Video starts at 7:12 — the moment this quote was spoken

The Story Behind This Quote

Bloomberg told the story of Billy Salomon, the head of Salomon Brothers who never went to college, let alone business school, and never took a class in corporate responsibility. Yet Billy understood ethics instinctively. When he caught someone sending a case of wine to a client to win business — violating firm rules — he fired the person on the spot, even though that salesman was perhaps the most productive in the company. The rules Billy asked others to follow, he followed himself, no exceptions. Bloomberg called working under Billy the luckiest break of his career.

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