The Accountability of Sharing Our Mistakes

What a nice thing to wake up to: reading in the newspaper that at least some American institutions are using words like 'transparency' and 'accountability' as if they really meant it.

In an article in today's New York Times, we learn that foundations are now publicizing their failures as well as their successes. A consultant to foundations is quoted as saying, 'there's an increasing recognition among foundation leaders that not to be public about failures is essentially indefensible. If something didn't work, it is incumbent upon you to make sure others don't make the same mistake.'

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The president of a foundation is quoted as saying, 'given the emphasis in foundations these days on communication, transparency and accountability, it just seems to me that you aren't going to be credible if all you talk about is your successes.'

One reason given for this new emphasis on transparency is that the big givers are executives 'who never grew up with the notion that they shouldn't be accountable, because they were totally accountable to their investors. Disclosing problems was never a debatable issue for them.'

We think of accountability as a government issue: in a democracy, officials have to be accountable to the people. But this is mostly words and theory. So it comes as something of a surprise that it is now becoming more than a theory in the business world and in the world of foundations.

Government is being left behind, in terms of accountability. Even government ethics professionals don't seem willing to discuss their failures openly, so that others can learn from their mistakes. That's one of the reasons we started the Model Ethics Code Project, which has drawn no interest from ethics professionals. Maybe we need a few young billionaires to make us transparent and accountable, too.