Lou Gerstner, former CEO of IBM and RJR Nabisco, wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed piece on then-Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf's comment that the bank's employees did not do what Wells' culture required, "Put the customer first."140 For not honoring that culture, 5,300 Wells employees were terminated. These incorrigibles were meeting their quarterly growth goals by setting up accounts for themselves, sending customers credit cards that they did not request, and having friends and family members open accounts that would be closed quickly once the quarter ended. Mr. Gerstner wrote that the CEO allowed the culture to "eat" the bank's reputation. Indeed, that was the result, but the recently departed Mr. Stumpf appears to be saying that the employees ate the culture he had worked so carefully to establish. Just like when the dog ate our homework. Back in our homework days, we found a convenient "scape dog." However, the problem was always our inaction, not the dog's action.

As early as 2005 (2007 was the year Mr. Stumpf became CEO), an employee had notified HR about what she was witnessing: "employees opening sham accounts, forging customer signatures, and sending out unsolicited credit cards." \({ }^{142}\) In 2007 Mr. Stumpf received two similar letters from employees. In 2010, the chairman of the Wells board received such a letter. Mr. Stumpf had the sales quality manual updated to remind employees to get the customer's signature before opening an account. One of the employees who wrote to corporate was fired, but her supervisors remain with Wells. Congressional hearings and whistleblower lawsuits document these percolating events. If an employee demonstrates either the chutzpah or courage to write to corporate, the trenches need some attention. One-on-one conversations with employees by culture experts from outside the company provide the clearest picture of what employees are doing and witnessing. Culture surveys, employee satisfaction surveys, and ethics surveys will not tell executives what is going on in the trenches. As long as there are demographics in the questions, fear keeps employees quiet. Even without the demographics, employees fear detection. In some cases, supervisors about their responses warn them because the supervisors are measured by the survey results. Letters from employees could be complaints from a crank, or they could be evidence of culture issues. Assume the latter. My eldest son was one of the Wells letter writers. He had a part-time job at a Wells branch during his senior year in college. When he began work, he was quite proud of his hourly wage as well as the potential for the quarterly bonuses based on new accounts and services. In the early days of his employment, he often reported on how many new accounts and services he had set up and how his check for the quarter would be fabulous..............

Discussion Questions
1. Discuss whether my son did all that he could in his circumstances.
2. Many employees who raised concerns were terminated or otherwise retaliated against. If you were in their position, what would you have done?
3. What should companies do to encourage employees to express concerns about sales tactics?