Zynga CEO Mark Pyncus, scolds new HBS dean on ethics (2006)

#1

Post by andrewljohnson » Mon, Sep 20, 2010, 6:52 PM UTC

Zynga CEO Mark Pyncus, scolds new HBS dean on ethics (2006)
markpincus.typepad.com

Re: Zynga CEO Mark Pyncus, scolds new HBS dean on ethics (2006)

#2

Post by rokhayakebe » Mon, Sep 20, 2010, 7:17 PM UTC

It may be a little one, or a big one but "Behind every empire there is a crime".

I would like to know examples of companies that are significantly successful today where the founders did not do anything unethical at some point to fuel growth.

Re: Zynga CEO Mark Pyncus, scolds new HBS dean on ethics (2006)

#3

Post by abyssknight » Mon, Sep 20, 2010, 7:28 PM UTC

I tried to read this, really I did, but the lack of capitalization makes me want to die a swift death. You're writing to the Harvard Business School. Man up and use the shift key already.

Re: Zynga CEO Mark Pyncus, scolds new HBS dean on ethics (2006)

#4

Post by sili » Mon, Sep 20, 2010, 7:31 PM UTC

Followed by a template reply from the dean, which completely ignores any points maid in the original letter.

Re: Zynga CEO Mark Pyncus, scolds new HBS dean on ethics (2006)

#5

Post by lanstein » Mon, Sep 20, 2010, 7:32 PM UTC

Pincus in title is spelled wrong, FWIW.

Re: Zynga CEO Mark Pyncus, scolds new HBS dean on ethics (2006)

#6

Post by smokinn » Mon, Sep 20, 2010, 7:33 PM UTC

rokhayakebe wrote: post #2

It may be a little one, or a big one but "Behind every empire there is a crime". I would like to know examples of companies that are significantly successful today where the founders did not do anything unethical at some point to fuel growth.

The problem with statements like those is that they aren't falsifiable.

If someone does come up with an example there's the easy rebuttal: Whatever they did probably just hasn't come to light yet.

Re: Zynga CEO Mark Pyncus, scolds new HBS dean on ethics (2006)

#7

Post by twir » Mon, Sep 20, 2010, 7:33 PM UTC

An ethics lecture from a man whose company sells spyware (Zwinky toolbar) and highly profitable add-ons to games under the pretext of charity (Farmville "donations" to Haiti)?

EDIT: oh, and whose company essentially ripped off the idea of Farmville from someone else. Forgot about that one.

Re: Zynga CEO Mark Pyncus, scolds new HBS dean on ethics (2006)

#8

Post by brown9-2 » Mon, Sep 20, 2010, 7:37 PM UTC

sili wrote: post #4

Followed by a template reply from the dean, which completely ignores any points maid in the original letter.

You're reading it backwards. This blog post reads like an email reply to an email blast from the new dean to all alumni. The >'s are the quoted message.

Re: Zynga CEO Mark Pyncus, scolds new HBS dean on ethics (2006)

#9

Post by lsc » Mon, Sep 20, 2010, 7:37 PM UTC

rokhayakebe wrote: post #2

It may be a little one, or a big one but "Behind every empire there is a crime". I would like to know examples of companies that are significantly successful today where the founders did not do anything unethical at some point to fuel growth.

how about examples of failed companies where the founders did not do anything unethical at some point to get ahead? Or hell, examples of individuals who did not do something unethical at some point to get ahead?

I'm not saying this makes it okay or anything... but all of us are guilty, at one point or another, of doing something unethical. we are all human. Really, I think this is one of those things the Christians got right. we will all screw it up. (I'm not sure I agree with the way the Christians go about seeking atonement, but I agree that atonement is a very human need, and that this idea that we should be able to forgive ourselves for past misdeeds while still working hard to do the right thing next time is a good one.)

So, really, I don't think your question is particularly fair... yeah, we've all done things that we shouldn't have... but I think it's a mistake to always credit our successes to our misdeeds; in fact, I've found the opposite to usually be the case. Maybe it's just my skillset, but nearly every time I've attempted to act in a deceitful or unethical way, it came back to bite me but good. - really, this is the origin of my own "keep as few secrets as possible" policy. Openness just seems to work better, at least when you have my skillset.

Re: Zynga CEO Mark Pyncus, scolds new HBS dean on ethics (2006)

#10

Post by _delirium » Mon, Sep 20, 2010, 7:41 PM UTC

abyssknight wrote: post #3

I tried to read this, really I did, but the lack of capitalization makes me want to die a swift death. You're writing to the Harvard Business School. Man up and use the shift key already.

The lack of a blank line (or any vertical space) between paragraphs is what makes it particularly unreadable for me. It looks like the source does separate the paragraphs, so seems like a bad choice of CSS.