Tone at the Top

People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. … The leader works in the open, and the boss in covert. The leader leads, and the boss drives.
Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), U.S. Republican president

The Wall Street Journal yesterday had an article on how Halliburton’s work in Iraq was so shoddy the government threatened to pull its no-bid contract if the company’s quality, integrity and cost of work did not improve.

Pentagon auditors questioned $45 million of the $365 million Halliburton received for the work.

The report stated: among the serious and persistent problems identified in the documents are repeated examples of apparently intentional overcharging, exorbitant costs, poor cost reporting, slipping schedules and a refusal to cooperate with the government.

The findings of the report prepared for Rep. Henry Waxman (D. Calif.) are the first to examine the company’s contract to restore Iraq’s southern oil fields.

The company of course dismissed the findings as partisan. So, basically it’s shorthand for what the company’s former CEO – Dick Cheney – tells colleagues in the Senate “Go fuck yourself.”