Swanson's words, director's responses
CEO William H. Swanson from the preface of ''Swanson's Unwritten Rules of Management": ''Early in my career, I developed the practice of writing down advice and jotting down thoughts I might have on how to perform more effectively. I was especially interested in constantly improving how we related to our customers and with each other. . . . I compiled these thoughts and one day found occasion to use them when I was asked to speak to a network of young engineers and scientists about management lessons I had learned. . . . This is really a product of experiences over the better part of a lifetime, of people I have learned from, and things I have heard and read."
Swanson on April 24: ''The lessons that lie at the heart of the 'Unwritten Rules' were gathered over a lifetime of experience, reading, and learning. The result is an unpublished work that is available free of charge to any interested reader. I sought to provide credit at the front of the 'Unwritten Rules' to all those unnamed sources who had, over the course of my life, contributed a thought or an idea relevant to the compiled work. While many of those sources remain anonymous, clearly, the similarity of the language between Professor [W. J.] King's 1944 book and some of the rules within the 'Unwritten Rules' is beyond dispute. For me, the originality of the material was never the rules themselves, but my expression of them in terms of my experience over the years. I hope, in this regard, they continue to be helpful. I regret that over the course of the years and in the process of compiling the 'Unwritten Rules,' any reference to Professor King's book was not properly credited."
Swanson on May 3: ''As I have stated, source material for that booklet and notes came from a file of material that I had been collecting over the years. I provided that material to my staff in 2001 for help in preparing an internal speech. It's clear to me now that this file contained Professor King's book, as well as other published material that was incorporated into the presentation. It was this presentation that eventually evolved into the 'Unwritten Rules' booklet. I would like to take this opportunity to specifically acknowledge that I did not properly check the source material for that presentation and did not confirm the appropriate attribution of the material. This was an error in judgment on my part which I sincerely regret."
Lead director Warren B. Rudman on April 24: ''I've known Bill Swanson for more than 20 years. He is a person of incredible character, and I can not believe that Bill Swanson would intentionally do something unethical."
Rudman on May 4: ''In the case of an inadvertent mistake, the board doesn't have many options, and the board thought the financial sanction is appropriate."
