Firing the CEO: Lessons boards should learn

Rich Moran stepped the members of the Business and Organizational Ethics Partnership through the recent treatment of three Silicon Valley CEOs as they were terminated by their boards. The boards, in Moran's view, exhibited poor taste, surely; lack of empathy, without a doubt. However, the actions also clearly violated the principles and values that the organizations espoused to all their stakeholders.

Moran, currently CEO of Accretive Solutions and a past partner at Accenture, recounted story after story of how senior level executives and boards had failed to live up to the values of their organizations. His stories are like parables; there are important lessons for everyone, regardless of position or rank in business organizations.

In a seven-minute video talking with Markkula Center director Kirk Hanson, Moran presents his core views on how boards should fire CEOs.