Page 190 - The Way to the Top

Henry R. SILVERMAN

Chairman, President, and CEO of Cendant Corporation

Our system of capitalism is built on the presumption of honesty, respect
for the rule of law, and the assumption that institutions of stature and
credibility will tell the truth.

In my thirty-eight years in business, I have gained a number of deeply
practical insights—the most important of which is that in the end you
must rely upon the truthfulness of the people you are dealing with. We
have all come to know that every good partnership—whether in business
or marriage—is based on trust.

So how do we deal with the subversion of our financial system? What
do we rely upon? The answer is quite simple: our own integrity. We have
an unwavering obligation to tell the truth, tell it all, and tell it now to
shareholders, employees, and customers who have placed their trust in our

companies.

These constituents and our markets have suffered greatly from the
frauds at companies like Adelphia, Enron, and Worldcom. Our
responsibility as business leaders is to restore the trust and hopefully the
wealth by building and maintaining public companies that foster candor,

openness, and above all, integrity.

Tell the truth, tell it all, tell it now