Underhanded Culture?
Today’s WSJ reports that Under Armour is being investigated for potential accounting fraud.
Completely coincidentally (?), just three days ago, on LinkedIn, Kevin Plank, the company’s CEO, founder, and chairman posted (with obvious pride) the following anecdote:

Is news of the investigation surprising considering that the company’s founder was running around with multiple identities, misrepresenting himself, and lying to get the sale back in the company’s earliest days? Is it surprising that Plank thought this anecdote clean and innocent enough to share with the world even as news of a federal investigation into accounting practices was taking shape?
“But wait,” I hear you say, “Under Armour publishes its values online, and value #6 is ‘STAY TRUE’, which the company defines as “Completely honest. Perfectly imperfect.” So isn’t that proof that honesty is a core value? And that a little imperfection is ok?
The problem is, your values are worthless if you’ve got a CEO that proudly brags about lying to get the sale. Your values are worthless if your team can’t see them being lived in every decision. Your value of “STAY TRUE” is the worst kind of lie if you fail to stay true.
Another juicy detail from the WSJ story: the company’s executive team had been in the habit of expensing strip club visits. “STAY TRUE” to what, exactly? To your shareholders, as you expense seedy entertainment without ROI? To your spouses, as you pay for sexual touching? To your customers, as you lie to them about your ability to make a decision that’s actually within your power to make?

