What Top Entrepreneurs Do When Accused Of Wrongdoing

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As an entrepreneur, it is highly likely that you’ll face allegations of wrongdoing and misconduct at some point. If you run a large organization (or even a small one), something will probably eventually go wrong, causing emotional turmoil. 

The trick is to know how to respond when it does. You need to know what to do and the order of play you should follow. 

Get Your Legal Team Together

The first thing you’ll want to do is to get your legal team together. You need people around you who really understand your objectives and situation. Try to find a criminal solicitor who has dealt with cases like your before and is in a position to offer you the best possible advice. 

If you can garner a proper defence, you can often reduce the prosecution’s demands considerably. Usually, they will attempt to take as much as possible from you, but you don’t have to go down that route if you have the right team. 

Self-Disclose 

Another strategy is to self-disclose. The idea here is to cooperate with authorities, thereby reducing penalties.

You only really want to do this if you think there is a strong chance that the allegations against you will stick. Again, you’ll need to liaise with your lawyer and ask them what they think your position is, given the evidence. 

Many corporate executives have “owned up” or “fessed up” to allegations in the past as part of a plea bargain. These deals massively reduce penalties and can even allow you to go back to work soon after.

Conduct An Internal Investigation

It’s a good idea to conduct an internal investigation as part of the process. You want to make sure that you have all bases covered, especially if the allegations aren’t against you directly. The more you can figure out what is happening in your organisation, the better position you’re in. 

For example, if VW had done this during the emissions scandal, then the company would be in a much better position today. It would have been able to figure out the wrongdoing in its ranks and weed it out before it became an international scandal. 

Take Personal Accountability If Necessary

Sometimes, the logical course of action is for entrepreneurs to take personal accountability for the actions of their firm. This approach can improve brand image and enhance publicity, which might be bad in the aftermath of a scandal. 

Furthermore, taking accountability can lead to higher respect. People who take on responsibility are often seen as having the ability to steer ships through hard times. 

Implement Remediation

Lastly, you’ll want to look into various ways you can implement remediation and possibly compensation. Again, being proactive about this is helpful and puts you in a better position versus other stakeholders. 

Related to this, you may need to claw back salaries paid to staff who were involved in wrongdoing. Ensuring that they don’t get paid for their actions is essential if you want to restore trust and credibility in the organisation as a whole.