Shrink Rap: Degrees of Deception and Disgrace

You get the pathetic picture. Who knows how many more executives out there are hiding behind imaginary degrees that continue to be included in their company bios and legal public documents.

Look, if corporate heads are feeling desperate to have the status that accompanies a degree, how hard is it these days to go out and buy a second- or third-rate MBA? Night and weekend classes, cruise ship credits, executive programs that grant credit for "life experience" -- I mean, it's just not that tough to "earn" a degree.

But these guys don't want just any degree. They want a totally imaginary one and the prestige that comes with getting it from the school of their choice.

Corporate Culture Gone Awry

One way to understand why this practice of lying about degrees is accepted in the corporate culture is to realize how so many of these guys become convinced of their own inflated self-importance. In the end, the guy who can perform is going to be viewed as deserving whatever rewards come his way. And if he needs a phony degree to enhance his false pride and public image, who cares?

We've created a business ethic that permits anything as long as it serves the end goal of profitability -- both for the company and the individual. It's part of the capitalist credo, right?

If the brass ring they are grasping for has a few hundred million attached to it, can you blame these guys for playing the game the way the rules were laid out for them? They are the go-getters who found the edge that would put them ahead. And presenting themselves as having prestigious degrees is just part of that edge.

Message to the next generation of post-bubble corporate executives: If you want the status that comes with a real degree, and wish to avoid being disgraced, then you best do it the old-fashioned way -- earn it.