Detecting the Scam: Nelson Mandela's Gift

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Even before the Madoff scam, as corporate and individual corruption reached new heights, we came to realize that we could no longer rely on our finest and brightest to protect us against brewing scams. It became increasingly apparent that when integrity threatens the fees and profits of some of our finest and brightest, they abandon integrity too easily.

Author Michael Friedlander offers an intriguing and distinctive perspective on recent high-profile scams by studying them through the lens of Nelson Mandela’s life, skills, and moral authority. In his readable, conversational storyteller’s style, he explains complicated subjects such as the financing behind the Enron and Madoff scams in easy-to-understand terms.

He describes the scam as a negotiating duel between the scammer and his mark. As he looks at Mandela’s life and historic negotiations to end apartheid, he extracts 10 Powers of Negotiation and illustrates how they can be used not just to detect scams, but in any type of negotiation. He emphasizes, however, the need for a moral compass and the courage to follow it. Using his own Duck School of Common Sense, he raises some provocative questions about the Enron, Ahmed Chalabi, and Bernard Madoff scandals. It’s an unexpected approach to learning from the high-profile scams that will no doubt intrigue many readers. This is a must read for anyone interested in scams, negotiation, ethics, and Nelson Mandela.
s, we came to realize that we could no longer rely on our finest and brightest to protect us against brewing scams. It became increasingly apparent that when integrity threatens the fees and profits of some of our finest and brightest, they abandon integrity too easily.

Author Michael Friedlander offers an intriguing and distinctive perspective on recent high-profile scams by studying them through the lens of Nelson Mandela’s life, skills, and moral authority. In his readable, conversational storyteller’s style, he explains complicated subjects such as the financing behind the Enron and Madoff scams in easy-to-understand terms.

He describes the scam as a negotiating duel between the scammer and his mark. As he looks at Mandela’s life and historic negotiations to end apartheid, he extracts 10 Powers of Negotiation and illustrates how they can be used not just to detect scams, but in any type of negotiation. He emphasizes, however, the need for a moral compass and the courage to follow it. Using his own Duck School of Common Sense, he raises some provocative questions about the Enron, Ahmed Chalabi, and Bernard Madoff scandals. It’s an unexpected approach to learning from the high-profile scams that will no doubt intrigue many readers. This is a must read for anyone interested in scams, negotiation, ethics, and Nelson Mandela.