In business, does doing the right thing for your people justify risking everything? This is the legacy of Aaron Feuerstein, the CEO of Malden Mills.
When a fire destroyed his factory in 1995, he faced a choice: take the insurance payout or rebuild. He chose to rebuild. More than that, he continued to pay the salaries and benefits of all 3,000 employees while the factory was down. It was an act of incredible moral courage.
But that decision came at a cost. It cost him $25 million, eventually bankrupted the company, and led to his removal as CEO. Feuerstein’s story remains a powerful, and controversial, lesson on the intersection of humanity and capitalism. What would you have done?