Thomas P. Morton, who became Chief Participation Officer of Milwaukee’s Tri-Copson Press only last July, resigned this week when it was discovered he had falsified information on his resume.
According to the company, he had listed the terms “self starter,” “consensus builder” and “go-to person” as being among his key attributes. However, a standard internal investigation – which involved checking with five of his previous employers – uncovered the following:
- He required assistance starting 78.2 percent of the things he did, thus started things by himself only 20 percent of the time. The minimum requirement for a self starter is 60 percent.
- Over the course of 20 years, he had been involved in the discussion and dissemination processes for over 120 consensuses. However, there are no records of him ever having built one by himself or along with others.
- While he was often considered to be a “gatekeeper,” only four employees all five companies ever went to him with anything.
The investigation showed that while Morton met the qualifications of “people person” and “up and comer” – both of which he also listed – Tri-Copson has a zero-tolerance policy regarding falsification of key attributes.
“If a top executive is misleading us about his key attributes,” says company spokesperson Monica Albright, “he or she may also be misleading us about their core competencies.”
That, she says, could lead to someone lying about his or her essential skill sets – an act that has resulted in the ruination of more than one company.
