11

Never Sign the Boss’s Signature

Theft is an unfortunate and unpleasant occurrence. Whether you’re the villain or the victim, you are on the wrong side of a bad habit. If you have been the perpetrator of the theft, you have committed a wrong; if you are the victim, you have been wronged. When personal property is stolen, that is a painful experience; when personal identity is stolen, that is an improper misuse of one’s property.

When I was younger, the only thing I had responsibility for with regard to providing my signature were things such as term papers and automobile registrations. Nothing terribly dramatic.

My first assignment in the army was as a second lieutenant of infantry in the Republic of Korea. Suddenly the magnitude of putting my signature to documents increased dramatically. As a platoon leader, I had responsibility for the 44 men who were assigned to me. The equipment the platoon needed to operate—things such as armored personnel carriers, trucks, and jeeps—was a different matter. I had to sign for all of that as the senior member of the platoon. Millions of dollars’ worth of equipment.

I recall the supply sergeant warning me, “Lieutenant, you lose it, you buy it.” The stakes had suddenly gone up. I recognized that I needed to take this act of using my signature more seriously than ever before.

I will never forget a fellow lieutenant who had similarly signed for his platoon property. When it came time to turn things back in to the supply system when he was scheduled to rotate home, he found that he was missing a building he had signed for a year earlier. “How could that happen?” he asked. “How could I lose a building?” The answer was simple: he hadn’t counted what he was signing for, and he signed for it without thinking much about it. He bought the building. That was a tough lesson in life for him. For me it was an unforgettable lesson to always bear in mind.

Signing for things happened routinely throughout my professional career. It became a more important act with time. I had to assume responsibility for lots of things. Over time, the relevance of my signature became more significant. I took it more seriously and never allowed anyone to sign my name to something for which I had responsibility.

But as I went from place to place throughout my career, I saw many people sign everything from letters of recommendation, to memos, to equipment vouchers for others, mostly superiors, without their permission. As I saw it, this was like borrowing or stealing someone’s property.

The consequences of such an act hit home when a boss for whom I worked in more senior days found that an assistant had signed his name to a document without asking his permission. He went ballistic. If you think about it, he had every right to react that way. He made it patently clear to members of the staff that not only was it an improper act, it should never happen again. As I moved along in my assignments, I saw it happen more often than it should have.

Fortunately, I have a signature that is fairly distinctive and would be difficult to replicate. Interestingly, several assistants admitted they had tried to forge my signature but couldn’t come close to matching it. In each case, I told them they were lucky to have failed and to never try again. Being overly conscious of the ramifications of someone signing a document for me caused me to be diligent about it not happening.

In an age in which it is possible to scan one’s signature and send things electronically, it’s even easier to misappropriate the use of one’s name. Only with permission have I ever allowed that to happen. I have made it very clear to my assistants that before they use my scanned signature, they need to verbally ask me for permission. Each and every time. No exceptions!

Even if the boss gave me permission to have his signature applied in his absence, I’d find another way. It’s not right, and it’s a misuse of one’s personal and intellectual property that simply should not happen.

Over the course of time, I have routinely signed my name several thousand times each year. Sure, it took time. Sure, it was an extra step. But it represented something very important to me. It should also be important to you and to your boss to do things the right way.