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On an international flight not too long ago, I kind of gleaned at my neighbour’s book and I was quite taken in by it. A Ghanaian born UK banker had been arrested for one of Britain’s biggest bank frauds. Well dressed and very well-spoken, it was difficult to believe that this polished young man could do the most devious of the multiple financial fraudulent activities for which he was accused. I was therefore quite impressed by the book title which my row mate in the plane clutched tightly to. I asked to see it and he handed it to me. I then quickly requested a friend who was away in the UK to get me a copy. The book, ‘Why they do it, Inside the mind of a white-collar criminal’, was written by Eugene Solte, a Harvard business school professor. I lived inside that book for a while. Interviewing 50 former executives about how they ended up where they were. Using psychology, criminology and economics, he came to the conclusion that inordinate ambition and extreme greed often lead to some of the worst financial crimes committed by otherwise brilliant young men and women. The insights and perspectives about what drives powerful and wealthy people to white-collar crime is unbelievable. A must-read!