When a rock drops in a pond it creates a ripple that spreads out. What’s most interesting is the effect and impact of the ripple. The water always becomes calm first where the rock entered the water, and yet the ripple lives on. It lasts long after the water is calm again around the point of insertion.

Leaders need to be aware of the ripple effect. Long after you act, the repercussions live on.

Take for example, the CEO whose able to “bend” rules that he finds limiting. While he may label this as an efficient or necessary way of “getting things done” and be justified each time he does it — fully aware of the ethical boundaries that he’s comfortable with — he sets in motion a ripple that will outlast his action.

Others see how the CEO bent the rules, and then they bend the rules, which leads to even more employees mimicking the behaviour. Pretty soon everyone is bending rules. Yet, not everyone has the same compass indicating how far is acceptable.

Soon, you find yourself on the front page of the paper with a spotlight on your seemingly harmless bending of the rules that in reality led to a culture which triggered an investigation. When you sit back and wonder how this happened, because your values were so clear, know that it came from the ripple of the rock in the pond.

The ripple effect reminds me of the rock that Martin Winterkorn, former CEO of Volkswagen, dropped — maybe I should say “threw” — into the culture of the automaker four years ago when he outlined the bold strategy with plans to triple its sales in the US in the next 10 years, setting the company on course to pass Toyota and become the world’s largest automaker.

To achieve this lofty goal, Volkswagen bet on diesel-powered cars, promising high mileage and low emissions without sacrificing performance. This became the case of empty promises. On the surface it looked like Volkswagen was delivering on its promises as the cars passed emission test after emission test.

And they delivered much better mileage than its rivals.

While everyone thought Volkswagen was dominating the market, they didn’t know about the ripple that would sweep upon the shores like the waves in a hurricane.

Winterkorn’s determination to surpass Toyota put enormous strain on a company that obviously couldn’t handle it, perhaps because it’s too easy to ride the “old” wave from a previous ripple. Cheating was already known to Volkswagen.

The easy way to deliver on its promise became to cheat. Cheating on the emissions tests solved several issues at once. The drivers thought they got what they wanted — better mileage and performance. Regulators thought they were getting what they wanted — compliance on emission standards. All the while the automaker avoided the more expensive pollution controls, sold more cars and realised its ambition.

A win-win! That’s until it became lose-lose.

Their unbridled ambition, the rock that left the ripple, eventually deflated the balance sheet by one-third and it’s estimated the fines will exceed $18 billion. The extent of the damage is far from known. But the lesson is clear for you: be aware of the ripple effect.

The rocks you throw in the pond last and last. This wasn’t Volkswagen’s first emission problem. In the 1970s, when the US regulators began regulating tailpipe emissions, Volkswagen was one of the first companies caught cheating.

The ripple of today’s problem is erringly similar to the “defeat devices” relied on four decades ago. Volkswagen practised deceptive divergence, so you think you get what you want, even when you don’t.

While Volkswagen is an extreme — yet seemingly more common — story, the principle holds true for you. Your decisions, actions and words last long after the moment. The ripple effect takes a life of its own and creates your culture. It doesn’t matter what your stated values are, the rocks and ripples give meaning to the words. By the way, rocks and ripples can be positive as well as negative.

What rocks are you dropping in the pond that create lasting ripples?

— The writer is a CEO Coach and business author, including the latest book, ‘Leadership Dubai Style’ and other writings. Contact him at tsw@tommyweir.com