Liz Ryan gets it right, again. From Taking A Stand On Ethics, BusinessWeekOnline:
[O]ne day you may be hit in the gut with 
the idea that you're a very small piece in someone else's chess game, and that the price you've already paid - in your own view of yourself, and the distance you've traveled from your once-mighty ideals - is too high. Then you may wonder why you went along, for so long, with a lot of things that never felt right to you.
When that happens, the experience can be terribly unsettling, as you look back over your career and wonder… how did I get here? That's when you wonder, is it possible to prosper in business and still hang on to your soul?
I think it is. I think it takes a major effort, and may startle the people around you. If you've been a compliant sort for most of your career, you may stun your colleagues, if not your boss, when you stand up for things you've never bothered with before. But it will be worth it. If you don't, don't blame me if one day you look at your new projection TV and your other goodies, and say, "I have nice stuff, but look who I had to become to get it."
