I'm looking for any sign I can find that we're in recovery -- not
only that the economy is turning around, but that the mindset that led
us into this mess is shifting.
I found a good one.
The
chief learning officer of a highly admired company was talking about
leadership development. He was describing who and what leaders will
need to be to cut a navigable path for others to follow in a future
that is certain to be uncertain, convoluted and complex. His anger and
disappointment about how out of whack we seem to have gotten as a
society match my own...
I'm
scratching my head over AIG and all the lookalikes. Bonuses paid out in
the millions to people costing the company billions? People undermining
the world economy? Oh, right. They're not performance incentives,
they're retention bonuses. You wouldn't want people like that to get
away.
But this CLO has on his boxing gloves. His dukes are
up. He wasn't naming names, but he PowerPointed this quote, attributed
to a Wall Street trader, on a 20-foot screen:
"What
we are experiencing is a colossal failure of leadership in the business
community. CEOs are greedy, shortsighted, unethical, arrogant, and
lacking in vision and commitment. It's truly pathetic."
The quote is depressing. But the
context is encouraging. This CLO is setting out to make some changes. I
think many people, not just the high-profile
multi-million-dollar-earning executives, have been swept up by
the distorted dream defined by our derivatives debacle -- the idea of
spinning gold out of paper. But I believe more and more people are also
looking for something better, more hopeful, and more balanced.
I think we are starting to inch our way out of this mess.
Make a Difference,
Brian
Blog: Brian@GrowthWorks -- Life, Learning & Leadership
Related Stories: | Topics:Leadership, Management, Ethonomics, charisma, trends, vision, Business, Jobs and Labor, Employee Compensation, American International Group Inc., Wall Street |
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Recent Comments | 2 Total
April 10, 2009 at 11:29am by Kevin Berchelmann
Interesting comments, and certainly sensationalistic. Frankly, however, I don't buy the premise that CEOs are personally and solely responsible for the economic conditions we're in today. To me, it reeks of "something bad happened, someone is to blame" mentality.
CEOs had a had, not necessarily in the specific courses they set, but in the lax oversight and probability forecasting necessary to stay abreast with the market's movement.
The federal government had a hand in this as well, with at least two administrations culpable.
This is another example of the thinking allowed -- even condoned -- in our society about business; everything's ok as long as we're making money. No harm, no foul.
Now THAT premise I agree with, and assert must be changed.
Enron. Mortgage banking. Complex financial derivatives (and similar instruments). Bernie Madoff.
All of these have one thing in common: lots of people made lots of money -- more than the market indicated was reasonable -- and no one made any significant protest until the money started to dry up (or returns floated back to earth).
Then, as soon as some influential folks start losing money, headlines run amok, heads must roll, blame must be assessed.
We must break that ridiculous chain of zero accountability for all involved.
Merely whacking the CEO may feel good -- like telling off your boss -- but nothing good comes from it longer-term.
But that's just me...
KB
--
D. Kevin Berchelmann
Triangle Performance, LLC
#9 on Houston's FAST 100!
www.triangleperformance.com
blog.triangleperformance.com
April 11, 2009 at 12:10pm by Luis G. Jaramillo
Anyway without Ethics in the middle, there will be no chance to change.
The world must agree to the predominance of the common good over individual welfare, and accept that irational or harmful action on the part of some organizations during the course of their development, can become a Sword of Damocles that could jeopardize the world order and pose a genuine threat to community.
We need MBS, but the good, not the bad nor the ugly.
MBS produces well-rounded managers who are leaders. Using an objective and pragmatic, it unifies language and achieves results quickly. It converts guides into genuine pilots and leaders. Based on a simple but common language, they are trained to steer their ships to a safe port even under the most difficult conditions. We need to review the concept of leadership. Probably we are calling "leaders", to many bandits.
An organization that adopts MBS becomes a useful example of development, efficiency and effectiveness, one that makes a valuable contribution and is distinguished for its performance. The CEO must be a leader, and the "true" leader only speaks MBS. MBS make a difference. I guess, it is just the answer for the "depressing quote".
MBS in fivestarmanager.com