October 2002 Flash Points

Does cuthroat business culture force CEO corruption? Discuss the CEOs of the companies represented in your group, are any more accessible than others? Or do they all possess a fear-of-God quality about them? What are the implications of a single person running a company in an environment where no one can question their decisions? Write a mock job description for a 'chief ethics officer' in your company. Who would they answer to? What are the 'nasty, unintended consequences' of legislation and regulation?

Compare crisis managment plans within your group. What are the common elements, what are some unique ones? Synthesize the ideas into the complete crisis plan
Try and find examples of the good, bad, and ugly crisis managment plans locally. What local business have thrived during recent economic turmoils? Which gave in quickly and closed ship?

Where have today's CEOs generally revealed themselves as 'yuppie wimps.' Is there a previous business leader in history you'd like to see come back to take the reins from these 'wimps?' Analyze a few Fortune 500 companies in trouble and try to peg down instances where leadership evaded them. Did the CEOs try to shirk the blame? What have people like Buffet, Gates and Immelt done in crisis times to keep the ship afloat and still maintain good personal and corporate reputaions?

Daniel Richards contributed this month's Flash Points.

October 2002 Connexus | Flash Points | Next Steps