The Mort Files

More lessons for leaders

Mort Meyerson's cover story in the April:May issue of Fast Company prompted hundreds of e-mail messages.

We've published some of the following in the magazine, but were so overrun by interesting bits of information and intriguing opinions that we've decided to post the conversation here, where space is infinite. The correspondence illuminates the conversational pow-wows happening in the bustling halls of corporations around the world. We wanted to share with you what people are saying about leadership. Reply, consider, argue, or ignore the conversation that's happening. If you haven't read "Everything I thought I knew About Leadership is Wrong", click here to be informed, and then join the conversation:

To email us with your comments, click here: loop@fastcompany.com

My partner found your article in Fast Company and left it for me with a note that read, "There is someone else out there who's discovered what we already know." I found it to be one of the most reassuring articles on management I've read in a long time.

Back in 1980 my partner and I formed an ad agency based on the belief that we could not only produce great work and make our clients successful, but that we could also treat the people who worked for us like real, living, breathing human beings. That's tough in this crazy, demanding industry.

We developed our values based on the belief that stretching and supporting each other was a good thing, that people want positive reinforcement, that people want leadership to clear the way so they can be successful, not the other way around.

It's like being on a roller coaster. Some people will get scared and want to get off. Some people will be exhilarated and can't get enough. But the ride is always interesting. And the result is we have grown a group of people who will do just about anything for our company and customers.

Thanks for your words of encouragement and your story.

- David C. Hukari
Chairman
Priscaro & Hukari Advertising
San Mateo, California
dhukari@priscaro.com

Your message was inspiring to me since you seem to have found what we ourselves found, but in a different (or maybe not so different) business. It will be interesting to see where both of our companies are 50 years from now. Thanks for writing. It's a boost to know other people are struggling with similar challenges.

I recently left Arthur Andersen for a career in the music industry. I am now a financial analyst at a record distributor, and many of the issues you raised about the "pre-revolution" Perot Systems are in place at our company. Andersen is a lot closer to the "post-revolution" Perot Systems, so I've had a chance to taste both.

Because of your article, I told my boss (via e-mail) that I wanted to start a revolution at our company. I was hoping you could e-mail me with a few words of wisdom, or just a plain "go-for-it" message before we put on our rally caps and tackle this organization.

- Skip Sterne
Sony Music
New York, New York
skip_sterne@sonymusic.com
Go for it! The try is fun, scary, and mind-expanding.

I enjoyed your article, especially the proposition that this is "the path we'll be on for the rest of our lives. It has no destination."

Many of the things you write about are in full swing at our company. My question is: What kind of compensation system did you enact at Perot Systems?

Our company is pushing very hard for the type of "performance-based" compensation system you suggested was in place at EDS. I think the consequences here will be the same as they were there. Any suggestions?

- Reagan Rorschach
Entact
Irving, Texas
hoss@whytel.com
Pay-for-performance is a mantra that sounds great for the uninitiated. You can talk about being things other than a corporate warrior, but if pay is for making the bottom line only, you get the results you ask for.

We are installing variable pay with bonuses based on how the company, the unit, and the individual did on profits, revenues, and customer satisfaction. We also enter items like support of other people and team participation. There is no "formula" that I know about that can capture these factors. I am not suggesting "nonprofit" thinking or "feel-good" thinking. The shareholders win if we do this right. I know that businesses exist to survive and that survival requires profits. But we will try to be indirect rather than direct and see what happens. E-mail me at the end of this year and I will tell you what has happened with our experiment.

I am completing my MBA, and when I look at the jobs my friends go to, I feel sad and angry. Why do so many companies use and waste people like they do?