Cavalier Kingpins
Categories: Corporate Culture | Management Skills | Leadership | Ethics
Posted by
Dean Zatkowsky
at
7:08 AM
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By Dean Zatkowsky
I don't pretend to know whether the government's bailout/ransom program is right or wrong for the long-term, and I'm not ashamed to say so. There's a difference between over-simplifying a topic and respecting the topic's unassailable complexity. For example, I think the economy is more complex than the film industry, and William Goldman makes a compelling case that "nobody knows anything" in that industry. Of course, one reason neither the film industry nor global economists can accurately predict the future is the fact that whatever future they predict, there are people out there working actively to prevent it.
It's all connected, and it's very complicated.
So I'll recuse myself from discussions of the economy's future, but I'd like to comment on what goads me most about the current situation: The news is full of highly paid executives who appear to have never taken seriously the responsibilities of their positions. We've all seen incompetence in the workplace; any large population's members will exhibit a range of talent and ability, so we learn to deal with it. But I think all of us expect people to take their work seriously, instead of just coming to the office every day to manage their own wealth through the company's resources.
We often accuse CEOs like John Thain and Rick Wagoner of arrogance, but it's their selfishness and irresponsibility that really diminishes them as leaders. For my forthcoming book, Kamelot: Kinko's Brief Shining Moment in Business History, I had to coin the term "bossiopath" for executives who not only exhibit sociopathic tendencies, but also present their greed, cruelty and self-obsession as attributes of leadership.
Contrast the John Thains and Rick Wagoners of the business world with a man like Dan Frederickson. As President of Kinko's, Dan presided over the company's explosive growth between 1986 and 1996, all the while torn between the conflicting needs of dozens of owners and fielding a barrage of continuous kibitzing from one hot-tempered, pot-stirring, impulsive (and beloved ;-)) founder. Dan endured enormous stress because he took his responsibilities to the company and its stakeholders seriously. Coworkers could SEE him working hard for their benefit, and the company prospered as a result.
I would go so far as to say that Dan behaved heroically in his position, and frankly, that's the kind of leader people want to follow.
Dean Zatkowsky, managing partner of Dizzy One Ventures, LLC, is co-author of The Entrepreneurial Investor: The Art, Science and Business of Value Investing, and Two Billion Dollars in Nickels: Reflections on the Entrepreneurial Life.
Comments
Nick wrote on 04/07/09 11:23 PM
I compleltly agree, a president that proves ethical company growth will always be seen as a positive incentive for investors to take a closer look at a company. I at least hope that through this economic turmoil we will rise out of the ashes and have better ethical guidlines that our business leaders will follow and the era of short term profits without the realization of long term liabilities will be over. If there is one thing we can take from this era in history is that the business that look for the short term benefit without considering the long term effects of their actions are doomed to failure of not only their own organization but possibily a large portion of their industry as well.
Jana Gallus wrote on 04/09/09 9:05 PM
I think there is a very easy example to illustrate the fact that a leader who is visibly working hard almost automatically spurs his coworkers to give their best as well: school sport lessons.
I hated it when I had a teacher who never got off his/her chair, and who was nevertheless telling us students that we had to be able to make a summersault. As opposed to this: isn't it way more motivating to see that he/she is actually really dedicated and wants us to succeed?!! (you can also take the swimming lessons, where the teacher wouldn't even approach the (cold) water.)
Matt Enyeart wrote on 04/06/09 10:23 PM
The term "bossiopath" brings back memories of the Enron scandal and the documentary "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room." I think the public hates these people so much because the only thing that matches the magnitude of their unwarranted bonuses, is their their staggering level of incompetence as leaders. I remember a couple years ago when people were outraged after Lee Raymond walked away from Exxon with a retirement package worth $400 million(not necessarily bad as he helped to make Exxon billions). With the recession there is no way executives will be able to justify huge bonuses at the top as workers at the bottom are fired. Obama essentially firing GM's CEO may well show that the days of no accountability are over.
http://abcnews.go.com/gma/story?id=1841989
(Link to the story of Lee Raymond's $400 million bonus. Not perfectly relevant but interesting nonetheless)