Tag Archives: leadership news and views

Goldman “Leaders” Choose Poverty over Incarceration

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Goldman Leaders Forgo 2008 Bonuses

In a recent email from one of our readers, we were asked to weigh in on the Goldman Sachs Group’s leadership decision to request no bonuses for the current calendar year.

What are your thoughts on the following article?  How does this reflect leadership during these troubled times? – Tye Mills

(To read the article Tye mentions, follow this link.)

Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs, and six other top executives asked the board’s compensation committee to skip them during bonus time this year.

Pardon us if we don’t cheer.

While it is certainly admirable that these executives would take a seemingly proactive step to helping right the ship at Goldman, this decision should have come from the board (not from the executives) and should have come much sooner than November 2008. (In the nature of full disclosure, the executives likely gave up their bonuses because Attorney General Andrew Cuomo warned them last month that the bonuses might break New York State law.)

We never begrudge any executive their compensation nor any corporation their profits. This is the way our system works; and our system has worked better than any other in the history of the world. The prosperity enjoyed from Joe Six-Pack to Joe the Plumber is in large part due to the spoils enjoyed by the executives of the Fortune 500.

Take away their incentive to make money and you take away our standard of living.

Further, the seeds of destruction at corporations like Goldman and Lehman that plunged the world into economic turmoil were not planted by large bonuses. Rather, it was inattentive executives and especially their boards of directors who drove us off this cliff – while laughing and smiling all the way to the bank.




But How Will They Feed Their Families?

TheManager will not get a bonus this year, either. Not because I petitioned the board, but because my bonus is set up to pay out only when the shareholders make money. In 2008, my company’s shareholders lost quite a bit.

The removal of truly performance-based bonus pay is where most executives and boards have failed the owners of their companies; and why many of these men and women should be in jail. Leveraging your shareholders for personal gain, as Lehman has been reported to have done, by ratios of 30:1 or worse is criminal. No owner (and that’s what stockholders are) would ever agree to assume risks of this magnitude.

Before you worry about poor Lloyd and his crew, they will still receive roughly $600,000 each in base salary this year. Additionally, we can only wish that they were able to save some of their bonus from last year. (Just as the wheels of the economy were coming off in 2007, the top three executives at Goldman Sachs made more than $57 million each.)

It’s No Longer a Free Market

Companies, and especially their highly paid executives, have argued that multi-million dollar bonuses were necessary to “to attract and retain top talent.”

Top talent? By top talent, I’m hopeful you don’t mean Dick Fuld of Lehman or even Lloyd Blankfein.

Before we break our arms patting old Lloyd on the back, let’s remember that Blankfein was the CEO when Goldman posted a 70 percent drop in profits last quarter. Additionally, Blankfein was the CEO when Goldman stock plunged 69 percent this year. Doesn’t sound like bonus time to me.

In a free market, Goldman is free to pay its executives whatever they can grab. However, the market is no longer free for Goldman, Morgan Stanley and many other firms. Goldman, you see, took 10 billion of your tax dollars in the recent bailout. This makes them, in our opinion, a quasi-governmental entity. At the very least, they should be heavily regulated until we get our $10 billion back – this includes their executive compensation plans.

Back to Tye’s Question

Tye asked, “How does this reflect leadership during these troubled times?”

Tye, if this were truly a leadership move and not a classic CYA*, I would be impressed. I am not.

I would have been impressed if the leadership of Goldman Sachs had taken the long view toward building wealth for their shareholders and clients instead of focusing on their multi-million dollar paydays.

Once Goldman became a publicly traded entity in 1999 they moved the risk from themselves (the partners) to the shareholders. Without the risk, they were like drunken coeds on South Padre Island waiting for their shot on Girls Gone Wild.

Leadership is about service and sacrifice. Giving up a bonus because you’re afraid to go to jail is self preservation. Self preservation is as far from leadership as $57 million is from $600,000.

…

To read some interesting notes about the current crisis and how we really got there, check out a great article published last week by Liar’s Poker author Michael Lewis. It brings some closure to the fall of Salomon Brothers and some great insights into today’s troubles. Lewis convincingly argues that Salomon’s move from a partnership to a publicly traded corporation led to the current collapse. To read Lewis’ article, follow this link.

…

*Editor’s Note: CYA is code for “cover your ass.”

Barack Obama – Enlightened Leader?

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Leadership Lessons from the President-Elect

As someone who voted for John McCain, I have to admit that (so far) I’m impressed by one of the leadership moves proposed by President-elect Barack Obama. It looks like Obama may build his Cabinet with those who often disagree with him.

Throughout the campaign, Obama seemed like someone who would say and do anything to be President. (In this respect, he was not so unlike McCain.) Obama, it seemed, just wanted to be President so bad that he actually made me nervous.

In fact, the AskTheManager.com editors were so confused by his windblown opinions during the campaign that we ranked him third behind McCain and Sarah Palin in ability to lead. This latest move to embrace his rivals will surely vault him ahead of Palin. (To see the original rankings, follow this link.)

Though I will never agree with Obama’s socialist leanings – and I believe his proposed economic policies could potentially destroy the very things that made this country great – his apparent willingness to embrace adversaries in an effort to staff his Cabinet with the very best is impressive.

What Business Leaders Can Learn From Obama

Just elected CEO of the World, Barack Obama could take the path that many Fortune 500 leaders have taken. He could surround himself with his friends, reward his loyal and faithful followers, and staff his team with a plethora of yes-men and yes-women.

For the moment, it appears Obama will take a page directly from the greatest Republican President (and second greatest Leadership-President) of all time. Obama has hinted that he will follow Abraham Lincoln’s lead and choose the most qualified – not necessarily the most loyal – to fill his Cabinet posts. (To see our rankings of US Presidents as leaders, follow this link.)

Presidents and business leaders generally claim they want to surround themselves with strong-willed people possessing the courage to disagree with them – seldom do they follow through with this position. A great example is provided by the worst President of all time, Richard Nixon.




Though he claimed he hated yes-men, no one dared tell Nixon “no.” Because his Cabinet was filled with neutered-nothings, his merry band of sycophants stood idly by while his presidency imploded.

Secretary of State Hillary?

Obama, hinting to appointments for Hillary Clinton, Republicans, and others who have disagreed with him, might actually be serious. If he is, he will be in rare company.

Lincoln appointed political enemies to important posts, including one who went so far as to describe Lincoln as a “long-armed ape.” Tough words in 1860.

If Obama follows Lincoln’s lead and appoints those he feels are most qualified to hold significant posts, and if he encourages them to disagree with him on important issues, he may very well set an example that all CEOs should follow. (Call me naïve, but I believe Lincoln’s leadership style could have saved virtually all of the companies declaring bankruptcy this year.)

Every leader needs people around them to tell them when they have no clothes. True leaders forget their egos and reward subordinates who have dissenting viewpoints – we’re hopeful that’s why they hired them in the first place.

Time will tell if Obama has skin thick enough to want the truth from his Cabinet, though I like what I see so far.

In Leadership, Obama Bats .500

It couldn’t all be good news, could it?

While I’m certainly impressed by what everyone thinks Obama may do with his Cabinet, I’m somewhat less impressed by the leadership lesson he provides in abandoning his Senate seat tomorrow.

If challenged, Obama’s people would surely claim that the President-elect needs to prepare for his first term, and that the Senate will be fine without him.

Really?

Doesn’t the lame duck Congress need to tackle the greatest economic crisis the US has seen in more than 70 years? Isn’t this the precise reason the people of Illinois elected him to serve? At a time when the country is devoid of leadership, Barack Obama provides a terrible lesson to the nation’s leaders: when the going gets tough, some people quit.

Winners Never Quit and…

While it’s true that Senator Barack Obama will be replaced in the US Senate, his replacement most likely won’t take office until after Christmas; and he/she most certainly won’t take office next week when the Senate meets to discuss the economic bailouts.

Is it possible Obama doesn’t really want to bail out the auto industry and he’s afraid of angering his union base? Who knows – all I know is that he is quitting early and leaving the decision on who will be the next US Senator from Illinois in the hands of a scandal-ridden Governor with a 13% approval rating.

Lest you argue that Governor Blagojevich would appoint the next Illinois Senator no matter what; wouldn’t it make more sense for Obama to wait until January 19, help the country through the current crisis, and hope the Governor resigns or is impeached between now and then? (I can dream.)

No matter how you slice it, quitting early does not sound like leadership to me. Let’s hope Obama has a really good reason for walking away in the middle of this crisis.

 

It’s the Leadership, Stupid – Why the Economy is in the Toilet…

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It’s the Leadership, Stupid

These past few months have seen the greatest turmoil in the worldwide credit and stock markets most of us have ever experienced. With depression-like drops in equities and recession-like layoffs, foreclosures and bankruptcies, nearly everyone has been too busy bailing water to blame the Captain… until now.

While much of the culpability for the current economic crisis will surely be laid at the feet of a lame duck president, government regulators, and greedy real estate speculators, the real origins of today’s woes are the misguided leaders of the once great companies that are at the center of this mess. Though we may lose sight of this during a tumultuous presidential race and our own personal issues, history will show that we are on the brink of an economic disaster driven by personal greed and virtually nothing else.

Of course, Richard Fuld (former CEO of bankrupt Lehman Brothers) and Daniel Mudd and Richard Syron (former CEOs of credit-crisis-causing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, respectively) will undoubtedly argue that all of their moves were designed to help others (shareholders and homeowners). They’ll claim, as other White Collar criminals before them have argued, that they were not made aware of the risks associated with their mismanagement. In fact, if these men are able to avoid prison, they’ll surely be back at the helm of something, making millions because of their connections and not their leadership.

It’s Time for Change

If Barack Obama had one thing right in the presidential race, it’s that we need change in this country. Not necessarily political change (hasn’t Obama’s party been in control of Congress throughout this mess?), but Leadership change.

Boards of publicly traded companies too often choose the ineffective or ill-equipped to run their enterprises. When times are good, they allow their management teams to run amuck in their excesses. Perks are one thing – in fact, they’re vital to attracting and maintaining the right talent – but foolishly spending the shareholders’ return is something entirely different. Most boards, it seems, look the other way and do not demand accountability until it is too late.

It’s Time for Accountability in Leadership

The “perp walk” of Dick Fuld and his ilk that is sure to come will not be enough to satisfy the AskTheManager editors that we’re making the right changes for American business. While Fuld will most likely be held accountable in criminal proceedings, he is not alone in the culpability department at Lehman. Lehman Brothers did not fail because of one man’s inability to manage himself out of a paper bag. The Lehman board is every bit as culpable and should be help every bit as accountable as Dick Fuld.

Board seats are coveted, cherished, and often financially rewarding. You cannot simply “apply” to become a board member – you have to be invited. While many board members posses a terrific track record running some of the most successful companies in the world, too often board members are unqualified boobs who happen to have friends in the right places.




Given this, perhaps we can create a new saying in American business: Those who can, do. Those who can’t, serve as CEO. Those who can’t serve as CEO, sit on the board.

The Next Perp Walk

Civil remedies alone are not enough to properly shock board members into acting responsibly (or turning down board posts they’re not qualified to hold). It’s time for change in the way we treat board members in America. It’s time we introduced them to the criminal justice system.

Collecting a six figure paycheck for showing up to four meetings a year and allowing an unqualified CEO to pull the wool over your eyes is more than irresponsible – it’s reckless. In the past, reckless actions like we’ve seen from the Lehman board and others have only led to a short term decrease in share value. Today, they’re helping to fuel the greatest economic fire since the 1930s.

It’s time we put a few of these board members in jail. Only then could clear out some of the most ineffective boards of all time and staff them with shareholder advocates, committed to service and dedicated to driving leadership through their management teams.

Bloomberg The Emperor Always Gets His Way

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Bloomberg The Emperor

We wrote a few weeks ago about the seemingly unbelievable possibility that New York Mayor Michael “Nero” Bloomberg would seek to have the City Council overturn New York’s term limits law – opening the door for Bloomberg The Emperor to serve a third term. (To read that post, follow this link.)

As crazy as it sounded then, it seems even crazier now that Bloomberg has convinced the City Council to unilaterally overturn what the voters put in place. Bloomberg, it seems, feels he is the only person capable of lifting the World from the current economic crisis.

The unabashed gall and narcissistic, ego maniacal attitude that even puts this kind of thought in someone’s head astounds us. The fact that the City Council was allowed to make this decision (because it also benefits them) seems criminal.

The vote was 29 in favor and 22 against. We think it’s time for New Yorkers to start using their heads at the polls. Clearly, they should vote out the Bloomberg 29 and, of course, The Emperor himself.




The Definition of Insanity

The funniest thing about this mess (if any of it can be considered funny) is that the Bloomberg 29 and The Emperor truly believe that New Yorkers need “consistent leadership” during these tough economic times.

Hah! While we doubt the Mayor of New York and his Council could have more than a miniscule effect on the economy, it’s hilarious to us that they believe they can. This begs the question: If the Mayor and City Council can positively impact the economy, then why did they let us get into this situation in the first place?

The last thing America needs right now is “consistent leadership.” Bloomberg’s been in office for over 6 years, the average tenure in the US House of Representatives is over 9 years and the average US Senator has served more than 11 years.

Sounds to us like “consistent leadership” is what got us into this mess.

The voters spoke years ago when they created the term limit law, and Emperor Bloomberg just turned his thumb down.

89% of New Yorkers polled this month said that if the Mayor wanted to extend the term limits, he should take the issue to the polls and let the voters decide again. The Mayor, it seems, doesn’t think the voters know what’s good for them. We’re just hopeful they wake up and throw the bums out.

Leadership Lessons from Web 2.0 – eBay Fixes That Which is Not Broken

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Leadership Means Knowing When Not To Act

Remember that great little restaurant you frequented a few years ago? You know the one; they had that terrifically tasty dish that kept you coming back again and again. Remember when they changed ownership and the new proprietors altered the recipes?

The way I remember it, the new owners removed a couple of labor-intensive dishes from the menu, watered down the lobster bisque, and changed meat suppliers. They fired a couple of key kitchen employees, whom they deemed were overpaid, and they saved thousands of dollars each week. In taking over a successful restaurant, they made some very interesting choices.

When you drive by the shuttered restaurant today you wonder why anyone would mess with success – why would they make these clearly risky moves that would eventually doom this great little restaurant?

Of course you know in your heart that if businesses fail to reinvent themselves – even cannibalize their older products with newer offerings – they could eventually go the way of the buggy whip makers. Given this, you might think that changing the recipe is okay… even recommended. As the new owners of that great restaurant learned, and as eBay is currently learning, little tweaks can have a huge negative impact.

eBay Screws with the Recipe

A few months ago, eBay decided the time was right to change a few of their recipes. As one of the few Dot Coms not to become Dot Bombs, you have to respect that their decisions were sound and in the best interest of shareholders. (For more information on eBay’s moves and the impact on its financial results, read the CNN Money story posted at this link.)

Unfortunately for eBay, their significant fee and feedback changes have led sellers to flee and buyers to purchase fewer items overall. In fact, they saw a 1% decline in gross merchandise volume last quarter versus last year. (A decline in sales for an Internet retailer is not a good thing.)

It’s not just that eBay is alienating sellers – if that was the only issue with these latest moves we would have nothing to write about. These latest moves by eBay signal a shift away from maximizing shareholder return (which should be their only goal) toward becoming some self-appointed savior of the little guy. eBay feels they have to protect everyone, all the time, especially from themselves.

eBay, it seems, is a Democrat.

Whatever Happened to Caveat Emptor?

As both an eBay buyer and occasional eBay seller, I understood that there was some risk with every transaction. As a buyer I was cautious not to leave unwarranted negative feedback for fear that the seller would crush my rating (which would negatively impact my ability as a seller to sell for the highest dollar).

Additionally, I knew that buying a $400 cell phone for $50 meant that, on occasion, I would get ripped off. It’s all part of the auction game: risk and reward. Without great risk, you cannot have great reward.

With eBay’s latest moves – designed both to reduce the number of auctions on the site and to protect buyers from unwarranted negative feedback – they’ve effectively helped competitive sites attract longtime eBay sellers. eBay officials tout that their site is now safer and easier to use.




Who said we wanted it to be safer or easier to use? There is a cost associated with perfect safety that, at least over the short term, even eBay buyers aren’t willing to pay. They had a great thing going and then they watered down the lobster bisque.

The Customer is not Always Right, but They are Always the Customer

eBay has forgotten who their customers really are. Hint: they’re not the buyers. Web 2.0 companies must deliver desirable content to survive; eBay gets this content from the sellers. Sellers make eBay great; and only with great sellers, can eBay attract buyers.

Because of their new feedback policies, which have cost sellers dearly, eBay is seeing many of their most successful merchants flee to sites like Amazon and others.

John Donahoe took over as eBay’s CEO on March 31 of this year and he had big shoes to fill. Donahoe followed the legendary Meg Whitman – an Internet icon who built eBay into the giant it is today.

Donahoe, like the new owners of that great little restaurant in your neighborhood, watered down the lobster bisque. Whether he was trying to make his mark on the company, or whether he simply felt this was the best move for eBay shareholders, his changes          to the site’s policies could ultimately spell disaster for the auction giant. (If you think we’re being a little melodramatic here, remember that on the World Wide Web it doesn’t take long before “the next great thing” takes hold.)

Over 100 Years with the Same Menu

Galatoire’s – an unbelievably great eatery in New Orleans – has served the same menu for more than a hundred years. Through two World Wars, the Great Depression and several hurricanes, Galatoire’s has stood the test of time. They’ve never watered down the gumbo (they don’t serve lobster bisque) and they’ve remained true to the dishes that first put them on the map.

We’re certainly not suggesting that eBay should emulate Galatoire’s; we’re merely providing an example of success without radical change. It is possible because Galatoire’s literally babies their best customers and they’ve always worked to deliver the best.

Imagine if eBay literally babied their best sellers and always worked to deliver the best… Oh yeah, they used to before Donahoe.   

Leadership, Personal Relationships and Infidelity

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Leadership, Personal Relationships and Infidelity

John Edwards, Elliott Spitzer, Kwame Kilpatrick and Jennifer Aniston’s mates. What do these men have in common? Hint: they are all alleged to have a problem keeping their pants on in the presence of women who are not their significant others.

After hearing about the John Edwards infidelity revelations a few months ago, a colleague asked “what’s the big deal?”

It was hard to contain my disbelief that someone whom I considered a fairly mature leader didn’t understand how an extramarital affair could affect one’s ability to the lead the United States as President.

“After all,” he added, “Kennedy, Clinton and countless other Presidents fooled around.”

“If Your Brother Jumped Off a Cliff…

… does that mean it’s okay for you to do it?” I found myself repeating my mother’s words of wisdom that I had grown to detest as a child. I couldn’t help myself, it was too easy.

Satisfied with my immature admonishment of my colleague, I settled into a more reasoned approach aimed at educating him on infidelity and its negative affect on leadership.

For presidential wanabees, incumbent state governors and city mayors, failures of the flesh are the kiss of death for a number of reasons. (It’s funny though, usually not for the most important reason.) That is, if a politician is anything but squeaky clean, he opens himself and his administration to extortionist efforts by his rivals, special interest groups and, worst of all for US Presidents, other nations.

Much of America simply loses faith today (not so much in Kennedy’s time) of a politician who is unfaithful. They see his or her inability to maintain wedding vows as a sign of deceit, not as a sign of diminished capacity to lead.

Leadership is About Judgment

We depend on our business and political leaders to show great judgment in the face of adverse conditions. Someone incapable of keeping their eyes on what’s truly important is also incapable of leading in the new millennium. This is not to say that there aren’t instances of unfaithful leaders who accomplished great things. Alleged adulterer Rudy Giuliani comes to mind. Of course, he stood no chance of gaining the Republican nomination as his alleged misdeeds were more recent (and public) than the allegations against John McCain.  

For every Giuliani there are thousands of Brads. Brad, not his real name, was a college buddy who had intelligence, good looks and great business acumen. Brad, however, has what he calls “an addiction” for adultery. Because he spends all of his free time chasing his next conquest, he often neglects his work and his family.

To make a long story short, Brad is now a forty-five year old, low-level manager for a small company on the verge of bankruptcy. He is married to his third wife (whom he met while fooling around on his second wife), and his adult kids hate him. He continues to fool around and this keeps him distracted at work. He often makes business decisions that help him feed his “habit” – joining a vendor at a strip club, for example, instead of going to bed early before an important meeting.

When you compare Brad to our other college friends, it’s sad. Brad’s salary is less than one-third the average of this group, and his prospects for promotion are non-existent. Conversely, the rest of his college buddies and I continue to enjoy great careers with plenty of positive movement. While many factors could account for this discrepancy, Brad is the lone (admitted) adulterer in the group.




Great Leadership is About Selflessness

Fooling around on your spouse is a selfish act. It demonstrates a belief that your needs are more important than the needs of others. Great leaders serve their subordinates, not the other way around. Because of this they develop a selfless nature that helps them make decisions without the added burden of an unhealthy ego.

Selfishness is more damaging in personal relationships, like that of Jennifer Aniston and (fill in a male celebrity’s name here), than it is in business. Of course, fewer people are hurt in a personal relationship.

Selfless people make great life mates and great leaders. Unfortunately, selfless people are often too humble to attract the attentions of Aniston or a Fortune 500 Board of Directors. They are so self-satisfied and accomplished that they almost never toot their own horns in a search for attention. (Hint: great leaders toot the horns of those around them.)

One Lie Begets Another

Lies are just like Lay’s Potato Chips, you can’t eat just one. Lies have a way of multiplying faster than Gremlins in a swimming pool. Just ask Kwame Kilpatrick.

Former Detroit Mayor Kilpatrick is alleged to have cheated on his wife and then reportedly lied under oath to cover it up. It’s never the infidelity; it’s always the cover up. Unfaithful actions lead to dishonest words.

We should expect more from our leaders. Leaders should be selfless. Too often, we’re discovering supposed leaders who spend hundreds of hours covering up a one-hour tryst. How impactful might they be if they concentrated on having sex with just their spouse?

Selfless people, on the other hand, have no reason to lie. Because they are not looking for the spotlight or working overtime to feed their own habits, they are never confronted with questions about their activities or character.

I Would Probably Lie, if I had a Better Memory

Whether the result of character or a simple lack of short term memory, I quit lying (for personal gain) at age eight. (My spouse would argue the latter.) It seemed that the payoffs were no longer positive after that age. Like all non-liars, I’ve seen my share of dishonest folks enjoying the spoils of their half-truths, knowing in my heart that I’d get mine in the end (and so would they).

Non-liars and faithful spouses aren’t envious of the adulterers and the damn liars who succeed in the short-term, although we are curious why everyone is always so surprised when the cheater is revealed. Seriously, it shows in their lack of true leadership.

 

Leadership Development – Blogwatch October, 4 2008

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Leadership Development Blogwatch

Hey, Mr. Manager, what happened to the weekly blogwatch on leadership? – Jerry in Nevada

Wow, we didn’t think anyone would notice if we took a couple of weeks off – no one seems to care when Congress leaves their business unfinished. (I mean, we keep reelecting most of them, don’t we?)

For Jerry, and the one or two other regular readers of this series, here are the best of the Leadership Development blogs for the past week (or so). Enjoy!


Get smart
In the meanwhile, we return next to our current topic of the nature of leadership with a discussion of leadership development. Today’s tip: In line with today’s subject, please see this …

Leadership Development for Succession Planning
Leadership Development Team Building Communication and Presentation Skills Strategic Thinking Proposal and Report Writing Participating in Workshops and Conferences Could you please suggest, a methodology to go about this. …

The Toll Road of Reinvention
Spoke to a friend last week who told me about a man of fifty-seven. A typical tale for a corporate soldier in America today. He’s tired, bored and wonders where the time went. The financial crisis happening here and around the world is …

More Leadership Development on a Dime
But I’m changing the series title to “Leadership Development on a Dime”, after one of my wife’s favorite Home and Garden Network shows, “Design on a Dime”. (The “On a Dime” series challenges designers to transform a room on a $500.00 …

Why use golf to develop leadership?
Like any powerful training program, leadership development needs a supporting, robust model of development. Unfortunately it’s not much use telling someone to BE Jack Welch, or even to tell someone what it is that Jack Welch does …

Three Foundational Leadership Development Principles
He is a passionate leadership development advocate and practices what he preaches by mentoring scores of men year and year. Our discussion really gave me the kick-start that I needed to realize how important my job is. …

Asia Needs to Focus on Leadership Development to Sustain Its Growth
The absence of a strategic focus on leadership development will make it even more difficult for the next generation of leaders in the region to successfully assume senior leadership roles. Mr. Leo Yip, Permanent Secretary, …

How to Develop a Leadership Competency Model
A leadership competency model should serve as the foundation for any organization’s leadership development system. An effective model allows an organization to clearly define what leadership competencies are required in order for an …

The Bible on Leadership
In both the old and new testaments to exemplify honesty and integrity, purpose, kindness and compassion, humility, communication, performance management, team development, courage, justice and fairness, and leadership development. …

Chaos, Clarity and Courage
My friend Terry gave me the following lesson a couple of week’s ago:. Chaos can produce clarity, which then will challenge you to take courage. If you take courage, you can speak clarity into the chaos. …

10 Ways to Get Off on the Right Foot with Your New Manager
A fellow blogger emailed me and a few other leadership development bloggers with the following request: Nicholas, Rowan, Michael, Dan, Kurt: I’m going to be reporting to a new VP imminently. I think this would be a good topic for your …

Leading Yourself Preceeds Leading Others
Since I’ve started in pastoral ministry, I’ve made it a point to set aside some time in my schedule to look after and improve upon my leadership development. Since that time, I’ve taken one full day a month to shadow or follow a leader …

Unit Level Leader Development – Are We Getting it Right?
Ask yourself when was the last time you went to CAL and looked for self or Unit level leadership development resources??? Me – only recently researching my Thesis – aside from that NEVER! RAND says we are good to go…..I say we are not…

Organizations Don’t Value Leadership Development
Companies were asked which phrase best described leadership development in their organization. Less than one in five described what would be considered a well-functioning leadership program (either strategic or focused. …

Best Principles Before Best Practices.
The game is called ‘In Search of Best Practices’ and it is played something like this: “We’re about to launch a major change (like putting in a leadership development program). Before we do, let’s benchmark the best organizations around …

 

Damn the Voters, Bloomberg Believes He is NYC’s Only Choice

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Leadership Lessons from Mayor Bloomberg (and Other Emperors)

We’ve often written in this Leadership Development blog about the important traits for good leaders. From intelligence to character, we’ve worked hard to identify those qualities that can help young managers become leaders and older leaders regain their edge. Over the course of these posts, we’ve singled out integrity as a key leadership trait.

While the editors of AskTheManager all agree that integrity is critical, a few months ago we identified service as the most important trait for a manager or leader (to read our comments on service, follow this link). In that post, we wrote about the importance of service to one’s company, one’s customers and, especially, one’s subordinates.

We think New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg may have taken us too literally.

It seems The Honorable Mayor Bloomberg feels like the citizens of Metropolis need more Bloomberg – they not only want more of his service, they need more of his service. They need more of his service so bad, in fact, that Bloomberg plans to seek a reversal of the very law he so vehemently supported when Rudolph Giuliani was Mayor of New York.

Bloomberg feels he is the only person capable of leading New York City through the current economic crisis.

Integrity Rears its Ugly Head

While intelligence and many other leadership traits can be judged with a sliding scale, integrity is either yes or no; black or white – there is no middle ground for integrity. You either have it or you don’t.

The drive to remove term limits in New York City was shot down by voters in the 1990s. And even though the citizens spoke loudly (twice), Bloomberg plans to do an end-around on his beloved constituents and press for City Council legislation to overturn what voters have twice said they wish to keep. (It cannot go unwritten that these same City Council members would also benefit by lifting the term limits. How do you think they’ll vote?)




Is this New York City or Panama City? Are we talking about Manhattan or Moscow? All dictators can justify their suspension of Democracy and their rise to power by some political or economic “need” that they themselves identified.

Think we’re taking this too far? If Bloomberg can leverage this City Council to overturn what the voters mandated with this crisis, what’s to stop the next Mayor from circumventing democracy vis-à-vis the next City Council?

Where is your integrity Mayor Bloomberg? Do you lack the basic understanding of how and why our nation was founded? George Washington, the greatest Presidential Leader of all time, knew enough about the tyranny of kings to know he should stop at 8 years. Why is it you think you’re above the will of the electorate (and the law)?

This Mayor Has No Clothes

Would some brave sole please tell Mayor Bloomberg he’s naked?

There is a rare self-importance about Bloomberg that’s always made us uneasy to have him in the Executive Branch. Of course, it’s probably his unhealthy dose of narcissism that’s made him the successful businessman he is today. What’s most interesting is Bloomberg must truly believe that with all the financial minds in New York City, he is the only person qualified enough to help the five boroughs through this financial mess. A tad arrogant and certainly much confused.

This begs the question: if Bloomberg is the only person capable of leading New York City through this financial crisis, how did he allow it to happen in the first place? Remember, Michael Bloomberg was the Mayor of New York throughout all of this. (Hint: it’s not really a problem caused or solvable by the Mayor of a city.)

Lest we get all starry-eyed about Mayor Bloomberg’s ability to take decisive action to help us through this crisis, let’s remember that he’s not even all that decisive about what he believes. Bloomberg was a lifelong Democrat, but he switched parties and was elected as a Republican in 2001. Although he was reelected as a Republican in 2005, he became a political independent in 2007 (reportedly in a quest to run for President).

We’re confused. Is he an Independent, a Republican or a Democrat? Which Michael Bloomberg is best suited to lead the poor folks of NYC through this mess?

One party switch we can understand, two and you’re just not very self actualized.

This is not just a New York Problem

Mayor Bloomberg, this is not just a New York City crisis; this is not solely an American crisis. What we face today is a global economic crisis. And our apologies to New Yorkers, but it’s not always about you. There are more than 295 million people in America and over 6.8 billion globally not living in New York City. Given this, Mayor Bloomberg believes he should compel fifty-one members of the City Council to select one man to save the world.

While we are adamantly opposed to term limits, we are more opposed to circumventing the will of the voters for political gain, and the disingenuous leaders who employ situational integrity to satisfy their own egos. Situational integrity is like situational pregnancy – it’s oxymoronic. Mayor Bloomberg, you cannot be a little bit pregnant.

If Michael Bloomberg really wants to help, he should offer his unique brand of assistance to the next Mayor of New York. (God knows there must be no other financial brains in left in the city.)