| I had the pleasure last week of hearing a presentation | | | | corporate institution as it specifically ignores (or |
| by Henry Mintzberg, McGill professor and management | | | | exploits) other stakeholders, especially employees. - |
| guru. One attendee described him as the "Tiger | | | | Mercenary corporate leadership is stealing from |
| Woods of management science". | | | | shareholders with absurd compensation and |
| I know him as the Strategy professor during my McGill | | | | severance packages that are not tied to performance. |
| MBA program from 35 years ago. (Yikes, neither of us | | | | The "robber barons are back!" - The old corporate |
| seem to have aged that much! OK, maybe less hair.) | | | | silos have been replaced by horizontal slabs of |
| He is a widely respected academic and the acclaimed | | | | concrete separating executives from their employees |
| author of "The Nature of Managerial Work ", "The Rise | | | | and the real operating issues. - "Human resources" is a |
| and Fall of Strategic Planning", "Managers not MBAs" | | | | term that dehumanizes human beings. It makes it |
| and many other books and articles that argue against | | | | easier to treat people like other "resources" to buy, sell, |
| the conventional wisdom and provoke thoughtful | | | | use and dispose of them. It's like describing airline |
| reflection on management and business. He is also the | | | | passengers as "self-loading cargo"! - Corporations |
| co-founder of the International Masters Program in | | | | need to remember that customers are people too. |
| Practicing Management (IMPM), a unique approach to | | | | They are not just another asset to be exploited. |
| learning that is designed to flow from the experience | | | | Professor Mintzberg also suggested some remedies |
| of the participants. | | | | to avoid the great depression of 2008: |
| His presentation yesterday was originally advertised to | | | | - Stop being misled by the apparent productivity gains |
| be on the dilemma of corporate compensation, but | | | | and profitability of large American corporations. - Get |
| that turned out be only part of his critique of the | | | | the mercenaries out of the executive suite and add |
| modern CEO focus on shareholder value that is | | | | employee voices in the boardroom. - Stop running |
| leading to the great depression of 2008. | | | | businesses to satisfy financial analysts or investors |
| Some of his points to consider: | | | | with no interest in anything except short-term results. - |
| - Productivity is a euphemism for cutting costs, mostly | | | | Install real corporate leadership that is concerned, |
| by firing employees, while maintaining short-term | | | | engaged, and modest. (Interestingly close to Jim Collins |
| revenues. - The theoretical corporate objective of | | | | description of Level 5 Leadership from "Good to |
| maximizing long-term shareholder value has been | | | | Great".) - Ignore the obsession with measurable |
| hijacked to mean pushing short-term earnings to inflate | | | | factors and reconsider the immeasurable - values, |
| current market share prices. - How can employees be | | | | benefits and impacts of economic activity. - In the |
| motivated to work for shareholders they have never | | | | larger context, get back to a better balance of the |
| met? Many of whom have no interest in the company | | | | three sectors in society - public, private and social. |
| except for the short-term ability to make a profit on | | | | His full commentary is available at |
| their investment - they are day traders or hedge funds. | | | | Lots to think about and to influence if we can. |
| - Shareholder value is not a worthy objective of the | | | | |