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THE QUESTION
Backlash Over Bonuses
Why did Wall Street leaders fail to anticipate public outrage over bonuses? Do they have a blind spot when it comes to seeing themselves as outsiders do? From your experience in other fields, why do these blind spots develop, and what is the best way to guard against them?
Posted by Ben Bradlee and Steve Pearlstein on February 2, 2009 10:00 AM
FROM THE PANEL
Today's Superstar, Tomorrow's Whipping Boy
We pay too much attention to image, and we still don't have search and hiring mechanisms that separate true leaders from celebrities.
Posted by Lt. Col. Todd Henshaw (Ret.), on February 5, 2009 12:46 PM
Big Business, Big Failures
In Davos as elsewhere, business leaders are failing to take responsibility for the mess they have made of the economy.
Posted by Andy Stern, on February 3, 2009 3:05 PM
Something For Nothing
Any rational person can see that these bonuses for senior managers have nothing to do with either rewarding stellar performance or trying to avoid the loss of exceptional talent.
Posted by Yash Gupta, on February 3, 2009 2:57 PM
Wanted: "Loving Critics"
Wall Street leaders needed someone whispering in their ears: "Handing out bonuses at a time like this is absolutely the wrong thing to do."
Posted by Jim Kouzes, on February 3, 2009 2:34 PM
You Can't Buy Leadership
Leaders get into ethical trouble when their sense of being "special" leads them to believe they are exempt from the social and moral constraints placed on everyone else.
Posted by Joanne B. Ciulla, on February 3, 2009 2:01 PM
Drinking Our Own Bath Water
No matter how big and bad you think you are, there is always someone or something out there that can kick your butt!
Posted by Scott Snook, on February 2, 2009 4:26 PM
Quasi-Government Employees
Bonus numbers that seemed "normal" just a few months ago may be viewed as "obscene" by new stakeholders today. It will take a while for bankers to realize they are now quasi-government employees.
Posted by Marshall Goldsmith, on February 2, 2009 3:30 PM
Shareholder Control
The cure for Wall Street is far greater shareholder rights and controls over total executive compensation.
Posted by Slade Gorton, on February 2, 2009 3:25 PM
Compensation Committees Gone Wrong
Too often, boards of directors allow compensation committees to make unwise decisions, without proper oversight.
Posted by Abraham Zaleznik, on February 2, 2009 3:09 PM
The Tuchman Folly Syndrome
Cultural blindness and a high level of hubris often cause blind spots in organizations and leaders.
Posted by Warren Bennis, on February 2, 2009 3:05 PM
A Job for the Board
It's not too much to ask for companies to recruit directors with a sense of proportion and the courage to speak up.
Posted by Paul R. Portney, on February 2, 2009 3:02 PM
Nurture Your Subordinates
With three simple techniques, senior leaders can prevent the slide to egocentrism and self-indulgence that often leads to "blindness."
Posted by Gen. Monty Meigs (Ret.), on February 2, 2009 2:38 PM
False Sense of Entitlement
Bank executives seem oblivious to what the public thinks of them and care too much about what other executives think of them.
Posted by Michael Maccoby, on February 2, 2009 2:06 PM
Three Steps to Success
For leaders, the most troubling sort of blind spot occurs when you know that others think differently than you do, and you simply don't care. The inevitable outcome of this is arrogance, and breeds the seeds of its own downfall.
Posted by Barry Posner, on February 2, 2009 1:50 PM
America's Deep Disconnect
In the last 20 years, financial capitalism and social purpose have become deeply divided. To add insult to injury, the media doesn't know how to talk about this wrenching disconnect, fearing sounding like a left-leaning ideologue.
Posted by Alan M. Webber, on February 2, 2009 1:28 PM
Spoiled by the Public
By catering and pandering to them, we the public, have played no small role in creating and nurturing the destructive environment in which CEOs and other big-name figures have become so out of touch with the real world.
Posted by Marty Linsky, on February 2, 2009 1:04 PM
Feeling Good on Wall Street
When it is hard to take pleasure and feel self-worth from the content of a job, it falls to compensation to take up the slack. So arguably, Wall Street desperately needed those bonuses-- it was all about feeling good.
Posted by Roger Martin, on February 2, 2009 12:43 PM
A Tale of Two Cities
A latter day Dickens would say that the bonus backlash tells a tale of two cities which are sharply divided by culture----New York (driven by money) and Washington (driven by power).
Posted by Benjamin W. Heineman, Jr., on February 2, 2009 12:31 PM
Warnings to the President
Former presidents Bush, Clinton and Carter, all told President Obama that it is very difficult to get unfiltered information. Even the most experienced and best-meaning staff members will, to some extent, tell you what they think you want to hear.
Posted by Ed Ruggero, on February 2, 2009 11:51 AM
Tarnished Reputation
Those in America's financial sector continue to operate in the enclosed world of Wall Street, ignoring public opinion and harming the already tarnished reputation of many financial institutions.
Posted by Bill George, on February 2, 2009 11:38 AM
The Arrogance of Power
The higher you go in an organization, the more those around you are going to tell you that you are right. But leaders really ought to get out and experience the world as others see it, and they need to talk less and listen more.
Posted by Jeffrey Pfeffer, on February 2, 2009 11:28 AM
Memo to Wall Street
So it goes for the Wall Street elite: We'll gladly take the credit (and the pay) for good times, but don't blame us (or deny us our bonuses) when things go sour. Welcome to the no-fault economy!
Posted by William C. Taylor, on February 2, 2009 10:52 AM
Back to the Real World
New York is too focused on money and the markets. Washington is too focused on power, position and politics. Both places have grown increasingly out-of-touch and out-of-control.
Posted by David Walker, on February 2, 2009 10:39 AM
Brainwashed Nation
Most of us are repelled today by the obscene bonuses paid to companies, and I am not holding my breath until some limits are imposed on greedy salaries and unlimited bonuses.
Posted by Howard Gardner, on February 2, 2009 10:13 AM
FEATURED COMMENTS
HAMPTON2: WALL STREET IS NO DIFFERENT THAN WASHINGTON. WALL STREET REWARDS WITH MONEY.WASHINGTON REWARDS WITH POWER. BOTH HAVE BLIND SPOTS ON HOW MU...
tmcproductions2004: My daughter got a job at a bank that was taken over by B of A. She has recieved no bonus or pay raise since Nov 07. Her big bosses have, th...
jfCua: Superstars or not, they are making huge amounts of money plus lavish perks w/out even the possibility of punishment. ...
