THE QUESTION
AIG-gate: Obama's Leadership Moment?
With Congress now on the verge of taxing away Wall Street bonuses, the mounting outrage over AIG's bonuses and other perceived wrongdoing by bailout recipients threatens to undermine the government's efforts to lure private capital back into the banking system. Is this an opportunity for the new president to show his leadership mettle by opposing the tax and trying to cool the rhetoric, notwithstanding the political risks?
Posted by Ben Bradlee and Steve Pearlstein on March 22, 2009 8:11 PM
FROM THE PANEL
Not Just a Gladiator Fight
The danger in the AIG bonus fiasco is that it allows Americans to channel their anger against others, while not changing any of their own behaviors. Obama's leadership must keep the public thinking about its own role in fixing the crisis.
Posted by Ronald Heifetz, on March 25, 2009 4:41 PM
Buck the Tide
As infuriating as the AIG bailout may be, that's not what the president and the Congress should be focused on. Rather, they must find a way -- collectively -- to restore confidence in the financial system of the world's most powerful country.
Posted by Paul R. Portney, on March 24, 2009 3:30 PM
Show Me the Values
This is the time to educate, the time to shed some much needed light on a "show me the money" culture that has gotten us to this place.
Posted by Jim Kouzes, on March 24, 2009 9:06 AM
Wall Street Needs Its Own Leadership
Wall Street leaders do not need the president to tell them to condemn rather than reward failure. It's time to return to merit-based pay, the old-fashioned concept that you share in both the gain and the pain.
Posted by Andy Stern, on March 23, 2009 10:50 AM
Cool the Anger, Negotiate with Congress
Leaders often must be educators, and President Obama needs to educate the public. Better decisions are made when they aren't based on the kind of overheated emotion we're seeing.
Posted by Yash Gupta, on March 23, 2009 10:45 AM
Taxi Driver Wisdom
On the way to Reagan Airport, the taxi driver had this to say about President Obama: "He should talk directly to those bankers and tell them to stop acting like pigs. And he shouldn't let Congress run the show."
Posted by Michael Maccoby, on March 22, 2009 10:46 PM
Telling the Truth Slowly
The president walks a fine line between leveling with the American people about mistakes made, like not restricting AIG bonuses in the first place, and building the support for unpopular but necessary action.
Posted by Bill Shore, on March 22, 2009 10:41 PM
Pitchfork Populism
Nothing less than the credibility of public regulation is at stake in the debate over the House bill taxing bonuses. President Obama (and the Senate) must reject the bill and irrational politics behind it in favor of sensible policy choices on fair compensation.
Posted by Benjamin W. Heineman, Jr., on March 22, 2009 10:31 PM
It's Not About "Moments"
Talking about "leadership moments" is another stupid example of the quarterly "short-termism" of Wall Street. We should think in terms of leadership months and years; this is going to be a long haul.
Posted by Warren Bennis, on March 22, 2009 10:12 PM
Strategic Pandering
If President Obama did not pander to the crowd on this one, he would have begun to distance himself from huge numbers of people whose support he needs to get his budget, his subsequent recovery plans, and his ambitious domestic agenda enacted.
Posted by Marty Linsky, on March 22, 2009 10:07 PM
Political Courage Required
If Congress passes a retroactive, confiscatory tax on Wall Street bonuses, President Obama should veto it. This requires political courage, something that is a rare commodity in the U.S. Congress.
Posted by Bill George, on March 22, 2009 9:48 PM
Managing, Not Leading
Top-notch leaders are able to turn difficult messes into defining moments, as President Reagan did early in his presidency. President Obama could see the AIG uproar as a golden opportunity -- but so far he has just muddled through.
Posted by Ken Adelman, on March 22, 2009 9:40 PM
Walking the Minefield
Leadership is often about making mistakes -- and learning from them.
Posted by Howard Gardner, on March 22, 2009 9:30 PM
Stop the Demogoguery
While President Obama has been almost as irresponsible as the loudest voices in Congress, it's not too late for him to show the leadership for which he was elected and become part of the solution rather than of the problem.
Posted by Slade Gorton, on March 22, 2009 9:25 PM
Wean Us from Incentive Myths
The AIG crisis offers a teachable moment for President Obama: He can explain why smart organizations don't rely solely on financial incentives to win, keep and motivate their employees.
Posted by Jeffrey Pfeffer, on March 22, 2009 8:52 PM
Practical Solutions for Bonus Problems
The Obama administration and the Congress need to focus on the credit crunch as well as the nation's rapidly deteriorating financial condition, growing structural deficits and over reliance on foreign lenders.
Posted by David Walker, on March 22, 2009 8:15 PM
Save & Share:
nicknow1: The real problem is that executive compensation moved from pay-on-pay to pay-on-action.
The people receiving the compensation had little or...
mike85: The problem with the whole AIG fiasco was the lies. Obama lied, Geithner lied, Congress lied, and the media was so insistent on stirring up ...
anne3: If you read the resignation letter by Jake DeSantis, the AIG exec, that somehow got routed to the NY Times yesterday, it had some interestin...
