CEOs get booed when they lose too

Q: Tony Hayward, once credited for BP's "green" turnaround, is forced to resign in disgrace. Michael Dell, the revolutionary high-tech entrepreneur, is sanctioned for misleading investors. Wall Street titans, once lionized, are now reviled. Where have all the CEO heroes gone?

CEOs are just like ballplayers; lionized when they win, booed when they lose. And during a recession there are far more losers than winners. Some, including Hayward and Dell, richly deserve the boos for cutting corners and operating as though the rules do not apply to them. Soon, we hope, a handful of CEOs will begin to invest and to hire and we'll have heroes again, however briefly.

By Slade Gorton

 |  July 27, 2010; 10:46 AM ET
Category:  CEOs , Corporate leadership Save & Share:                 
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