The flood of public embarrassments and public floggings never seems to end. Two of my most recent columns, Get it Right the First Time and The Keys to an Apology, summarize BPs woeful public gaffes, the transcendence of umpire Jim Joyce 'actions following an almost perfect baseball game ... and…
“Pride is concerned with who is right. Humility is concerned with what is right.” — Ezra Taft Benson
I was ready to return to our series on strategic finance after my last column about the integrity of umpire Jim Joyce and the accountability of BP… until I read a comment in the Washington Post by Jeffrey Pfeffer, a professor of organizational behavior at Stanford University.
Citing Henry Ford’s infamous quote, “Never complain, never explain,” as the preferred way for business leaders to deal with disasters like the Gulf oil spill took me by surprise.
BP is the poster child for a failed apology
In appearing to criticize BP’s CEO Tony Hayward for apologizing for BP’s actions, Mr. Pfeffer extols the value of being on the “winning side,” that people respect strength and diffidence does not convey winning or power. Research in social psychology, he continues, “shows that acting embarrassed or remorseful conveys less power and results in less favorable impressions than acting angry.”
In the context of BP’s PR debacle, those comments seem wildly misplaced. Does Mr. Pfeffer think BP would have won our hearts and minds by taking no responsibility, “never explaining,” and that he should have acted like he was angry that people blamed BP for this unexpected accident? I can’t imagine worse advice than if I recommended that you chase down every meal with a quart of engine oil.
Everyone knows WHAT they're doing ... no exceptions ... and most know HOW they're doing it ... but few know WHY they're doing it! Simon Sinek argues that people make emotional decision to buy or follow someone only because they BELIEVE what YOU believe ... which is all about WHY…
Today is usually a day for hot dogs, parades and festive celebrations of the birth of this wonderful nation we inhabit.
In that spirit, I’d like to dedicate this holiday to a dear family friend, Cpt. Kevin Mott, an Army Ranger who was badly wounded in Afghanistan this week and is returning to the U.S. for treatment. Our hearts and prayers are with him and his family for a rapid and full recovery.
Another day, we can debate the wisdom of our foreign policy and the wars in which we’re currently engaged … but today, I’d like to pay tribute to Kevin and the men and women with whom he serves. We stand straighter because of their bravery and commitment and shed tears for their innocence and selflessness as they put themselves in harms way for the country to which they give so much and from which they ask so little.
They aren’t encamped on a comfortable bar stool celebrating Independence Day. They’re carrying out their mission in the unforgiving terrain of the Korengal Valley and Kunar Province of Afghanistan, without electricity, plumbing or running water, (more…)
Making one mistake, an umpire shows rare integrity“Ninety-nine percent of all failures come from people who have a habit of making excuses.” –George Washington CarverThis week I chose to digress from our series on strategic finance to offer a few observations about some powerful leadership lessons threading their way through…
Many of us accept that the only thing that doesn’t change is change itself. Our world is buffeted on all sides by change … kids grow up, technology abounds, friends move away, the list is endless.
Dan Heath at Fast Company describes a recent experience with subjects who were offered either chocolate chip cookies … or radishes. (If you’ve even been cut from a sports team, you’ll know how the radishes felt!). You can also see a short video there explaining the experiment. (more…)
Fast Company recently carried a brief piece which described how what appears to be a personal shortcoming may obfuscate a problem situation. In psychology, they call it the Fundamental Attribution Error but the example they used is particularly poignant for many situations we've all seen.Have you experienced situations that seemed…
I’m sure this will be a popular post … but set aside your emotions for a moment about the BP disaster… and consider the insistence by the federal government that an independent agency take over the claims resulting from the oil spill, purportedly overriding BP’s authority, and that of the other 12 entities on board the oil platform, in those matters. The suggested prototype is the independent examiner appointed to handle claims resulting from the events of 9/11 … but recognize that those events were NOT directly caused by a legal entity with rights and responsibilities and shareholders, or that was subject to a myriad of legitimate national and international governing bodies.
Who should decide how much to pay whom for oil spill claims?
What I wonder is whether BP … in most cases, any corporation … shouldn’t have some rights and control over the claims paid from funds ultimately belonging to their shareholders? Take special note that in BPs case, a powerful example of the global economy in which we live, 18 million British citizens own stock in BP, many of them retirees.
Emotions are running high and many people would prefer to see BP hanging from the nearest rafter. At the same time, shouldn’t a company be allowed to settle claims in a fair and reasonable manner? There are plenty of ways in which individuals and organizations can seek redress if they disagree on the results, either through appeal or in claims or civil courts if a reasonable settlement cannot be made.
What paperwork? (more…)
The simplest things in life are free ... and sometimes, it's the simple things that make so much sense. Here is the simple creed that John Wooden, famed UCLA basketball coach whose winning record is unlikely to ever be surpassed, received from his father and carried in his wallet throughout…