The Working Week 10: Robert Heller
Wayne is joined this week by management guru Robert Heller for a refreshing look at CEO culture and CEO pay. Heller is scathing about the cult of the “celeb CEO” and believes that the pay gap between those at the top and the mass of their employees is ridiculous, obscene and counterproductive. “These days if you pay gold bricks for doing nothing you get people who do nothing,” he observes.
48 seconds – Wayne kicks off his review of the week by looking at a
piece from Management-Issues about Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and its relevance to the modern business world.
1.45 – Wayne has a few thoughts about
recruitment challenges facing today’s mangers and the growing trend for employers to offer financial inducements such as signing-up bonuses or ‘golden hellos’.
2.23 – On the other hand, it seems that the vast majority of workers would rather stay put rather than uprooting themselves or their families where work is concerned – even if it means a promotion and more money.
3.09 – Wayne introduces Robert Heller, the world-renowned management guru and author.
3.36 – They start by discussing current trends in management, with Robert saying that he has noticed a real shift with a move away from models such as Six Sigma and towards creativity and innovation through strong leadership.
4.43 – Robert asks if a business is an entity in its own right? Or is it animated by a strong man or woman at the helm?
5.14 – He continues that in the USA the idea of the top manager as sole impresario is still very much alive, in contrast to other countries such as Japan….
5.41 – Robert believes that you are only as good as the people who work for you and with you and that in this day and age it’s not possible for one person to take all the decisions, make all the moves, obtain all the results etc.
6.15 – Robert has some strong opinions about several leading corporations. Steel Company Nucor is an example of the best kind of American company, but he is scathing about the current management of Dow Jones.
8.00 – Robert is also astonished by the `bossism` he sees coming through in some of the blogs on Management-Issues. Organisations need leaders who can mobilise people’s strengths rather than bully staff into submission.
8.50 – Finally, Wayne asks “If you had to wave your wand over one issue in the workplace what would it be?”
9.00 - According to Robert the key issue is the pay gap between the top people and the mass of employees is ridiculous, obscene and counterproductive. He is not impressed by a management culture where CEOs get paid based on how well they negotiate their salaries with the remuneration committee as opposed to how well they deliver.
10.00 - We used to have a phrase in the UK “if you pay peanuts you get monkeys. “ These days if you pay gold bricks for doing nothing you get people who do nothing” says Robert.
11 minutes – When challenged by Wayne, Robert says that ideally the sort of person you want on your Board should be attracted by the opportunity to do an excellent job - not just for themselves, but for others in the company and for the greater good of the company. Worryingly, the reverse appears to be happening, Robert concludes.
