Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Top class leadership is a rare commodity in this world. Only 8 CEOs out of the Fortune 500
corporations would qualify for the title of top class leaders at any time. If most of the corporations are doing well, it is due to the huge momentum achieved by them as a resultant of their large mass. They just steamroller the opposition by sheer financial clout. Money attracts more money. The Law of Magnetism does not apply to money. How do these corporations show growth and satisfy the shareholders? It is by diversification, decentralization, cost cutting, acquisitions and mergers. Why do they fancy these things? The reason is obvious or 'Aber Naturalich' as they say in German. Internal growth calls for original thinking, as against acquisition and merger, which is like a ready to eat product. Who has the time to think, when making quick money is the only objective? Larger the company, larger is the pay packet for the TMT. Almost all companies are dominated or advised by finance and legal professionals, who also benefit by such large deals.
The latest mega merger is that of Barclays with ABN Amro. Both are very large institutions but
there is nothing great about them. It is the marriage of two mediocre and staid banks.
Shareholders do not complain because they benefit immensely by such deals. Other stakeholders
do not have much of a say. Who cares for leadership as long as the bucks keep rolling in? If you
want top class leadership, it is found in small and medium sized companies. It is found in small
towns and villages in the social arena. However, you will never hear about them.
We are being increasingly surrounded and swamped by giant companies headed by mediocre
leaders. The same phenomenon is seen in almost all spheres of life. It is the age of
mediocrity. Growth through acquisitions and mergers is not bad per se. The reason it is popular is
that it does not need any grand strategy or original thinking. It is the easiest thing on earth but made to look very complicated. All you need is tons of money. In these days of LBOs, you do not even need that. There are enough A&M specialists looking for potential targets and buyers.
Unfortunately, each A&M will result in redundancy and extra manpower that need to be sacked.
When an A&M takes place, except a few people in TMT, nobody is safe. Everybody thinks, 'Oh
God, I hope it is not me'. Best friends will have uneasy relationships. It is the time to settle old scores. The first guy to go is the CEO. At that level, it is not the competence. It is the personal loyalty to the owner that counts. Who cares for competence and reputation? Who cares for
integrity? What editorial independence are you talking about? Principles, Values and Ethics are
damned. The worst aspects of human behavior will surface at that time. This will be the feeling in
Wall Street Journal today after the announcement of a possible takeover by the Media Baron, Mr.
Rupert Murdoch.
Al Ries and Jack Trout in their book 'Marketing Warfare' have put the state of affairs beautifully. They said that most professional managers’ aim is to get above the 'firing line'. Once they achieve that, whatever happens they are safe. If things are good, they take the credit. If things are bad, there is always someone else to blame and become the scapegoat. When there is decentralization or cost cutting, how is it that the managers above the firing line are not touched at all? Responsibility can be pushed down, but not accountability.
© Copyright. May 2007. All rights reserved.
The Missing Qualities of top leaders and strategists - To learn more about this author, visit Madhavan T Gopalachary's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 |
Related Articles |
|
 CEO Speak Out
|
| |
These are quotes taken from an article by Bill George former chairman and CEO of Medtronic.
|
|
Attracting Holding Good Trade Show Traffic
|
| |
These are quotes taken from an article by Bill George former chairman and CEO of Medtronic.
|
|
Blogging
|
| |
These are quotes taken from an article by Bill George former chairman and CEO of Medtronic.
|
|
Ten Characteristics of Leadership
|
| |
These are quotes taken from an article by Bill George former chairman and CEO of Medtronic.
|
|
Makings of a world leader
|
| |
On sunday as I was cruising through the channels on my analogue TV set :) I came across an interview by Riz Khan on Al Jazeera, he was interviewing Klaus Schwab the founder and executive chairman of the world econom...
|
 |
Related Businesses - Evan Elite Authors |
|
Dianne Crampton
Dianne Crampton is an Executive Leadership Coach and Team Building Consultant and creator of the TIGERS team development model. For the past twenty years she has helped leaders and teams achieve goals with high levels of collaboration and teamwork.
Crampton is a published author. Her contribution to Working Together: Diversity As Opportunity was endorsed by Stephen Covey. She has written for trade magazines. Merrill Lynch nominated her business for Inc. Magazine’s regional small business and entrepreneurial awards. Her work with Native Americans was recognized at a United Nations sponsored conference in 1994.
The TIGERS model passed two rigorous validation studies in 1992 and 1994. The TIGERS Survey is able to measure and track team development over time.
Dianne is also the creator and distributor of the TIGERS Team Wheel game. This game helps groups identify behaviors that build collaborative groups and behaviors that cause conflict, morale problems, production failures, and misunderstandings.
For more information, or to subscribe to TigerTracks, a free monthly leadership and team newsletter go to http://www.corevalues.com - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
|
The Evan Elite Authors program is currently in beta phase. For details please contact us.
|
|
|
Madhavan T Gopalachary
(Visit Madhavan's Website)
Madhavan Gopalachary, nick name "madgopes"
(g pronounced as in go) given by IIT
classmates, is a Mechanical Engineer and
an alumnus of Indian Institute of
Technology, Madras having passed out
specializing in IC Engines &
Thermodynamics.
He has nearly 35 years of experience in
the Corporate World. He started off as a
trainee and handled sales, marketing,
manufacturing, product management, profit
center management, strategic planning and
corporate development including R & D in
various organizations and at various
levels before becoming a CEO. His last two
professional assignments were at CEO level
before embarking to start management
consultancy business on January 01, 1998.
He has worked for British, Swedish MNCs as
well as very large Indian business houses.
He has spent a large portion of his time
from June 1998 till date in East African
Countries practicing as an independent
Management Consultant.
More details can be obtained at the
following web sites:
mmg.name
/mtg.html;
mmgconsu
lting.biz/
Madhavan's articles can be accessed at www.madgopes.com
.
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
![[Get Copyright Permissions]](http://license.icopyright.net/images/icopy-w.gif){kind=small}
