By Mike Hoban
Did you see the movie “Unstoppable” about the runaway freight train and which starred Denzel Washington? A fun and action packed popcorn flick for sure, especially as a $1 Redbox rental, but there was a brief scene in it which pandered to a jaundiced view of what corporate CEOs are supposed to be like. It was about integrity. It was blatant and snarky. And it was unnecessary. Yet, many viewers likely accepted it as a plausible and maybe even a probable way of how things work in the corporate world.
In the scene, several options to stop the runaway train are identified to prevent it from careening off the tracks into some fuel storage tanks in the middle of a downtown area. Many lives and many dollars are at stake. The CEO is called to make the final decision (so far so good…). Um, where is the CEO? Playing golf, of course, with some other well-heeled golfers. His key question to his lieutenant, himself an archetypical “suit,” has to do with the share price implications of the options. Of course, he opts for the choice that minimizes the stock price downside.
Granted, the job of a CEO is to balance stakeholder interests, which includes being the enterprise guardian for the equity of stockholders, the true owners of the company. But the scene was not about how business leaders have to courageously manage competing interests or wrestle with the grey space or navigate through institutional dilemmas. To this viewer, it was about painting the business leader in one dimension, as only caring about the money and probably his own stock options. It was Gordon Gecko clutching a three wood.
Because of the headlines of recent years, many people are cynical about business leaders and the values they hold. Yes, there are rogues and book cookers in business and perp walks for executives seem to have high entertainment value. But there are seamy side members of most professions and my experiences and personal optimism lead me to believe that the vast majority of managers and leaders are honest and hard-working.
Headlines about insider trading or egregious greed are headlines because they represent a deviation from the expected. Does Hollywood really need to fan the flames of some misguided populist thinking which posits that the corporate suites are integrity-free zones? I suppose a story about a CEO with high integrity and a strong moral compass wouldn’t sell many tickets.
Mike Hoban is a senior consultant for Development Dimensions International (DDI).
Comments