On December 14, 2007, Revenue-IQ posted “Consequences” about executive mistakes that cost 1,000s of jobs, yet the execs can easily find new jobs.
On January 27, 2008 the NY Times ran “What’s $34 Billion on Wall Street?” about highly-paid executives being courted for new jobs after their mistakes lose 1,000s of jobs.
Coincidence? Or business savvy?
Either way, the article “What’s $34 Billion on Wall Street?” adds several insights.
1) On Wall Street, the system failed, not the exec. It was bad luck, so give them another chance.
Takeaway: Find a forgiving industry to work in.
2) Personal relationships at the top change failures into lessons learned. The higher up the food chain your friends are, the easier it is to see the exec as gaining valuable experience, rather than just making a colossal mistake.
Takeaway: Find forgiving friends. The higher up the better.
3) Human nature seeks someone to blame. In large failures, that’s the exec in charge. They get the big money, and the big responsibility. But someone’s got to take the rap.
Takeaway: It can be unforgiving at the top. But you already knew that.
I’ve emailed the NY Times reporter asking if my story initiated his and am awaiting his answer 🙂
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Chris Arlen
President, Service Performance
Technorati: layoffs, learning, management
