Please.
Top Democratic lawmakers have “blasted” auto industry leaders. President-elect Barack Obama accused car company executives of having a “head in the sand” management approach. We’ll give you the money if you’ll just go away. Here’s your check now don’t let the car door hit you in the behind on your way out.
Auto industry leaders are not getting hit in their pocketbooks but in a place that might hurt almost as much: Their gigantic egos.
Am I too optimistic in believing that while failing is rewarded financially it might hurt just a little being shown the door at the same time? Or is money everything to these guys? Will they laugh all the way to the bank in their private jets?
I don’t know. I think there will be a small voice in the back of their heads saying, “You blew it, jackass.” Maybe it will be their father’s voice, or their mentor’s or just their wounded pride but these kinds of men love power and prestige just about as much as they love money. They don’t like being wrong, especially in public.
In his comments on NBC’s Meet The Press Obama did not single out any individual executive. He indicted the American auto industry as a whole saying, “What we haven’t seen is a sense of urgency and the willingness to make tough decisions. And what we still see are executive compensation packages for the auto industry that are out of line compared to their competitors, their Japanese competitors, who are doing a lot better.”
But what kind of world would we live in if we tied executive compensation to performance? We can’t hold these executives accountable for their companies’ financial outcomes. Obama’s comments imply that rewarding failure with outlandish compensation is wrong. That’s crazy talk!
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