It’s the holiday season. And, we are surrounded by myths (and truths) about our heroes- Matisyahu, Jesus, Pope Francis, and every politician (they all seem to be running for President or re-election- even in December). Which means we should be aware of charisma. It’s not a new interest- I’ve written about this a few times (here’s but one).
Continue reading Charisma- revisited
Today (when this was written) was not my normal sort of day. After a late night celebration, I didn’t feel like (up to?) arising at my normal hour of 5 AM. And, I had no client obligations until 10 AM. So, I putzed around, proofread my blog before posting, went to St. Elmo’s for my coffee and friends (realizing that I left my coffee cup at a client’s facility yesterday, too), and prepared to relax and read my paper(s)….
Continue reading An interesting day
So, we’ve talked (this is the 3rd part in the daily series about current economics) about who is funding the US treasury. Mostly workers, which surprised most of you. Mostly the poor and the middle class, which clearly confounded you. (Remember- it’s payroll taxes that provide about 45% of the federal take, and the income taxes of the non-rich provide another 15% of the federal take. The rich (top 10%) provide 30% of the annual federal receipts via income taxes and corporations finish off the totals by contributing about 10%.)
Continue reading Living Wages- Take 3
About a decade ago, I was going to start a venture with a trusted advisor of mine, Arthur Lipper. The goal of the venture was to train Executive Assistants (AEO) to be able to better perform their functions.
Continue reading Unsung Heroes?
I’ve written before about one project at Google– the one aimed at determining why folks become terrorists. The basic concept is to determine why people join gangs and how that is similar to folks joining terrorist cells. In so doing, we should be able to find ways to stop folks from becoming terrorists. This venture is led by one smart young chap- Jared Cohen- who got his start in the Condy Rice’s State Department and stayed on under Hillary Clinton’s tenure, before heading up this new gig.
Continue reading I’m gonna live forever?
While we were surprised at the timing (or at least the announcement), it’s pretty clear that Microsoft knew Steve Ballmer was going to be retiring soon. Not necessarily in the next 12 months, as was announced, but certainly within the next three years, after his youngest child began college. Because he said that several times.
Continue reading When the Founder goes…
So, I can feel somewhat complacent that horsemeat will not reach my lips. Because I only eat kosher meat, that circumstance where a “mistake” about sourced meat can’t really occur.
I have already discussed the issues with inflated CEO compensation. One primary cause driving compensation upward is that many firms employ a technique that insures that he (it is typically a he) gets salary increases regardless of the performance at the firm. I have also discussed the problem that executives are paid ridiculous multiples (not 10 to 50, but 250 to 500 times) of the average pay at their firms.
Continue reading CEO Compensation and Corporate Performance
I have been having debates with my friends and colleagues for years over executive pay. You, too, have heard me rail that there is no financial or business reason to allow an executive to receive compensation of 100, 200, or 500 times the average pay of the corporation s/he leads. When I was growing up, executive compensation rarely exceeded 10 times the average pay. I realize I am old- but this inflation is not only ridiculous, it’s as dangerous as that obtaining in pre-World War II Germany!
Continue reading The Myths of CEO compensation
