CEOs Who Invite Email From All Employees 226
Carl Bialik from the WSJ writes "Cinergy Corp. CEO James E. Rogers, who at 11 one evening was reading email from employees at home while nursing a vodka, is the norm, not the exception at major U.S. companies, the Wall Street Journal reports. 'Advocates say such a policy is a powerful leadership tool that can nip crises in the bud, boost morale, uncover new ideas, and cut through corporate red tape. In the post-Enron era of CEO accountability, reading employee email helps the boss appear hands-on and accessible. But reading and replying to dozens of employee messages each day takes time that could be spent doing something else. Skeptics say the practice distracts CEOs from more-pressing work -- and extends already long workdays.' Of course, portable email devices have made it easier to sift through dozens or hundreds of employee messages each day. While being driven to meetings, Pfizer's CEO says, 'I don't look out the window. I use my BlackBerry and answer my email.'"
it's more self-aggrandizing egotistical behavior (Score:5, Interesting)
it's more self-aggrandizing egotistical behavior... than anything else.
You know what? I worked for a company, one of the telcoms that went through the upheaval of crooked leadership during the Enron days. One of our CEO's walked away with $500M, and they're still chasing him down -- I predict they'll NEVER get him. Our stock went from over $50 to under $2.
Then our shining knight on a white horse rode into town. He had a reputation for coming in and slashing jobs, but he had genuine likability and charisma about him. He also had an open e-mail policy, claimed he read and answered his e-mail. Guess what? He did!
I exchanged a few e-mails with him, and he always responded. Cool... two administrations before I'd always had pretty direct access at that level (I was pretty senior), and now it appeared the company was back to bidnez. His responses were short and non-expansive, but, hey, he IS the CEO.
Then, 9a.m. one morning about a year ago I got marched into a little room and set free. For a previous post with more info, look here [slashdot.org].
Yeah, he read and answered his e-mail... but he always signed it (and I'm not making this up), "dick".
Technology makes middle-management obsolete (Score:5, Interesting)
CEO is the norm ? (Score:2, Interesting)
So, this guy is the norm ? What the hell does that even mean ?
Maybe you meant "For Cinergy Corp. CEO James E. Rogers, reading email from employees at home while nursing a vodka at 11 in the evening is the norm.
Sorry, couldn't help it
If you're the CEO... (Score:3, Interesting)
"I can't fathom how investors would accept that as a [good] way to spend your time," says David D'Alessandro, who ran John Hancock Financial Services Inc. until shortly after its 2004 acquisition by Manulife Financial Corp.
Notice he doesn't run that company anymore. He writes books instead. He may be a little out of the loop on what C-level culture has turned into.
I work with C-levels in my business, so emailing them and getting a response is not that big a deal. I can see how it would really boost morale, and keep everyone on their toes, if the drones feel they could skip the middle man and go to the top with an idea or complaint. They will get direct credit for an idea, and won't have complaint's filtered by "buddy system" middle management.
Re:Uhm... did anybody read that last line.... (Score:2, Interesting)
I don't know if you're trying to be funny here. My dad is the CEO of a medium-sized, recently listed manufacturing company (not in the States). I may be biased, but I don't know anyone who works harder.
He gets up at 7 every morning, and if he isn't out entertaining clients (all right, it's an Asian country) til 2-3am, he's back at 8pm. That's Monday to Saturday, Sunday the office is closed but he usually ends up checking up on the factory anyway.
He handles everything, from finding new markets, making sure the factories will hit the quantity/date, dodgy suppliers, and things like making sure the right wheels are greased, all the way down to things like escalated problems with discrimination in the cafeteria. There's constant pressure to keep competitive - for example, China has been causing them problems these last couple of years. Who had to choose to build factories in China to keep up? Do you know how monumentally complex a task like that is? Where do you even begin? I haven't the slightest clue - it's not like there's a form you fill out, and magically well-trained Chinese labour pops out of the air, English speaking, ready to work, equipment and all... And also, who takes the blame if it doesn't work out?
Remember that mental work is as hard, if not harder, than physical work. I took a job in the company factory for a stint - eight hour shifts just whiz by when you're hard at work, the endorphins kick in. Henry Ford once said something along the lines of 'I give them the parts of my work that the many can do, so I can do the work that only I can do'. It's not the easy stuff that gets stuck at the top.
My dad has a driver too, but that doesn't fix his high blood pressure or other health problems - or the half-life he's led outside work for the last few decades spent (also as CEO) building the company up from nothing.
YMMV in the States - I know Asian businesses tend to stack work at the top - but I suspect it's not completely unlike this.
Anyway, nice semi-troll.
-D
Re:Maybe he should lay off the Vodka... (Score:3, Interesting)
i guess my point is, the idea of what a good CEO is... is a very relative term.
For example, Steve Jobs has become a wall street darling because he has evolved from being a good private company CEO to a good public company CEO. I contend that the two are distinctly different breeds.
Corporate counterinsurgency strategy? (Score:3, Interesting)
A similar program was used to great success in the Philippines during the communist insurgency of the Hukbalahap between 1945 and 1952. Then-Secretary of Defense Ramon Magsaysay made it known that anyone could send a telegram to his office, free of charge, for almost any reason--to report military misconduct, corruption, rebel activity, etc.
Thousands of telegrams came flooding in from rural stations. In one way, the program served as an extension of his famous random inspections of military units in the field--a move that increased effectiveness and readiness among those units. More importantly, it was a tremendous propaganda tool, giving even the most lowly peasant the chance to appeal to the very highest levels of the government--undercutting the mass base of the insurgents.
This sort of policy, then, would be a great way of keeping a lid on corporate unhappiness, if combined with enlightened & effective management. Well we can dream, right?
Re:Uhm... did anybody read that last line.... (Score:3, Interesting)
If, as people seem to think, a CEO does nothing in a public company. There's a board of directors who would boot him/her out. Major companies don't make money by paying people obscene salaries to sit on their butts all day.
True, if you want to run a successful company, you have to delegate a lot of tasks to other people. This should be done, however, so that you can handle more imporant issues.
Bearing this in mind, I think that an open-inbox policy is a double-edged sword. Yes, it keeps the CEOs informed as to what's going on in the company, but I think it would be a wiser idea to have someone employed for the sole purpose of reading these e-mails, and forwarding the relevant ones to the appropriate recipients (including the CEO, if necessary).
Re:Wait... (Score:1, Interesting)
Sorry, posting anon because RS is no saint.
Re:An honest question... (Score:3, Interesting)
It's awful to see a guy who accomplished a lot in his time start to fall off. It's even more awful to see his former "friends" and associates look down on him and now exclude him from the same circles he traveled frequently in recent memory. I've learned so much from watching this guy and from watching social interactions amongst fierce predators on national geographic. There is no such thing as friendship or comraderie. Strength is respected and accepted. Weakness is pounced upon mercilessly.
All of which to say, I think you have a point. A CEO's salary and prominence is his "big swinging dick" - and not having one can be a detriment. It's a good point.
Re:What do CEOs actually DO? (Score:3, Interesting)
Hah! -- Fired for talking to VP (Score:1, Interesting)
So I did.
My problem was that the group I had been newly attached to had been physically fragmented by the general installation manager. Members were on different floors even though contiguous office space was available. I had talked to the manager about this, and he has just grunted at me.
So it seemed reasonable to take up the VP's invitation. Since I'd solved several problems that others had attempted and failed, and was generally liked and respected by the people I worked with, I didn't think this would cause a problem.
As I walked out of the VP's office (I was later told) he said to his assistant "fire that guy".
When the manager requested my fellow employees to provide complaints about my work, me, or anything else to form grounds for my dismissal he got nothing. (He eventually solved this problem by falsifying entries in my employee folder).
My advice: don't email the CEO if you like your job.
You can always be downsized.
ps: don't waste you time telling me what I could have done -- this was long ago and far away.
CEO-Dot (aka Slashdot for CEO's) (Score:3, Interesting)
New employees would start off with little Karma but could be modded up if they make a good suggestion.
The CEO could choose to read "3" or "5" posts depending on their free time.
I'd keep everything- even meta moderating.