The CEO
posted in General |THE CEO
Former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill has recently written a book entitled “The Price of Loyalty”, in which he is harshly critical of President Bush. By way of background, when O'Neill joined the Bush Administration it was his second tour of government duty in Washington so he knew full well how government works inside the beltway. O'Neill is a talented knowledgeable man, and was the CEO of Alcoa immediately before joining the Bush Administration as Secretary of the Teasury. On several matters, O'Neill's views differed from those of the President, and as a result he was asked to step down. At those lofty levels, “fired” is a bad word.
There is nothing wrong with bright people having different opinions, and O'Neill was certainly welcome to his. But somewhere along the line, teamwork becomes a significant factor. It helps to understand a little bit about CEOs and this notion of teamwork. First of all, CEOs of major organizations (especially successful ones) do not like to be told they are wrong. As a matter of fact it rarely crosses their minds that they could be wrong about much of anything. When there is a difference of opinion between a CEO and someone else, someone else is wrong. In the Corporate world, differing with the CEO can be very hazardous. And the concept of teamwork to many CEOs ( i.e., O'Neill) is the role of subordinates saying “You are right, boss, – whatever you say”. O'Neill is a classic case of a super ego incapable of being a team player in the Big Leagues. Personally, I think his book is a trashy effort to camouflage his own deficiencies. Even if his views were right, his behavior was wrong.
The people elected George Bush who then enlisted a cadre of people to help him in designated capacities. O'Neill was one of them holding a Cabinet office. When he publicly differed with the President – repeatedly– it was time to go. Getting 15-20 strong minded people to follow the main theme is not an easy task. If it were just one gaffe, OK; but 2-3 or more, ongoing, sorry. With time at such a premium, the President has more things to do than correct or rationalize errant behavior or commentary from members of his “team”. Paul O'Neill was not a team player. He deserved his fate.
There is still a bit of advice we laymen can offer to the big cat CEOs – “If you are not going to be a team player, don't take the job”. My neighbor offered me a copy of the book to read. It's about 12th in line.