subject: The Leaders And Heroes Have Vanished From Wall Street Or Were They Ever There? [print this page] The vibrant American economy with it jobs and products were all the result of powerful business leaders - the heroes and thinkers from Wall Street; they seem to have vanished from the scene today opines Amy Wilkinson of Center for Business and Government from Harvard University. But were they ever there?
It is thanks to the CEO's working in Safeway, Giant, Whole Foods that makes it possible for the shopper to pick up fresh fruit, turkey slices, deodorants or toilet paper from the grocers.
Admittedly there have been leaders who mismanaged their companies and betrayed the trust of consumers. But they were a minority. The majority have generated jobs for over 80% of the workforce of USA. Recently Google alone has generated 22,000 jobs and placed information only the click of a mouse away. Apple has brought about a revolution in music players and mobile phones - totally changing the manner by which we interact with technology. A computer chip has been introduced by Intel that is 1,000 times more powerful, 1,000 times smaller and a million times cheaper than the mainframe of MIT of 1965.
We do not pause to thank Waste Management's CEO when piles of rubbish vanish from the sidewalks but over 20 million residences in North America rely on the services of this firm.
The core of leadership is steering the ship through troubled waters when facilities are shutting down, layoffs are becoming inevitable and earnings are bearish. The smart leaders are always alert and prepared to tackle rough weather. The leaders are there but the outlook has changed - people are no longer thinking of them as heroes.
Professor Erica James of Darden School at University of Virginia said the scandalous indiscretion and improper behaviour America witnessed through the last couple of years has no excuse. These were CEO's who tumbled down from the throne they had been elevated to. It is wrong to call even the successful ones as heroes. They are doing a good job of their job - nothing more or less. Heroes are made of different stuff.
Professor Todd Henshaw of Columbia University thinks it is difficult if not impossible to put conjoin two words together - 'corporate heroes'. Heroes are those who gave up their lives for the nation.
The dean of London Business School Sir Andrew Likierman complains that the fault lies with the public and the media for putting certain people on a pedestal goaded by unreasonable expectations.
