The Top 10 List Of Dumb Executive Moves

The Top 10 List Of Dumb Executive Moves

Judy Olian

(Judy Olian is Dean of Penn State's Smeal College of Business and a leading expert in strategic human resources management.)

As we approach the count down for new year resolutions, here is my top 10 list of actions you might want to resolve to avoid in 2003:

1. Saying what you don't mean. Giving an employee a strong performance appraisal who doesn't deserve it, or promising delivery of goods or earnings you know you can't make - while less painful in the short term will come back to haunt you big time.

2. Going for the quick fix, while eroding the longer term. Sure, racking up record sales in the last week of the fiscal year with special buyer or seller incentives makes certain numbers look good, but in the long term what about profits and sustainable demand?

3. Surrounding yourself with 'yes' men and women who won't look you in the eye and tell you that your idea really is pretty stupid. Groupthink and sucking up to the boss are such powerful forces that it takes strong resolve to counter the grain and support maverick and contrarian thinkers, no matter how much of a pain they might be.

4. Not listening to employees in the know. It's the people in the frontlines who have the inside track on opportunities for improvement, breakthrough ideas, or problems with customers, key departments or managers. Even though, and especially because, they are not part of the executive suite, listen carefully.

5. Responding to a dumb decision by covering it up and then making even dumber decisions. Instead of confronting the problem and reversing it immediately (think Martha Stewart), you end up in a runaway disaster that snowballs in severity.

6. Being unwilling to confront the bad apples, and ending up demoralizing the best. Making mental excuses for an abusive manager who is also a top producer is not smart because you've sent a signal of the mistreatment you'll tolerate, and you'll end up losing good people around him who just say, "stuff it".

7. Believing that what you do in your private time is private. Even the idolized Jack Welch was not above the fray when the musical chairs of his private life became the fodder of news reports, compromising his public reputation and raising questions about GE corporate practices in the eyes of the SEC.

8. Treating employees as if they are kids who can't handle negative information. When bad news looms that may affect the company's future, employee job security or earnings, be direct and candid about the risks and let employees hear it from the boss rather than the rumor mill. You'll earn employees' commitment and trust, and they'll go the extra mile because you've treated them with respect, as adult members of the family.

9. Holding your nose while making a decision. Listen to your instincts and inner voices. If you're squirming, having to justify to yourself that despite significant discomfort or ethical misgivings this act is still OK, it probably isn't. If it smells rancid, it's rotten.

10. Sending emails you wouldn't want read back to you by a lawyer or your mother. Emails are never truly deleted, and with one stroke can end up where you least want them. Take what the Wall Street Journal calls the 'kid pro quo' scandal. In an email, Jack Grubman (Citigroup's lead telecom analyst) upgrades his evaluation of AT & T, an assessment in which his boss (Chairman Sandy Weill) allegedly has an interest and, by the way, solicits Mr. Weill's assistance in securing admission of his twins into an elite nursery school. This email tale of family matters paved the way to Citigroup's penalty payment of $400 million to the New York Attorney General.

Happy new year, and to smart executive moves in 2003.