Dickensian Times

I did not see "corporate director" as one of the 100 Best Jobs in America just tallied by Money Magazine and Payscale.com.

I did not see "editor" on the list either.

To people who inquire of me about the state of the publishing business, I am telling them that while some in the media industry are calling it Darwinian, the term that for me best describes things is Dickensian.

That's Dickensian as in "The best of times, the worst of times." It is the best of times in that this is an exciting, even historic, time to be in the media business as we transition from print to digital. A whole new world of distributing information and communicating with audiences lies ahead.

It is the worst of times in trying to make it through that transition and coming out whole on the other side to be able to enjoy this new world and the opportunities it holds in promise. Even the best minds in the industry are not sure what the business model is that will undergird this industry going forward.

Perhaps the same situation holds for being a corporate director. It is the best of times because the role of the director has never been as important, and that importance will be magnified as we move into the future of heightened investor input and stakeholder expectations, spurred by ever-activist regulators and legislators.

But it is the worst of times to be a corporate director as this new balance of power among the directors, management, investors, and regulators sorts out. The financial crisis has put the boot to what remains of many of the comfortable and clubby old paradigms that governed how things were done in the boardroom, starting with how a new member was recruited to how directors acted once on the board.

For example, can you imagine any director being added to a board now with the understanding that he or she is to be seen but not heard during their first year in office? Ridiculous, no? Or the notion that directors don't need their own independent consultants. Or that the CEO should always be the chairman. Or that directors shouldn't talk to shareholders. So many dying embers of classic board behavior paradigms.

When behavioral paradigms and operating models become untenable, the present becomes a harsh place to do business as all eyes focus on the path to a more promising future. That's Dickensian times. So it is no surprise that neither corporate director nor editor are on any "best jobs" list.

Stop Being Stupid

I am borrowing the title of today's blog post from one used by New York Times columnist Bob Herbert in December 2008. Here is a sample of what he had to say in his column:

"Americans must resolve to be smarter going forward than we have for the past few years. ... We have behaved in ways that were incredibly, astonishingly and embarrassingly stupid for much too long. We've wrecked the economy and mortgaged the future of generations yet unborn. ... We were stupid in so many ways. We shipped American jobs overseas by the millions and came up with the fiction that this was a good idea for just about everybody. We could have and should have taken the time and made the effort to think globalization through, to be smarter about it and craft ways to cushion its more harmful effects and to share its benefits more equally. We bought into the dopey idea that you could radically cut taxes and still maintain critical government services — and fight two wars to boot! ... It's time to stop being stupid."

This appeal to "resolve to be smarter going forward" readily applies to what goes on in the boardroom. On the day that I write this, March 12, the Wall Street Journal is reporting three developments that absolutely cry out for someone to say, "Stop being stupid." Allow me the dubious honor:

• AIG is announcing that it intends to recoup millions of dollars in retention payments slated for employees who have already left the firm.

• The Black & Decker board felt there was no perceived conflict of independence in putting on a special committee charged with appraising the company's acquisition by Stanley Works — which would trigger an enormous payout to Black & Decker's CEO — a member who was significantly invested with the CEO in a personal real estate development.

• What the WSJ describes as a "scathing report" has been released on the collapse of Lehman Brothers, alleging transaction designed to distort a clear picture of the financial soundness of the firm; a follow-up statement from a lawyer for Lehman's then CEO, Richard Fuld, is saying: "Mr. Fuld did not know what those transactions were — he didn't structure or negotiate them, nor was he aware of their accounting treatment."

C'mon, people. What is a board doing when it approves a multimillion-dollar compensation arrangement designed to reward executives to stay but will still pay them royally if they leave? What is a board doing permitting a director who is in bed with the CEO on a personal investment to be on a special committee approving his merger-instigated huge payout — and not thinking that's a conflicted situation? What is a chairman and CEO, well-documented for his hands-on role in running the firm, doing in saying that he had no involvement whatsoever in a tactic crucial to staving off the collapse of his company? (Granting that he had no such involvement, why would he issue such a statement anyway — what kind of a reflection is that on his leadership to be claiming such ignorance?)

Some of the best minds in governance believe that "courage" is the most important attribute in being a director. Last year I devoted an editor's note to that very topic. Yes, exhibiting courage in the boardroom is one way to have a governance system that functions the way it should. Another way is to stiffen the spine of the system through legal and regulatory ordering — hastily enacted legislation like SOX or some of the stuff now spewing from Washington.

A third way, and maybe the best way — thank you, Bob Herbert — is to just stop being stupid.

On MLK Day: 'The Five Laws of Stratospheric Success'

In the spirit of Martin Luther King Day as a day of service, I am moved to share a methodology for success based on generosity of spirit and action. It comes from the book The Go-Giver, which was published in 2008 by Portfolio and, in its first year, sold more than 120,000 copies, becoming a Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek bestseller. The Go-Giver is a business parable that teaches the power of generosity; it has a simple but powerful message — that giving is the most fulfilling and effective path to success.

Here from The Go-Giver are what the authors, Bob Burg and John David Mann, present as the "Five Laws of Stratospheric Success." As you read these, see how they certainly apply to corporate directors — in how executives, driven by an ethic of service which many if not most directors are, take on such a responsible duty, and what they put themselves in position to give and, in turn, to receive:

• The Law of Value: Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.

• The Law of Compensation: Your income is determined by how many people you serve and how well you serve them.

• The Law of Influence: Your influence is determined by how abundantly you place other people's interests first.

• The Law of Authenticity: The most valuable gift you have to offer is yourself.

• The Law of Receptivity: The key to effective giving is to stay open to receiving.

The authors' follow-up, Go-Givers Sell More, has just landed on my desk. The sequel adapts The Go-Giver principles specifically for people who sell daily in their jobs.

A philosophy that giving is the best way of getting is one that resonates on MLK Day. It is a philosophy that should resonate every day with every corporate director.

Smile When You Say That

Here is a tip to make you a more effective chairman of a board, CEO of a management team, or director in a board meeting.

It comes from Andy Andrews, an inspirational speaker and bestselling author whose messages of hope, faith, and perseverance have resonated with the multitudes. I just dipped into his book, Mastering the Seven Decisions that Determine Personal Success [Thomas Nelson], and jumping right out at me was this choice piece of advice.

"I've often wondered," Andrews writes, "what I would say if somebody ever brings me in to speak and says, 'You've got one minute on stage and this is the last minute you'll ever speak in your entire life—tell them one thing that can change everything.'

"I've got the secret. Are you ready? It's going to blow your mind because it's so simple. You can learn it in a couple of days and it will change everything.

"Here's the secret: Smile while you talk.

"I'm not saying 'smile a lot' or 'smile at everyone you meet.' I'm saying SMILE WHILE YOU TALK!

"Very few people do this. Watch ... In everyday conversation, the vast majority of us speak to others with a serious or bland expression on our faces.

"Learn to smile while you talk, and your life will be forever transformed. And if you throw in a little chuckle while you're talking, even better. Why will everything change? People cannot help but smile at somebody who smiles at them!

"You want people to join the church softball team? You want them to buy a house from you? You want them to sign the deal? You want them to be a client forever? You want them to contribute to a cause? Learn to smile while you talk!" 

So there you go. Try it in your next board meeting. See if it makes a difference in the culture and collegiality of the boardroom and in your personal effectiveness in the board's discussion and decision making. I know I will.