Let’s not breakout the paint roller to cover every company. (Long-winded, but I want people to see that not all companies are capitalistic hellscapes. And it’s possible to practice capitalism where the company, customers and workers win.)
We have a monthly all-company meeting. Weirdly, it’s not boring, mostly interesting info, I rarely skip one. The “suits” give us a breakdown as to how much we made, lost, expected, exceeded, all that. The CEO chimes in with future directions we’re looking at, praises people and teams, takes questions about anything, nothing verboten. Last meeting, I asked how, given the tiny market we dominate, we continue growth? Very eye-opening response! Straight answer, no bullshit, no corporate talk.
Hell, for 2020, 2021, maybe 2022?, the CEO told the board we expected to lose money as we were building up our staff, skills, products, etc. They were happy to hear that! At my org, it’s staff first. We realize that taking care of our people automatically means taking care of our customers.
We failed. Fucked around and made a profit those years. We’re aiming to break even this year. And again, we’re not striving for profit at all costs. We’re building a solid future. And this isn’t some brand new venture. In one form or another, we been at this 20+ years.
As to CEOs “failing” and “golden parachutes” (which you didn’t bring up!), often the board brings in a CEO to make unpopular decisions to get what they want, change course in ways that might not be well-taken by the public. Sometimes for good, sometimes for evil. I won’t say CEOs are blameless, but they do indeed have a boss in the form of a Board of Directors.
If you’re a smart businessperson and leader, you’re going to get a contract including a parachute. You would be a fool not too! The board can force your hand, ruin your reputation, and that’s often the job you agreed to. So yeah, pay me if you fire me for doing what you said. Ellen Pao anyone?
Any yes, the cyberpunk Megacorps that have evolved are poisonous. Antitrust laws, legislation and court rulings used to me much stronger.