Rupert Murdoch, the Chairman and CEO of Newscorp, is a titan. Yes, that’s the term that people use very loosely when they describe people who head media companies, but doesn’t Murdoch seem as though he would be a titan no matter what he did? I can picture Rupert Murdoch coaching Little League, working as a janitor, or participating in a knitting class – and I still think he’d come across like a titan. The man has a ruthless, tough, incredibly aggressive and success-driven persona which seems like a force of nature akin to a hurricane or volcano eruption.He created one of the largest and most successful media conglomerates in the world; rules it like Augustus once ran the Roman Empire; and maintains an iron grip on power despite the fact that he is at an age when most CEOs are playing shuffle board or chasing after their nurses.
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One of the touchiest issues in corporate politics today is the role of favoritism. In a publicly traded company, where thousands of people work, is it right that anyone should get ahead simply because they are related to the boss, have worked closely with him before, or know him well socially? For those who don’t share DNA or country club membership with the leader, it can lead to a familiar emotion. It’s the kind of feeling that we experienced in grade school when we weren’t chosen by the cool kids, or in college when we stood patiently in the rope line at some popular nightclub while the doorman let others slide mysteriously through.
CEO’s are treated differently in many different ways. Unlike ordinary mortals, they do not wait in lines or worry about petty rules that must be strictly adhered to by ordinary employees. When budgets are tight, don’t expect the CEO to fly coach even though everyone else must. In a non-smoking office, don’t be surprised to see the CEO enjoying a cigarette during a meeting.
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Do leaders really care about merit? Should the most talented man or woman always get the job or is it better that key positions be stocked with friends and allies? Is it more important for a leader to surround himself with the best people or with people he feels comfortable with and can trust?
In our egalitarian society, few of us like to acknowledge that double standards exist. As a hot button issue, the idea brings up strong and immediate impressions of social injustice and special treatment. Tax breaks for the rich. Military deferments for the well-connected. Legacy appointments to elite colleges for the children of the wealthy. Affirmative action or racial profiling for minorities. We’d prefer to believe that the existence of various forms of the double standard are either anomalies of privilege or temporary bandages for righting old wrongs.
Why are executives surprised by negative reactions to their own double standards? Because the double standard is very standard to them.
CEO pay is the most egregious example of any perceived double standards in today’s business world. The sheer numbers boggle the mind. Ten million dollars in salary, twenty million in bonuses, a hundred million or so in stock options… How can one person in an organization be worth that much money? Why would they even want that much? What could they possibly spend it on? When you throw in the perks and payoffs that go with the dollars, the sense of disproportion becomes surreal. Not just the money but also a private Lear jet, a five million dollar pied a terre, a dozen country club memberships, a two hundred acre summer home by the sea, laundry service, music lessons and pet grooming! Even more damaging, the information about such trappings of power seems to be released when the executive is under pressure over poor company performance. This confirms a general impression that Nero has been fiddling while Rome burns.
