alexander

Leadership Process One: Reframing Problems 25
amples are commonplace. The Japanese have a well-earned,
deserved reputation for greater fairness in compensation
than most other advanced economies. The highest-paid executives
earn only a fraction of what their U.S. counterparts
do. And when the economy takes a downturn or the company
performs badly, it is the executives, not the hourly or
union people, who take the cuts. In America, it is commonplace
for an executive to fly in by corporate jet or helicopter,
take a limousine to the meeting hall, and explain that
the employees must make sacrifices (with layoffs, income
reductions, pension cutbacks, or benefits slashes). This
empty ‘‘leadership’’ from behind is not remotely in league
with the great leaders in history.