Reining in megalomaniacal bosses

Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. We've all heard Lord Acton's famous dictum. And we have seen it happening all the time, whether in politics or in a corporation. The trillion dollar question is: what do we do about it?

Many, if not most, management gurus think sermonising or indoctrination is the answer. Exhort managers to live up to "values". Train leaders to be  "caring". Tell those at the top that being "selfless' or "service-oriented" is the secret of true leadership. And so on. And how do we do this? Well, by talking about the "lessons in leadership" to be learnt from Gandhi or Mandel. Or the Gita and the Mahabharata.

In other words, the emphasis is on turning people at the top or those headed for the top into evolved souls. The entire leadership industry thrives on this sort of stuff. It's amazing how popular leadership programmes are. I guess that's because they generate a 'feel-good' factor in participants at least for a short while before reality catches up.

It should apparent to the meanest intelligence that this is a load of rubbish. If sermons could have created a better world, we should have had paradise on earth by now. I point out in my recent book, Rethinc: what's broke at today's corporations and how to fix it, that the whole idea that people get corrupted after they get into positions of power is a mistaken one. Would-be leaders have all the hallmarks of corruption before they get into positions of power. Leadership is acquired through the single-minded and ruthless pursuit of self-interest. It's acquired by discarding "values", setting aside compunction or guilt and focusing on the big prize that people get to the top (leaving aside a few exceptions). So, to expect leaders of corporations to be something different, once they assume power, is sheer delusion.

As Schumpeter puts it in a recent column in the Economist, there is a Donald Trump in every leader, meaning that egomania is to be expected at the top. The answer to that is not try to change leaders into something different- that would require some feat of genetic engineering. It is to take it as a given that leaders will have a dark side to their personalities and to create checks and balances that limit the damage they can do.

One common way is to split the post of chairman and CEO (and to make sure it's not the CEO who brings the chairman on board). Another, which I propose in my book, is to have independent directors appointed by different constituents: institutional investors, large lenders, employees, etc. A third is to foster dissent within the organisation by actively rewarding people who speak up. (The CEO may not like this but the board must find ways to do it). I propose the use of prediction markets as a way of letting diverse views influence decisions instead of having the big boss take all of them.

I also think term limits are a great idea. The US, by law, limits presidents to two terms. It doesn't matter how wonderfully a president has performed or how young he is.(Presidents in recent years have faded into retirement even before reaching their sixties). IIMA, by convention, limits the director to one term of five years.

Do not for a moment think that leaders can be changed into wonderfully balanced, compassionate people. Take it as a given that those at the top will tend to abuse their powers. Find ways to limit such abuse.

Margaret Thatcher and Chandraswami

The Hindu carries a fascinating piece by K Natwar Singh on an encounter between the late Margaret Thatcher, former British PM, and godman Chandra Swami.

Apparently, the Godman predicted that Thatcher would go on to become PM and that she might remain PM for 9, 11 or 13 years. The circumstances in which this forecast was made are interesting. At the first meeting that Singh set up between the two of them in London, the godman floored Thatcher with his extra-sensory powers:

He gave Mrs. Thatcher five strips of paper and requested her to write a question on each. She obliged, but with scarcely camouflaged irritation. Chandraswamy asked her to open the first paper ball. She did. He gave the text of the question in Hindi. I translated. Correct. I watched Mrs Thatcher. The irritation gave way to curiosity. Next question. Again bull’s eye. Curiosity replaced by interest. By the fourth question the future iron lady’s demeanour changed. She began to look at Chandraswamy not as a fraud, but as a holy man indeed. My body language too altered. Last question. No problem. I heaved a sigh of relief. Mrs Thatcher was now perched on the edge of the sofa. Like Oliver Twist, she asked for more. Chandraswamy was like a triumphant Guru. He took off his chappals and sat on the sofa in the lotus pose. I was appalled. Mrs Thatcher seemed to approve.

Mrs Thatcher then requested a second meeting with Swami at which he made his prophesies about her becoming PM. 

Selecting a CEO

The man at the top looms large in the modern firm. Wherever you go in the firm, you can see his shadow. The CEO has the potential to do much good as well as much harm. Getting the selection of the CEO right is, therefore, one of the foremost functions of the board. Most boards, I am sorry to say, don't get it right; more importantly, they don't give it the attention it deserves.

It was a pleasant surprise, therefore, to read in the October issue of HBR about succession planning at P&G. I must confess I was impressed with the rigour of the process described, with the search starting within the company from the very day that A G Lafley took over as CEO. The distinctive aspect of the process is the involvement of the board. Because of its involvement in the search, the board gets to know several layers of management very well. It occurred to me that succession planning, if taken seriously, can transform the very functioning of the board.

More in my ET column, How to pick a CEO, where I also spell out lessons for Indian companies.