#147: The empty desk - part 1
I once worked for a shipping line which merged with a group that included hotels and gambling resorts. As you can imagine when conservative shipping meets liberal gambling, the two CEOs had very different leadership styles.
Their desks showed just how different. The shipping CEO’s desk was hidden under heaps of reports and documents. The other CEO’s desk was bare.
People at the shipping line believed that their man would become the CEO of the merged group, because everybody knew that the other CEO ‘never did any work’, as demonstrated by his empty desk.
They did not understand the meaning of the empty desk. It demonstrated a unique leadership style: visit the chiefs of the different business units constantly, ensure that they are performing and offer help if they are not.
Who got the top job? The CEO who hated to delegate. I leave you to guess what happened when he died unexpectedly.
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.com
Copyright: 2007 James Henry McIntosh
James can be heard on Public Radio, 88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA.
Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
Their desks showed just how different. The shipping CEO’s desk was hidden under heaps of reports and documents. The other CEO’s desk was bare.
People at the shipping line believed that their man would become the CEO of the merged group, because everybody knew that the other CEO ‘never did any work’, as demonstrated by his empty desk.
They did not understand the meaning of the empty desk. It demonstrated a unique leadership style: visit the chiefs of the different business units constantly, ensure that they are performing and offer help if they are not.
Who got the top job? The CEO who hated to delegate. I leave you to guess what happened when he died unexpectedly.
I’m james@nonsenseatwork.com
Copyright: 2007 James Henry McIntosh
James can be heard on Public Radio, 88.9 FM WCVE, Richmond VA.
Monday - 7:19am and Saturday - 8:19am
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