'...the only difference is the size of their yacht...'

 

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine over 24 months ago, there has been a concerted effort to punish the wealthy supporters of Putin, the oligarchs, who control vast fortunes and who allegedly bankroll Putin personally. The sanctions are meant to undermine Putin’s ability to wage war by applying economic pressure against his power base. 

We in the west have generally agreed with this aggressive seizure of their overseas assets including homes and superyachts and other overt expressions of wealth. I include myself in the number who favour even stricter sanctions and seizures. These individuals have gained their wealth on the backs of the Russian population because of favourable government influence initiated by Putin. One hand washes the other!  

Let’s be clear. Oligarchs don’t get rich by selling products and services to one another. Each ruble that a homeowner spends on home heating fuel; each drop of gasoline that powers their cars; every pound of fertilizer that augments their fields...all benefits an oligarch and is not funded by another oligarch. They maintain their wealth through the monopolies that the government created and sustain. 

So how is our system of government so much different? Consider these facts. 

According to ‘Open Sheets’, in 2023, US industries spent over $4.25 billion to lobby in Washington DC. These funds supported over 12,000 registered lobbyists whose sole purpose in life was to curry favour with politicians and other influencers to ensure the best legislative outcomes for their clients. The amount of money spent on lobbying has more than doubled in the past 20 years though the number of politicians has not. You can draw your own conclusions.  

Lobbying has ethical problems in my mind but there is not much distinction between these activities and those of oligarchs who ‘lobby’ by funding Putin and his cronies. 

Who are the major beneficiaries of this lobbying? Unsurprisingly, they are the CEOs of America’s top companies. In 2023, the average income of the top 10 CEOs was up to $130 million, a large component of which was earned through stock options which have been lobbied to be taxed at a significantly lower tax rate than salaries. These figures do not include the income of individuals like Elon Musk who chooses not to draw a salary; preferring to survive only on his stock options...currently valued at $190 billion. 

Given that the average household income in the US is about $75k, it’s hard not to draw a comparison with the average Russian whose purchases support the oligarchs. Afterall, it’s not as if Tim Cook of Apple is hoping that Musk buys one more iPhone to ensure that his bonus level in met. 

We rightly scoff at the lack of governance abroad and decry their methods of wealth accumulation. But we should be looking more closely at the wealth disparities at home and seeking more equitable compensation and tax regulations.  

 As I see it, the only real difference is the size of their yachts! 

Things that make you go...hmmm

 

Last week, NBC decided to hire former Republican National Convention Chair, Ronna McDaniel, to be a member of their news team to provide a different perspective on American politics than that normally espoused by their current on-air anchors and commentators. In principle, that is not a bad idea to have a more balanced examination of the facts. 

The problem is that McDaniel is a highly conflicted representative who has denied the facts of American elections, personally participated in efforts to subvert the stated will of electors, and otherwise served to support the unsupportable. In essence, she was about as far away from a principled analyst as one could find. 

Her appointment was met with resounding rebukes from almost all of the NBC and MSNBC news staff. Ultimately, McDaniel appointment was rescinded...but by then the damage was done. 

Now I have always said that you should not be afraid to try something new or different. I encouraged members of my team to take risks, to explore avenues that had not been taken in the search for better ways. I had two caveats. The first was that the cost of failure must be less than the value of what was learned in that attempt. The second was that failure must not be fatal to the entire organization. 

Cesar Conde, the executive who ultimately signed off on the McDaniel hire, has failed on both counts. He, and the rest of his executive team whose input brought McDaniel in the fold, were so myopic in their analysis that one wonders if they could even find their way to the washroom without a white cane.  

The backlash was so intense...and so predictable...that any junior manager would be severely criticized for even proposing such a move, let alone actually moving forward with it. The decision, and its’ reversal, have tarnished the entire NBC/MSNBC enterprise and, by extension, the reputation of their owners and other on-air personalities. 

It will take more than a simple apology and mea culpa to put things back together. It is not a “Humpty Dumpty had a great fall" moment. The King’s men will put it back together again. But it will look cracked for a long time. 

Heads should roll but that may create too many other questions in the executive chain of command. My guess is that the folks in charge will admit their mistake, say that they reversed the offence, and look to move on. Nothing more to see here!  

That would be wrong. But in the rarefied air that is pumped into corner offices, might is right. And it will be left to the rank-and-file public facing personalities who will be left to answer the question ‘...things that make you go...hmmm...’ 

Two steps forward...one step back!

 

 

Last Friday, March 8, 2024, the world celebrated International Womens Day. It was a worthy and well-deserved acknowledgment. The contributions and accomplishments of women were highlighted and yet there was something lacking, something disingenuous about the process because I felt that men were essentially patting women on the head and saying ‘...you did really well, considering...that you are a woman...’ 

When you pull back the curtain, the reality of the situation hits you head on.  

Women represent virtually half of the workforce. 

Over 50% of law school graduates are women. 

Over 50% of med school graduates are women. 

Over 50% of business school graduates are women. 

Yet women represent just over a third of management positions. 

And women represent only about 20% of board members. 

As quick as men are to acknowledge women’s competencies...they are equally slow in sharing the spoils. Women are still being kept in the corporate ‘kitchen’ where they can work their butts off and get an Internation Day of recognition while being denied the real recognition in the workplace the other 364 days of the year. 

At the rate things are changing, equality in the workplace and the boardroom will not be achieved until sometime after 2050. Hell, climate change moves at a faster pace!! 

And let’s not even begin to discuss the inequities women face in the home as it relates to raising children, meal preparation, cleaning, elder care etc. where the imbalance is even more profound. 

My challenge to men and my advice is simple. Open the doors before they are broken down. The wave is inevitable, and you need to be on the right side of herstory! 

The Fallacy of Compromise

 The Fallacy of Compromise 

Being a Canadian, I know something about the art of compromise. We are the nation that invented the word ‘sorry’ and we walk around every day trying not to offend anyone and to ensure that we always meet others at least halfway in a disagreement. 

To be sure, compromise speeds up the resolution of disputes. When there is a union negotiation of wages, meeting halfway between union demands and company hopes, the midpoint is a common landing spot. 

When there is a discussion about dinner there may be one party who wants French cuisine while another wants Italian. They may compromise on Mexican...no harm done. 

Or maybe it’s a vacation destination. One wants Europe; the other wants South America. They compromise on the Caribbean Riviera. 

All these examples of compromise demonstrate that none of the parties achieved the goal that they set at the beginning. But the result was satisfying enough that an agreement was reached. And nothing was really lost in the process.  

A good compromise means everyone has equal measures of satisfaction and disappointment. 

However, outside of these types of compromise, there is an unsettling reality that is eating away at the fabric of our society. I refer specifically to the compromise of truth. 

Comedienne, Lily Tomlin once opined ‘...what’s truth; it’s nothing more than a collective hunch...’ More and more frequently I see this attitude prevail. Truth is relative and not absolute. 

When we compromise on truth, truth always loses. Let me explain. 

Two people disagree on the colour of the sky. One says that it is blue, (which is the truth). The other says that it is white; they compromise and agree that it is light blue. Truth has been discarded for the sake of compromise and expediency. 

The next time these two discuss the colour of the sky, the starting point for the discussion is that the sky is light blue, because they changed the truth last time. The sky is still blue, but the truth has been altered. Where do you think that this compromise is headed? Further away from the truth... 

It does not take too many meetings before they are not arguing about the colour of the sky. They have moved on to whether it is day or night. 

This erosion of truth is easy; it is subtle and; and it is destructive. 

It starts with denying, ‘...the sky is not blue...’ 

It leads to deception ‘...the sky is white, but let’s agree that it is light blue...’ 

It ends with defamation ‘...it is night, not day...that is the moon not the sun...’ 

The truth can be compromised simply by acceding to the lie. As soon as you give it oxygen, a lie will grow. 

We must become a society that regains truth; a society that rejects compromise for the sake of ‘unity’. 

Never be afraid to stand on truth, it is the foundation upon which you cannot be shaken! When in doubt, do the next right thing!