Incentive - November 2008 - (Page 10)

HEADLINES Lehman Brothers: The demise of a “Common Cow” BY ANDREA DOYLE The Incentive Editorial Advisory Board • Ira Almeas, President, Impact Incentives and Meetings • Michael Arkes, President and CEO, Hinda Incentives • Dennis O. Borst, President and COO, Patriot Marketing Group • Bill Boyd, President and CEO, Sunbelt Motivation and Travel • Karen Eglitis, Unit Business Manager, Premium & Incentive, Bose Corp. • Gail Fitzgerald, Vice President Hotel Sales & Marketing, CityCenter Las Vegas • Chris Flatt, Executive Vice President Hotel Sales & Marketing, Wynn Las Vegas • Adrienne Forrest, Assistant Vice President, Special Markets, Bulova Corp. • Dick Gaeta, President, Premier Incentives • Steve Lowe, Director of Sales, Harrah’s & Harveys Lake Tahoe • Terry Markwart, Director & Assistant General Mgr. of U.S. Sales, Canon USA • Art Masarky, Senior Director, Human Resources, Heineken, USA • Cindy Mielke, Manager, National Accounts, Marketing Innovators • Anne Platt, Director, Gift Card Services, Best Buy • Rodger Stotz, Vice President, Managing Consultant, Maritz Incentives • Patrick Sullivan, President, PRA Destination Management New York • Jon Von Rentzell, Vice President, Recognition and Rewards, Carlson Marketing • Joe Zanone, Senior Vice President, Movado Group Inc. ast June’s issue of Incentive featured an interview with Contented Cows Moove Faster co-authors Bill Catlette and Richard Hadden. They described companies that “get it” as those whose employees put extra “oomph!” in their work. Unfortunately, the majority of today’s companies don’t get it, they said. They described “Contented Cow” companies as being employers of choice. Many have been repeatedly featured as a Best Company to Work For, by leading business journals. The “Common Cow” companies are not necessarily the worst companies to work for, but they have neither the reputation of being employers of choice nor any strategy that the pair can find that recognizes the connection between people and profits. In the financial services sector, they described Goldman Sachs as being a “Contented Cow” and Lehman Brothers as a “Common Cow.” This description was made months before Lehman’s bankruptcy filing. “We obviously had no way of knowing that the market’s regurgitation of packaged ‘liar loans’ would bring about the demise of Lehman,” says Catlette. “When we updated our list of Contented and Common Cows earlier this year, we felt that, relative to its L competitors, Goldman Sachs enjoyed a distinct reputational advantage for attracting, managing and retaining a talented workforce. Moreover, by virtue of its selection as a Contented Cow, we were predicting that Goldman would continue to outperform Lehman Brothers. That said, while it would be easy to join a long list of people, including U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), who are piling on Lehman CEO Dick Fuld, I’m not sure that it serves any purpose to do so. Not unlike the bomber pilot whose ‘target fixation’ causes him to crash and create a big smoking hole in the ground because he can’t take his eyes off the prize, Lehman management was similarly blinded to the realities of their situation until it was too late. Consistent with its Contented Cow traits, Goldman Sachs was much quicker to mitigate the risk of its own portfolio of collateralized debt obligations.” The premise of the pair’s book is that the primary competitive advantage of organizations able to earn their employees’ discretionary effort is speed…speed of ideas, thought, decision making and execution. “In this case, that speed afforded Goldman the time to maneuver for a softer landing and a much better outcome,” adds Catlette. Do you recognize this destination? E-mail feedback@incentivemag.com with your answer, and be entered into a drawing for a $50 American Express gift card. Visit www.incentivemag.com/wherearewe for the full-size photo. Debbie Wilson of Fort Worth Community Credit Union correctly identified Sandpearl Resort in Clearwater, Fla. in our last issue. Congratulations! 10 | Incentive | November 2008 | incentivemag.com http://www.incentivemag.com/wherearewe http://www.incentivemag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Incentive - November 2008

Incentive - November 2008 Editor’s Note Headlines Cover Story: Pop, Fizz! Incentive Interview Cracking the Recognition Code Primer Travel News Canada, City Style Potentials Here and Now Cameras: Picture of Innovation The Spirit of Giving Advertiser Index Last Word

Incentive - November 2008

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