Motivators, coaches weigh in on 'dirty' CEO label

From the Press Release:

What do current CEOs need to do to regain credibility and salvage their reputations? That was the question Pastor posed to the panel.

“CEOs need to adapt their policies for something bigger and deeper than simply market capitalization and earnings-per-share,” said Harari. “There needs to be a departure from generic corporate mission statements and a resurgence of genuine commitment to a higher cause.”

Goldsmith added, “CEOs can no longer accept 300 or 400 times higher pay than their front-line employees. Also, they must seek out confidential feedback, publicly apologize for any bad behavior and insist on accountability checks for themselves and other company leaders.”

Pastor also posed the question: How can CEOs change their behavior after years of the “status quo” being acceptable?

“For a lot of people, the word ‘corporation’ is the problem, as the general public associates it with greed,” said Robinson. “CEOs need to change not only their own actions, but also the ideals of their corporations. They need to hold themselves and their companies to a higher standard.”

Pastor closed the panel by asking Robinson to address education for current and future CEOs.

“There’s a high correlation between higher education and economic productivity,” said Robinson, “yet currently in America there’s a 30 percent high-school dropout rate… We need to better address these issues and develop moral, educated leaders from all walks of life. That diversity will aid future generations of CEOs not only in improving productivity, but also in innovation.”