The Corporate Compromise
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
I had a conversation with a the leader of a large division of a major media company the other day – I’ll call her Kira. We were talking about situation that I am working on with a senior member of her staff – I’ll call him Perry.
Perry has been on Kira’s team for about 18 months, and by all accounts, it’s been a pretty stormy time. One of the big problems with their relationship is that Perry wants to move up the corporate ladder and enter the vast pool of Vice Presidents. While there isn’t that much to be gained strategically, it does provided some increase in power, but brings more pay, more stature, and more influence outside the walls of the corporations. It’s something that Perry feels is long overdue and that he deserves.
Kira sees things a little differently. One quality that has kept Kira from making this promotion happen is her belief that Perry doesn’t “get” the Corporate Compromise. – the proverbial drinking of the Kool Aid. According to Kira, there are times when the message comes down for the Powers that Be, and that you, as one of the field generals, need to support that message, even if you don’t buy in to it.
For me, personally, this is one of the great challenges that we can slice and dice in lots of ways. Kira, who is in her late 40’s-early 50’s, is a baby boomer. Baby boomers make the corporate compromise – a compromise in their values or a justification of something that goes against their beliefs – in the name of success.
“It’s about playing the game,” Kira stated. “It’s about being able to decide when you want to fight it, when you think you can influence it, and when you think it is something you can or can’t live with.”
She said that she asks herself a few key questions when faced with a situation that forces her to make the Corporate Compromise.
1. What is at stake?
2. What am I being asked to do?
3. Can I still do my job?
4. Can I do what I have been asked?
At this point, Kira explained, you need to decide Am I in, or Am I out. That it isn’t about work-arounds or what-ifs. It’s about playing the game or passing.
To the Boomer, especially one who can draw a very thick line between work values and personal values (a notion I don’t totally buy), this can work. To a different person, maybe a Gen-Xer or a person who isn’t so comfortable with one set of rules for his or her work life and personal life, this system doesn’t really hold up.
Now, I’m not going to poke my values any more into this debate. However, I will put forth the notion that there are many leaders who are making this kind of compromise every day, and I believe that it is a compromise that is going to be supported less and less, and by fewer and fewer people as we move forward. Right now, ethics are the big buzzword and some leaders are going to make the ethical choice NOT to drink the Kool Aid for fear of being splashed across the pages of the Wall Street Journal.
However, another dynamic is beginning to unfold. People like Perry are going to continue saying, “Forget it. I think that this kind of compromise is a crock.” Will people like Perry be forced to stay in positions lower on the food chain than they deserve or will they have to leave their companies? Some may, but only in the short term. The days of the Baby Boomer corporate compromise are numbered.
Copyright 2005 – Michael Berger, Transformational Consulting. Reprinting or reproduction without permission is prohibited
Perry has been on Kira’s team for about 18 months, and by all accounts, it’s been a pretty stormy time. One of the big problems with their relationship is that Perry wants to move up the corporate ladder and enter the vast pool of Vice Presidents. While there isn’t that much to be gained strategically, it does provided some increase in power, but brings more pay, more stature, and more influence outside the walls of the corporations. It’s something that Perry feels is long overdue and that he deserves.
Kira sees things a little differently. One quality that has kept Kira from making this promotion happen is her belief that Perry doesn’t “get” the Corporate Compromise. – the proverbial drinking of the Kool Aid. According to Kira, there are times when the message comes down for the Powers that Be, and that you, as one of the field generals, need to support that message, even if you don’t buy in to it.
For me, personally, this is one of the great challenges that we can slice and dice in lots of ways. Kira, who is in her late 40’s-early 50’s, is a baby boomer. Baby boomers make the corporate compromise – a compromise in their values or a justification of something that goes against their beliefs – in the name of success.
“It’s about playing the game,” Kira stated. “It’s about being able to decide when you want to fight it, when you think you can influence it, and when you think it is something you can or can’t live with.”
She said that she asks herself a few key questions when faced with a situation that forces her to make the Corporate Compromise.
1. What is at stake?
2. What am I being asked to do?
3. Can I still do my job?
4. Can I do what I have been asked?
At this point, Kira explained, you need to decide Am I in, or Am I out. That it isn’t about work-arounds or what-ifs. It’s about playing the game or passing.
To the Boomer, especially one who can draw a very thick line between work values and personal values (a notion I don’t totally buy), this can work. To a different person, maybe a Gen-Xer or a person who isn’t so comfortable with one set of rules for his or her work life and personal life, this system doesn’t really hold up.
Now, I’m not going to poke my values any more into this debate. However, I will put forth the notion that there are many leaders who are making this kind of compromise every day, and I believe that it is a compromise that is going to be supported less and less, and by fewer and fewer people as we move forward. Right now, ethics are the big buzzword and some leaders are going to make the ethical choice NOT to drink the Kool Aid for fear of being splashed across the pages of the Wall Street Journal.
However, another dynamic is beginning to unfold. People like Perry are going to continue saying, “Forget it. I think that this kind of compromise is a crock.” Will people like Perry be forced to stay in positions lower on the food chain than they deserve or will they have to leave their companies? Some may, but only in the short term. The days of the Baby Boomer corporate compromise are numbered.
Copyright 2005 – Michael Berger, Transformational Consulting. Reprinting or reproduction without permission is prohibited
