Its bowl time again! We have had so much snow that the bowl is awesome! I love the walk. It give you time to think about how lucky we are to have an in bounds resource with 45 degree pitches patrolled by Aspen’s finest.
I think of others things as well. Does greed cloud the mind so thoroughly that truth is unattainable? Can strong intellectual honesty counteract its effect? I guess a little integrity would not hurt. It’s interesting to follow the woes of the mortgage market and wonder with 20/20 hindsight; just how could these managers been so fool hardy. Of course when you look at the severance packages these people are getting I wonder if the brain chemistry has been altered.
The rise in incentive compensation is a good thing. Its always better to pay people for results that you desire, than for hard work alone. The catch is; are the results truly beneficial to the long-term interests of shareholders, employees (all employees), suppliers and customers and not one group alone. I have been pondering a couple of basics that contribute to an improvement in the system. First, all employees should have a portion of their pay based on the same incentives. The general wisdom is that the higher up in the organization the greater the percentage applied to incentives. I am not convinced this is good. Second, there should be a limit on the average pay at the top verses the average pay at the bottom. This forces the top tier to be concerned with increasing the compensation of the bottom tier or else theirs does not increase. Third, the measurements should be simple, but yet broad. I love net profit. Fourth, suppliers should be rewarded on the success of the company as well. Fifth, in the end, in a competitive climate, the customer will always win.
The bowl always beckons. My mind loves the trip. I do think that the effort changes my brain chemistry; positively I think. You might not!
2 comments:
Well, I must admit that I thought you were going to wax enthusiastically about the Super Bowl ...
With thoughts like yours, hiking up the bowl must be a breeze, I'm usually thinking about how much my legs hurt or how I wish I was in really good shape, my next water break, or just look at the beauty of surrounding mountains. I think you should include in your questionnaire "what do you think about while hiking up the bowl?" Could be interesting, im not sure many people would say current problems and solutions to corporate governance woes. I may be wrong though, it is Aspen after all.
Post a Comment