Wally, the CEO's Bonus, and Pointy-Haired Boss

"The Official Dilbert Site by Scott Adams"

Today's Dilbert was "right on"..."right" on a huge issue. An issue that is debatable, that initially escapes most of us, that does not call our attention. It is out of our "focus", maybe because it's usually "out of our locus".
Dilbert and its dialog goes like this:

Wally, to Pointy-Haired Boss: "Our CEO got a $400,000,000 bonus this year. Can I get that too?"
Resp: "Wally, he got that much because he's a million times more important than you."
Comeback: "Fair enough. Can I have the $400 that you say I am worth?"

And I think that in there, a lot is said. What genius: 3 sentences!

Coincidentally, the AJC also had an Editorial today, based on data from the Wall Street Jornal, on Executive's Pensions and their magnitude. David McNaughton, AJC, writes:
"Executive pension plans are different from those of average workers. They generally replace 60 percent to 100 percent of an executive's salary, against 20 percent to 35 percent for other employees, the Journal pointed out. No assets are set aside to pay future executive benefits, so there's no investment income to offset part of the cost, forcing shareholders to bear all the expense. While many ordinary workers have no pensions to look forward to, some individual corporate executives are in line for up to $90 million in payments. That disparity should be retired."

The statement that I am glad to see is the one where McNaughton brings out the 'cover' for this, that is, the 'split tongue' language so widely used and accepted citing 'cost containment': "While companies freeze or terminate the pension plans of ordinary workers, citing pressure to hold down costs, the tab for executive retirement has soared. Dollar-for-dollar, executive pensions drag down corporate earnings more than the pensions of ordinary workers. In fact, when the average worker's pension is cut, the net effect is to subsidize benefits for already lavishly paid executives, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Is there a sting in thinking these things through? Why?, do you think? And how about..."Is there a trap in ascribing worth to 'what we do'?" Yes? No? How soon thereafter does it flow into ..."what we are?" And then...what?

"The question is then...what values?

"Spiritual Covenant with America"

After reading Dana Dobson's input from last week, one that was deeply moving and challenging, I felt as if left with a huge void. Beyond all the wonderful statements of purpose - and thoughts, phrases and concepts - my mind (my soul?) felt as skidding without traction, maybe like hydroplaning must feel when it comes up, as one is cautiously driving under difficult sight conditions, barely being able to 'see', and feels - suddenly - a swift direction change under a loss of control that makes the heart sink, and skip a beat. No 'traction'. None. Meaning:..."and so...?"; "and then what?"

Yes! - to Dana's words. Yes! to Judi Neal's "higher level of consciousness".... where with "our interconnectedness with all things"..."we make a positive difference in the world"..."using the talent, money and global reach of business"...!
But...; really?! ...and how do we do that?

Then in my inbox there was an e-mail from tikkun.org, "An important message: A Spiritual Covenant with America". The coincidence, for one: the same theme again! Two, the salient points, those jumping out of the pages, such as: "The overbearing dominance of market values in our culture has left a vacuum in our public discourse regarding our collective civic purposes. "..."foundation for promoting the general welfare...These values include love, caring, compassion, tolerance, justice, a sense of care and respect for the natural world, a reverence for life, and the importance of the sanctity of conscience and personal liberty. "..."These values find ethical expression in universally recognized principles such as the Golden Rule which...should be promoted at all levels of decision making, including international affairs." Three: the excitement as before. Stop. Stop right there; let me catch my breath.

Are the pieces falling in place? Are we, "the denizens of the workplace", as Judi writes, who may have come to, or already "see 'work' as a spiritual exercise" , starting to "see" the pieces of the puzzle? The subject, the object, the objectives, the input/s, the process, the feedback, the environment, the attitude, the drivers, the motivators, the descriptors, and the consequences: are they coming together in a new model?

A model which lives in the 'now' and not in the perennial organizational memory of the ''developmental past" nor in the "promissory (illusory?) future", in what Judi - thru Dana's pen - describes as... "as we embrace each moment of our work day as a preciously carved instant"..."people seeing their work . . . as an opportunity to grow personally and to contribute to society in a meaningful way"..."learning to be more caring and compassionate with fellow employees, with bosses, with subordinates and customers"..."...It is about integrity...being true to one's self and telling the truth to others. It means attempting to live your values more fully in your work"...including receiving the support of the 'corporation' as..."organizations structure themselves to support the spiritual development of employees." Wow!

The pavement is starting to feel dry once again, and I think the windshield is sort of clearing up. Maybe I'll sip a WH coffee at the next exit.

Really?...no, from the lighter side...

"Spirit in the Workplace developments, Atlanta"

A not well known, private, employee owned Midwest company was challenged by a famous multibillion Wall Street conglomerate to have a canoe race on the Missouri River. At stake was the smaller company's reputation and its product quality image given a marketing public relations campaign set in place by the Madison Avenue goliath.

Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race. On the big day, the little known Midwest team won by a mile!.

The Wall Street team, very discouraged and full of ire, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. A management team made up of strictly inner circle senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action. After less than 1 hour of deep discussion and deliberation, their conclusion was the competition had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while their team had 8 people steering and 1 person rowing. Not happy with such a ridiculous and slighting recommendation, the Wall Street Board got involved and hired a top notch consulting company owned by one of its most respectable members, and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion. After a long and protracted period of time during which the consulting company was assembling its consulting team, The Board saw the need of rescheduling the competition for the upcoming year, so as to provide the time necessary for the consultants to do the appropriate analysis and recommendations.

The consultants' Executive Summary also warned that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing!.

So, to prevent another humiliating loss, the rowing team's structure was totally reorganized to 4 Strategic Steering EVP's, 3 Area Steering Directors, and 1 Superintendent of Steering Operations. They also implemented a new performance system that would give the one person rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the "Rowing Team Quality First Program", "Row - T QFP" for short. with motivational training meetings, an exhaustive 2 week program management certification training, and dinners with the Board and the CEO respectively, with free pens in a company mug - so as to meet the no tax liability rule - for the rower. The HR group, a close partner to management and intent on getting closer to the Board, recommended a strategy discussion of getting new carbon fiber paddles, a recent NASA research foam for its canoes and other equipment, and were able to allot extra vacation days to be used solely for practices and team training.

The next year the Midwest team won, not by one, but by two miles!

Humiliated, the Board started a Management shake up, but first laid off the rower for poor performance, started a self-defense lawsuit process to prevent any forthcoming grievance suits, halted development of a new canoe, sold the paddles, and cancelled all capital investments for new equipment. The money thus saved was distributed to the Senior Executives as performance bonuses and the next year's racing team, already under intense training, was - given that time was of essence - outsourced to India.

Thoughts about Nurturing the Human Spirit in the Workplace

In the workplace, most notably in industrialized nations, we seem to have forgotten that we are all human beings having a common human experience. We spend as much time with each other at work, or more, than we do with our own families, and yet we've become conditioned to relate to one another at arm's length, and to create separate identities for our personal, public and professional selves.

There are those who believe (alarmists? visionaries?) who believe we face anhiliation as a species, as a world. We have reached a crisis in our evolution, where greed, corruption, technology, nuclear weaponry, have reached global dimensions. As such, we are increasingly developing consciousness on a global scale that something drastic must happen to stem the tide of our destruction -- and an antidote found for the poison of our reality. Some call that antidote "love."

It has been said that if we can transform corporate consciousness, we can transform the world. But it's not just up to the leaders -- the CEOs. Some might argue that a bottom-line leader consciousness is too far gone to be healed by conventional means. What must begin is change being made on a societal level by us -- we -- the denizens of the workplace. Some of us have come to see "work" as a spiritual exercise, and one by one, as we embrace each moment of our work day as a preciously carved instant, only then can we change the mindset of that "thing," that artifically created concept, called "the corporation."

According to Judi Neal, executive director for the Association for Spirit at Work, "In a higher level of consciousness, businesses are seen as the best institution for the human race to "see our interconnectedness with all things and to use the talent, money and global reach of business to make a positive difference in the world."

More from Judi Neal: "Spirituality in the workplace is about people seeing their work . . . as an opportunity to grow personally and to contribute to society in a meaningful way. It is about learning to be more caring and compassionate with fellow employees, with bosses, with subordinates and customers. It is about integrity, being true to one's self and telling the truth to others. It means attempting to live your values more fully in your work. It can refer to the ways in which organizations structure themselves to support the spiritual development of employees."

Mission Statement: Association for Spirit at Work

Just FYI, following is the updated mission statement (boilerplate) for the Association for Spirit at Work:

The Association for Spirit at Work is a non-profit association of people and organizations who are interested in the study and/or practice of spirituality in the workplace. The mission of the Association for Spirit at Work is to provide community, information, and education, for those who are integrating their work and their spirituality and for those who are called to support societal transformation through organizational development and change.

"Spirit in the Workplace developments, Atlanta"

"Spirit in the Workplace developments, Atlanta"

Recent update to the Vision Statement

Jun 5th. Draft: Vision

We are making a difference by expanding the role of businesses, groups, and organizations in transforming society. We will know we are being effective when a critical mass of organizations in our region focus on universal spirit-based values, lead their employees with opportunities to explore and express their spirituality, and act with integrity with all of their stakeholders.

For example, they demonstrate...

* caring for the environment,
* promotion of social justice,
* respect for all cultures, and
* a commitment to the full development of all human beings connected to or impacted by the organization.

The previous version, of May 8th.:

We are making a difference by expanding the role of businesses, groups, and organizations in transforming society. We will be successful when a critical mass of organizations in our region focus on universal spirit-based values, lead their employees with opportunities to explore and express their spirituality, are committed to caring for the environment and promoting social justice, are deeply respectful of local cultures, and are committed to the full development of all human beings who are connected to or impacted by the organization.

Recent update to the Mission Statement

In our meeting on the 5th. of June, the Mission statement was modified to reflect the following:

Jun 5th Draft: Mission

The Atlanta Chapter of the Association for Spirit at Work is a community of people and organizations that are interested in the study and the conscious engagement of the practice of spirituality in the workplace.

Our purpose is to provide support, information, and education for those who are integrating their work and their spirituality and for those who are called to support societal transformation through organizational development and change.

The previous version was that of May 8th.:
Mission

The Atlanta Chapter of the Association for Spirit at Work is a community of people and organizations that are interested in the study and promotion of the practice of spirituality in the workplace.

Our purpose is to provide support, information, and education for those who are integrating their work and their spirituality and for those who are called to support societal transformation through organizational development and change.