Bedtime Stories for Managers

SIXStories about Responsibility

I stood up to be counted and they told me to take a number.

—Anonymous

A CEO’s Letter to the Board—long overdue

Dear Directors

I am writing to you with a proposal that may seem radical but is in fact conservative. That is because my primary responsibility as chief executive officer of this company is to conserve it as a healthy enterprise. You are now paying me so much that I can no longer manage this company as I should. I hereby request that you cut my salary substantially and eliminate all of my bonuses.

We have talked a great deal about teamwork in this company—that our people are all in it together. So why ...