CEOs of large organizations all face the same problem – driving their
agendas in organizations too diverse and geographically dispersed to
manage directly.
They hire competent managers for their units, set goals and establish
clear metrics for evaluating performance. As in politics, competition in
business is tough, and CEOs must set ethical boundaries for their
managers’ conduct.
In all this, the CEO’s personal conduct is critical.
Early in his presidency, President Barack Obama flaunted American
Constitutional tradition by pushing through major social legislation,
Obamacare, without a bipartisan compromise and consensus. And he relied
on a legislative sleight of hand for it to pass the Senate.
Simply, Obama’s hard left agenda requires him to treat the constitution
and Congress as mere inconveniences – expediency is his ethical
standard.
For example, unable to obtain Congressional ascent, even among moderate
Democrats, for limits on Co2 emissions and other environmental goals,
the EPA – at his public behest – has written regulations imposing new
and onerous requirements on business.
The Obama Credo of Management: We’ll do as we please, stop us if you can.
His failure as a CEO, now with grave political consequences, was to
impose no limits on managers’ behavior and implement adequate controls –
mechanisms for the CEO to monitor the performance of units and head off
emerging threats to the survival of the organization. To head of these
threats, it is of paramount importance to insulate the president from
any fallout from bad managerial actions.
Cabinet secretaries and agency heads took their cues from the boss. At
State, Justice and the IRS senior management would have had us believe
they were unaware of what was happening in Benghazi, with the Associated
Press, or at the Cincinnati Office of the IRS. And the president only
learns about many problems when reported in the news?
Obama simply has been too busy giving speeches, raising money, and
trying to turn every event to political advantage to keep tabs on his
managers, as any good CEOs would do.
CEOs periodically meet with their principal managers – in groups and
where necessary individually – to probe their tactics, offer assistance
from their own wealth of experience, and discern areas where managers
may be planting problems that will burgeon into crisis.
Failing at this, the president has managed to continence management
failures that cost the lives of Americans abroad, weaken our national
security, rock public confidence in government, and threaten our
Constitutionally guaranteed liberties.
Obama has a lot in common with one predecessor, Jimmy Carter – both
failed as CEOs. The man from Plains is a decent and ethical man but
micromanaged too much, whereas Obama acquired his moral compass in the
Windy City and simply can’t manage at all.
Americans should not be surprised. Obama came to Washington with
profound campaign skills but virtually no record as a legislator or
manager. He spent seven years in the Illinois Senate as a virtual
non-participant, bored and seeking higher office, and his four years in
the U.S. Senate running for president.
Americans turned to him, because they were justifiably disappointed with President Bush and tagged John McCain with the blame.
Prior to his presidency, Americans never observed Obama running
anything, other than a campaign. He had not been a governor or a
congressional committee chair. In military terms, we made him a
five-star general before he even served as a lieutenant.
By his own actions, he is arrogantly ambitious but sadly incompetent. He
has corrupted the foundations of our Republic, and for that he gets a
failing grade.
Peter Morici is an economist and professor at the Smith School
of Business, University of Maryland, and a widely published columnist.
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