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Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China's biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military

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Costco CEO Ron Vachris rose from forklift driver to the C-suite without a college degree: ‘Don’t chase a title’ is the career advice that got him there

A case study in executive stupidity

By
Stanley Bing
Stanley Bing
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By
Stanley Bing
Stanley Bing
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November 20, 2008, 3:14 PM ET


donkey1
Just a question I’ve been thinking about since yesterday… What do you think the boys at the Big Three auto companies were thinking about when each took his own private jet to Washington to ask for help? A number of subsequent queries suggest themselves:

  • Are they stupid?
  • Assuming that they are NOT completely stupid, didn’t anybody consider this might not be the absolutely best move, at least in terms of the optics?
  • If somebody DID think about it, did they voice the opinion and were then overruled?
  • Why were they overruled?
  • If nobody thought about it, WHY didn’t they? Granted, the thousands of dollars spent in this form of transport have no discernible impact on the billions that are under review, but still…
  • If they were going to fly private, why didn’t they all go in ONE jet? Do they hate each other that much? Or couldn’t they agree on which jet they would take?
  • Did they think nobody would find out?
  • Why do senior officers of corporations get so out of touch? Is it a part of the job description, or do they devolve as they serve their terms?
  • Do politicians fly commercial? If so, why don’t I ever see any?
  • Are senior officers of Detroit auto companies considered part of Middle America?
  • Should we blame an entire industry for the failings of its senior officers?

Tell me what you think.

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By Stanley Bing
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