Power Sheet - December 4, 2015

Let’s look at four leaders in the news this morning – two to applaud and two to boo.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced yesterday that all combat roles in the U.S. military will now be open to women – “there will be no exceptions,” he said. This decision will not be universally popular, and it wasn’t entirely Carter’s doing; President Barack Obama had required that the Pentagon allow women in all combat roles by 2016 or ask for specific exemptions. Carter did not seek any exemptions. The Marines have publicly opposed the move, and even Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and a longtime Carter ally, reacted tepidly, saying his committee would “carefully and thoroughly review” the decision. But Carter said that all combat assignments will be based on ability, not gender, and emphasized that making more people available for more jobs increases military strength.

House Speaker Paul Ryan continued to lead Republicans in setting a policy agenda, or at least tried to, in a high-profile speech yesterday. Not that he was very specific; his objective was to rally his party to “show what we would do, what our ideal policy would be looking forward to 2017 and beyond. We owe it to the country to offer a bold, pro-growth agenda.” Offering a clear program of what it favors, not just what it opposes, is exactly what the party has not done, and that drives Ryan, a policy wonk, nuts. He stated his big-picture goals: “simplifying the tax code, introducing greater competition into the health insurance market, promoting trade, and generating jobs that propel people out of poverty.” How many Republicans will get on board remains to be seen.

The cluelessness and arrogance of suspended Fifa president Sepp Blatter continue to astound. Yesterday, 16 more defendants were arrested in the widening Fifa corruption scandal, and the U.S. Justice Department announced that eight defendants previously charged had pleaded guilty. And on that same day, an adviser said that Blatter would like to be named Fifa’s honorary president. The mind reels. Since the scandal broke in May, Blatter has insisted that he knew nothing about the widespread bribery that defendants were charged with, though everyone else in the soccer world has known about it in a general way for years. Now, he says, not only is he blameless; he should be honored. I’m not sure what the opposite of leadership is called, but we’re looking at it.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, fighting a mammoth corruption scandal, may be impeached. The country’s lower legislative house approved the case against her Wednesday evening. The road to impeachment remains long, and she may well be able to stop her opponents, but the process will paralyze the country as it suffers through a deep recession, and virtually no one but her loyalists believes she can remain untainted by the scandal. Her response is simply stout denial and denunciation of the other side.

Leadership lessons surround us every day, and they make reading the news much more engaging.

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What We're Reading Today

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Avon faces potential proxy war

Nearing a sale of its North American unit (2014 revenue: $1.2 billion) to Cerberus Capital Management, the beauty products company now faces a challenge by activist investors. Barington Capital is leading a charge to stop the deal and argues Cerberus originally bought Avon shares at a "fire sale" price. The group opposing the sale also wants to remove management, including CEO Sheri McCoy. Fortune

Zenefits battles former employees over vacation days

The HR software startup valued at $4.5 billion has offered cash payouts to avoid lawsuits by former employees over pay for unused vacation days. Zenefits argues it has always had an unlimited time-off policy, under which unused vacation days don't have to be paid for, but an employee handbook last year called it "paid time off," which would require the days to be paid for. The Parker Conrad-run company has asked former employees to agree to the cash payout by Dec. 11. BuzzFeed

Senate votes to appeal Obamacare, defund Planned Parenthood

In a 52-to-47 vote, the Senate agreed to cut key provisions in the healthcare bill - including the individual mandate to own health insurance - and remove funding for Planned Parenthood for one year. While the GOP-controlled Senate has wanted to repeal Obamacare, it hasn't had the votes to circumvent filibusters. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell used a budget procedure to bring the bill to the floor. President Barack Obama will assuredly veto the bill if the House approves the measure. USA Today

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The move by Secretary Ash Carter overturns a rule that restricted women from combat roles. It will open 220,000 military jobs to women and comes as a deadline by the White House to force this measure approached in January. NYT

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