by Chris Banescu –
YouTube, currently the largest video platform in the world, does not provide search functionality for your liked or saved videos. You’re allowed to search all YouTube videos for specific key words and terms, but you cannot search solely within your own lists of liked or saved videos. [Read more…]
Executive Hubris
Corporations Condition People to Submit to Tyranny – Chris Banescu EpochTV Interview
I was recently interviewed by Siyamak Khorrami, host of the California Insider show that’s broadcast on EpochTV. We discussed the outrageous manner in which executives abuse employees, disregard free-market capitalistic principles, destroy lives and economic value, and condition people to submit to tyranny.
The California Insider program showcases leaders and professionals across California with inside information about trending topics and critical issues. [Read more…]
Dysfunctional Companies Suppress the Truth, Stifle Dissent, and Ignore Reality
by Chris Banescu –
A common characteristic of all dysfunctional organizations is the systematic abandonment and eventual suppression of the truth, and its substitution with half-truths, distortions, and lies. Once truth no longer supports and validates everything that happens in a company, management’s ability to understand what is really going on, take corrective action, and make the right decisions is compromised. [Read more…]
Southwest Airlines Schools American Airlines on Treating Pilots Fairly and Decently
by Chris Banescu –
The Boeing 737 MAX disaster provides us with an opportunity to evaluate some leadership qualities of top executives at two major U.S. airlines, Southwest and American. The CEOs of these corporations have chosen fundamentally different responses to their pilots and employees who were negatively affected by the extended grounding of the 737 MAX planes.
One CEO shows himself to be a man of character and integrity. The other one not so much. Southwest Airlines’ top leader, Gary Kelly, is treating the company pilots fairly and decently. American Airlines’ CEO, Doug Parker, could care less about the concerns of their pilots. [Read more…]
PayPal: Take The Darn Survey Or Else!
by Chris Banescu –
Just three days after providing my business with a debit card I never requested or wanted, PayPal manages to insult and frustrate me again. Immediately after logging into my account, instead of viewing the Summary (dashboard) page that normally lists the latest financial data and activity on my account, I was met with a demand to fill out a survey. The message box replaced my normal view of the latest transactions and payments, and completely blocked my view of the Summary page information (see first survey screen shot below).
Summary Dashboard Page Held Hostage
The message read as follows: “Please take a moment to let us know what you think about the redesigned display of information on this page. Thanks!” PayPal offered me no way to bypass or close the message. My only choice was to click on the “Provide Feedback” option right bellow the message. My Summary page was being held hostage until I complied with PayPal’s demand to complete their survey. [Read more…]
PayPal: Here’s That Debit Card You Didn’t Ask For
by Chris Banescu –
Today I received the PayPal Business Debit Mastercard that I didn’t ask for and didn’t want. A few weeks ago PayPal notified me of their decision to issue this debit card for my account. They did not bother to ask me first. They didn’t request my permission first. They didn’t give me the option to opt in. They sent it to me anyway.
First Email
Originally PayPal sent an email informing me of this “new benefit to your existing PayPal Business account” which they decided was good for me. They made that decision based on my “history as a PayPal customer.” PayPal’s long-winded email (six paragraphs long) touted the many benefits of this new card. No clear option to opt in or opt out was evident anywhere. No large or visible button or bolded “Yes, Send It” (opt-in) or “No Thank You” (opt-out) link was provided. [Read more…]
Warning Signs of Power Corruption in Organizations
by Chris Banescu –
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or certainty of corruption by full authority. There is no worse heresy than the fact that the office sanctifies the holder of it. – Lord Acton
Lord Acton’s dictum, made in 1887, clearly warns us that the practice of wielding power and influence can corrode the character of leaders. History is replete with examples of individuals who wielded unchecked power and eroded not only their own integrity, but also the ethical and moral foundations of the organizations they led and brought them to catastrophe and ruin. This danger is true of all organizations including businesses, religious institutions, and governments.
Here is the risk inherent in leadership: The greater the leader’s power, wealth, authority, and influence, the more likely the leader could succumb to ethical lapses and moral failings. The risk increases if the organization has a culture that lacks financial or managerial transparency and accountability, has insufficient checks and balances on executive power, and discourages criticism from subordinates or members. When a leader with a poorly developed ethical or moral sense ends up leading an organization with a culture that prevents ethical self-examination, a slow but perfect storm starts to form that demands compromise from all levels of leadership and eventually leads to catastrophic consequences. [Read more…]