Page 142 - Executive Warfare

EXECUTIVE W ARF ARE

an executive who was a big star for me.Let’s call him Pete.He was in his mid-
40s and somebody to whom I wanted to give a huge chunk of additional
responsibilities.But Pete had reached the level where he had to become more
familiar to the board members before he could move any higher.
It was the perfect environment. We were in Rome, thousands of miles
from the office. It was a free night from the conference, so I arranged for
a very influential board member and his wife to have dinner with Pete and
me. The board member wasn’t quite a king-maker, but he did have enough
power to stop a prince he didn’t like.
We had a drink at the dinner table,
we ordered a bottle of wine, and every-
YOU CAN BE HURT thing was going swimmingly. Then we
BY SOMEBODY reached the primi piatti, and Pete sud-
WHO IS ACTUALLY denly dropped his face into the truffles
DOING A GOOD JOB and tagliatelle and completely passed
BUT HAS MADE A out.
BAD IMPRESSION It turned out that he was so nervous
ON YOUR CEO OR about meeting the board member that
BOARD OF he’d had three martinis at the hotel
DIRECTORS. before dinner. I think those were the
most expensive martinis anyone has
ever ordered. They were a career-
croaker for him. I had to tell the guy the next morning,“I’m happy to have
you stay in your job, but you are not going anyplace now.”
And that nosedive into the pasta made me look like an idiot. I had to
spend the next year being careful about all my personnel moves.
Given their increasing sense of personal liability since the Enron scan-
dal, outside board members are bolder and bolder in questioning per-
sonnel decisions. They are more likely to be highly critical of any of your
hires who make it onto their radar. They are more likely to block the
advancement of anyone they don’t like—or even force you to throw the
person overboard.

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