iBooyah.com: Corporate Phoniness
There are two types of corporate phoniness that exist in the business world. The first is the phoniness we often find in our daily work routines. These include the fake hand-shakes, the fake smile you get from colleagues and the usual corporate BS that Human Resource (HR) puts out for everyone to follow. The following are just a few examples; chances are you have come across them at some point:
- When asked why we come to work everyday, our usual response is usually something to the effect of wanting to contribute and make a difference. The real reason of course is because we need to feed the family.
- When asked to take on extra assignments, we would often attempt to spin the issue by looking at it as if it were an opportunity. The truth is we must accept it in order to keep our job.
- You meet a person in a meeting; he/she is smiling, talking and listening to your ideas. After the meeting is over, if you bump into that same person in the hall, not a word is utter, not even a hello.
The second type of phoniness has to do with how a corporation is run. I am referring to the issue of corporate governance that has been all over the news of late. The latest example is Hewlett Packard (HPQ) breaking the law in an attempt to find a leak within their board. This example highlights a culture of elitism which exists in the corporate world. The notion of being untouchable given their wealth is rampant among corporate officers. Personally, I hope the government makes an example of this case and throws this woman in jail. For some reason, executives look good in hand-cuff.
Another example of phoniness in corporate governance is the excessive compensation that corporate officers receive. If I remember correctly, a typical CEO once was paid about 4x the salary of an individual contributor. The typically CEO today makes about 400x. These same CEO often complains about giving employees their typical 2% yearly raise. Yes, sickening, but true.
Phoniness is nothing new and is part of life. It is important to recognize their existence and protect yourself by questioning people’s motives and true intentions. Phoniness is sometime a good thing since it reveals the true nature of the people around us. My suggestion is to accept it and learn to deal with it.
