Recession-Proof CEO's

[Russell]

Wish my job was "Recession-Proof"...

"Canadians may still be feeling the pain from a worldwide economic meltdown caused by reckless financial speculation, but Canada's business elite has preserved its privileged position," CCPA research associate Hugh Mackenzie says in the report, released Monday.

Mackenzie suggests that at this rate, "this handful of elite CEOs pocket the equivalent of the average Canadian wage by 2:30 pm on Jan. 3 — the first working day of the year."

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2011/0...#ixzz1A0BzxTtu

[J-hop]

Re: Recession-Proof CEO's

i like it haha, motivates us lesser beings to strive to be at the top one day.

[MusicalGenius]

Re: Recession-Proof CEO's

I read a similar post this morning.

http://www.thestar.com/business/arti...g-pay-for-ceos

It's truly mind boggling isn't it. Imagining if my boss even made four times what I make would cause a severe uproar.

[RONDAL]

Re: Recession-Proof CEO's

people only think about the good.
what people dont realize is that CEO's are not only the face of the company, they are where the buck stops.

Take former BP CEO tony hayward.

The guy had NOTHING to do with a drill bit going into the ground in the gulf of mexico, but he was ultimately responsible for what happend. He could also be criminally prosecuted if things came to that. Being a CEO is more than just attending shareholder meetings and deciding the direction of a company. THere's a lot of liability that comes with being an officer

[Stonewall]

Re: Recession-Proof CEO's

Peon ftw

[MusicalGenius]

Re: Recession-Proof CEO's

CEOs have a place, but it's a place that is continually getting further pushed into the stratosphere. Unnecessarily at that. If you consider just what they're actually doing in these giant corporations it's really quite minimal. They're a face, and if successful usually skilled delegators. That being said, they're not the be all bosses they're paid to be though. They approve and deny decisions based less on instinct, but based more so on the advice and consideration of a team of analysts.

[bonfire]

Re: Recession-Proof CEO's

That comment tells me you have no idea what you are talking about. Having grown up surrounded by some CEO's of bigger companies, and having a father who has been there. It is much more than just a figurehead. The stress, the travelling, the board constantly stirring your ****, the stockholders breathing down your neck. Analysts, can thrash your company if you don't announce accurate guidance. The weight of your work force is on your mind. Imagine having to make the call to cut x% of your staff. There is a reason lots of CEO's are divorced, or have been on the way to the top.

Teams of analysts? You have your senior management team, and maybe an analyst or two. But there aren't teams of aids/analysts/dick suckers.

You would cause an uproar if your boss made 4x more than you? What are you going to do? Pout? Call him names? Quit? Do you think he/she got to where he is by doing those things? **** no.

You want to make bank? Work harder, be accurate, think smart, get **** done. Stop bitching about the money, and do something about it or don't and stay where you are.

[RONDAL]

Re: Recession-Proof CEO's

That comment tells me you have no idea what you are talking about. Having grown up surrounded by some CEO's of bigger companies, and having a father who has been there. It is much more than just a figurehead. The stress, the travelling, the board constantly stirring your ****, the stockholders breathing down your neck. Analysts, can thrash your company if you don't announce accurate guidance. The weight of your work force is on your mind. Imagine having to make the call to cut x% of your staff. There is a reason lots of CEO's are divorced, or have been on the way to the top.

Teams of analysts? You have your senior management team, and maybe an analyst or two. But there aren't teams of aids/analysts/dick suckers.

You would cause an uproar if your boss made 4x more than you? What are you going to do? Pout? Call him names? Quit? Do you think he/she got to where he is by doing those things? **** no.

You want to make bank? Work harder, be accurate, think smart, get **** done. Stop bitching about the money, and do something about it or don't and stay where you are.

x2

i've seen the stress first hand senior management deals with, and as much as i want to be there, im no where ready to handle it. stress is ridiculous, and what it can do to your health is mind boggling.

[Russell]

Re: Recession-Proof CEO's

The question here is the rate of compension and that goes for everyone no matter your position... Is this really a fair rate of compension for work done?

[bonfire]

Re: Recession-Proof CEO's

Yes

[MusicalGenius]

Re: Recession-Proof CEO's

Amusing as your retort may have been, it's laced with emotional connections and a lack of substance.

A single analyst can effectively break down an entire companies metrics. In a larger corporation you'll have a team to dissect this vast array of information. Everything from run rates, to forecasts, to year over year growth. Is it stressful managing people, yes, at no point did I say otherwise. However the compensation given to these elite individuals far outweighs their actual duties.

Being forced to cut X% of a work force is a downright unsettling decision to make, however at no point is that person ever going to have to personally fire anyone. They delegate that task to other employees. The people who really put up the walls and deal with the emotional part of that task aren't even given praise for their ability to do their job.

So, your company has a publicly displayed error. You're liable to an extent, not fully responsible because you're virtually guaranteed to have a well backed legal team. Why? Well if your company is big enough to warrant a public display, you can afford that team. Regardless of negative PR.

Let's look at a small to medium business setting. We're talking under 50 employees here. Your business, regardless of sector requires it's staff. It also requires balance, if you pay your CEO a grossly exaggerated salary when compared to your other staff you will shift the ability of the company to properly operate. Those staff which you require to keep you afloat are completely able to leave your company without any reason if they dislike their treatment or if they find another position in an organization with a greater level of understanding.

Anyone can pout or throw a fit, but if your staff are getting screwed over they can easily revolt. Leaving your company in murky waters and without the ability to swim. Without your workforce your company will slowly cave in on itself, cannibalizing until it dies.

By all means compensate the people making hard decisions, but do so in a manner that will benefit the survival of your company. Negative PR and treating your employees like trash will only come back to haunt you time and time again.

[cam_wmh]

Re: Recession-Proof CEO's

Amusing as your retort may have been, it's laced with emotional connections and a lack of substance.

A single analyst can effectively break down an entire companies metrics. In a larger corporation you'll have a team to dissect this vast array of information. Everything from run rates, to forecasts, to year over year growth. Is it stressful managing people, yes, at no point did I say otherwise. However the compensation given to these elite individuals far outweighs their actual duties.

Being forced to cut X% of a work force is a downright unsettling decision to make, however at no point is that person ever going to have to personally fire anyone. They delegate that task to other employees. The people who really put up the walls and deal with the emotional part of that task aren't even given praise for their ability to do their job.

So, your company has a publicly displayed error. You're liable to an extent, not fully responsible because you're virtually guaranteed to have a well backed legal team. Why? Well if your company is big enough to warrant a public display, you can afford that team. Regardless of negative PR.

Let's look at a small to medium business setting. We're talking under 50 employees here. Your business, regardless of sector requires it's staff. It also requires balance, if you pay your CEO a grossly exaggerated salary when compared to your other staff you will shift the ability of the company to properly operate. Those staff which you require to keep you afloat are completely able to leave your company without any reason if they dislike their treatment or if they find another position in an organization with a greater level of understanding.

Anyone can pout or throw a fit, but if your staff are getting screwed over they can easily revolt. Leaving your company in murky waters and without the ability to swim. Without your workforce your company will slowly cave in on itself, cannibalizing until it dies.

By all means compensate the people making hard decisions, but do so in a manner that will benefit the survival of your company. Negative PR and treating your employees like trash will only come back to haunt you time and time again.

Which is why the majority of an Exec's pay (for the past 30+yrs), is performance driven. I directly benefit from it (unbiased? hardly), but I'm in agreement, about the stigma associated with rates of compensation -- for those Exec's running poorly performing companies.

[Canadian Turbo]

Re: Recession-Proof CEO's

Well one could argue that during a recession is the most difficult time to run a company and be a CEO, thus demanding larger compensation. I also think that a lot of companies in this country did not have as hard of a time as they have made it seem. In my numbers experience I have seen a lot of companies decline in revenue but improve margins and even profits.

[Stonewall]

Re: Recession-Proof CEO's

Oh course CEO's are making waaaaay to much money. That is why there is virtually no middle class anymore.

[Kor]

Re: Recession-Proof CEO's

As someone who has been an executive for a mid sized company I can speak from experience and say that you carry about 100x the responsibility and stress compared to anyone else in the company including upper/mid level managers. I am not exaggerating either. A lot of people have no idea what that kind of job entails. It absolutely is extremely difficult to balance that kind of job and retain your health never mind any kind of personal life. If I had to compare it to some other job I would say it's like being a doctor in a hospital who is making life/death decisions and is on call 24/7.

The people who can do that for huge corporations year over year and do a good job are exceedingly skilled and rare individuals. They are compensated for their abilities but also how rare it is to find someone like that who has proven themselves in the past.

These people can influence profits by hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars over their terms. If someone told you that they would turn your $1000 into $2000 if you let them keep 1%, would you do it? Of course you would. Same thing goes when someone says they can turn your 1 billion dollar company into a 2 billion dollar company.

Face it the world is competitive. Same reason hockey players or other pro athletes make big bucks. There are only so many of them and people pay what is necessary to retain talent. If you don't pay then someone else will make a business case to steal that talent away from you. And sure there are always a few CEO's who are losers and sewer their companies while they are taking in big salaries - just like in athletics when the #1 draft pick never does anything.

When I hear people say that CEO's make too much money all I hear is ignorance and jealousy for the most part. Hey maybe you should start your own company if you think that the world owes you something.