Redefining success
We need new values. The world of business and finance has largely been constructed by men and hence the value system reflects this and is very masculine. The most extreme cases of this presented itself in investment banking. We have seen extreme risk taking, short-term orientation, excessive individual incentives, narrow definitions of profits with little emphasis on ethical behaviour and corporate governance. Investment bankers became “deal junkies” hooked on making the next big fee and they were in some cases willing to do almost anything to get that fee. We have seen plenty of examples of excessive and greedy pay packages for people who perhaps turned incredible profits for a few years but have also been responsible for some of the biggest losses seen in history in recent months. Isn’t it interesting that there are almost no women to be found among the key leaders of the many failed companies and banks across the Western World? I am not going to maintain that we could have avoided the crisis by hiring more women, but I am convinced that we can do better by introducing healthier values and philosophies as we proceed.
We need to redefine our definitions of success and aim for long-term sustainable success. We need more feminine values mixed in with the masculine values we already have so much of. We need more risk-awareness, straight talking and transparency as we must understand the risks we take. We need to care how we make a profit and have ethical and corporate principles to guide our behaviours. And we need more emotional capital in the world of finance. The real value in any company today is in its people and its culture.
