The Malta Independent
This was the title of an editorial of the Financial Times last Wednesday when it was commenting on recent boardroom shake ups in two major benchmark US corporations.
Boeing accepted the resignation of its Chief Executive Philip Condit, which followed that of the finance director Mike Sears the previous week, to give the company a chance of a fresh start following ethics digressions in competing for military contracts of the Pentagon. Boeing had as a result been stripped of multi-billion dollar contracts it had been awarded by the US government.
Disney this week marked the departure of two board directors, Stanley Gold and Roy Disney (the last Disney on the Board), who in a letter of resignation complained bitterly of the fossilisation which the leadership of Michael Eisner has brought to the organisation. They even accused Eisner of stifling discussion on the Board.
I dare say that Eisner`s criticism is justified in that the company that invented the cartoon film has lost all the edge on the product and needs to rely on smaller animation film-maker Pixar to supply it with such successes as Toy Story, Bug`s Life and the latest showpiece Finding Nemo.
The final comment of the FT editorial is indeed telling and worth quoting: 'There are lessons for those who believe the unity of the board is the key to business success. Unity has to be the outcome of vigorous discussion, not the suppression of dissent. However much directors might feel like supporting one another, sometimes the top person has to go. And if the reluctance of the board to act imperils the company, directors might, very rarely, have to expose its failure with well-publicised resignations'
Following the performance of the two main Party leaders this week in criticising the budget and the replica to such criticism, I could only conclude that the `Time to go` appeal is very much applicable to Malta`s political scene.
The Prime Minister still believes that we can continue to solve the accumulating problems by simply talking positively about them. It is clear that to make a success inside the EU we need different leadership skills from those the Prime Minister has used to get us there. The Leader of the Opposition, rather than position Labour as an alternative government with bubbling solutions to the problems that government can`t solve, has re-proposed taking people to the streets in protest demonstrations. Government incompetence is now so glaring, its fatigue so tangible, that any Leader of the Opposition without Dr Sant`s problem of credibility, could instantly become the people`s majority choice. But credibility is much like virginity, once lost it cannot be recovered.
The `time to go` concept should cascade further down. Certainly there is ample case for a new hand at the Ministry of Finance. Presenting 10 budgets in 11 years would exhaust even the most capable. Exhaustion acts as a barrier to devising new solutions to problems which incumbents have difficulty to acknowledge and much greater difficulty to admit fault to.
The President of the Republic has also had his ample turn in Maltese political life and nothing short of an outright negation of any intention to pursue any other political appointments can preserve the dignity of the highest post of office.
The Archbishop has already offered his resignation. A new hand at the Church also needs to re-generate the Church to take it back to its evangelical roots ensuring that it remains the social conscience of the nation rather than seeking cosy relationships with the establishment.
If our leaders really mean well to the country and want to give us a prospect of a better future they should organise their gentlemanly exit during 2004 to make space for a new breed of leaders who can really take us forward to making a success inside the EU.
One of the main qualities of leadership is in knowing when it is time to go for the larger benefit of the organisation at the expense of unavoidable personal recrimination. The inner strength to surpass the natural inclination to hold on. Leaders are also judged by history through their judicious choice of the time to go. If only our leaders will acknowledge that the time has come for them to serve us better by going rather than by staying.
This was the title of an editorial of the Financial Times last Wednesday when it was commenting on recent boardroom shake ups in two major benchmark US corporations. Boeing accepted the resignation of its Chief Executive Philip Condit, which followed that of the finance director Mike Sears the previous week, to give the company a chance of a fresh start following ethics digressions in competing for military contracts of the Pentagon. Boeing had as a result been stripped of multi-billion dollar contracts it had been awarded by the US government.
Disney this week marked the departure of two board directors, Stanley Gold and Roy Disney (the last Disney on the Board), who in a letter of resignation complained bitterly of the fossilisation which the leadership of Michael Eisner has brought to the organisation. They even accused Eisner of stifling discussion on the Board.
I dare say that Eisner`s criticism is justified in that the company that invented the cartoon film has lost all the edge on the product and needs to rely on smaller animation film-maker Pixar to supply it with such successes as Toy Story, Bug`s Life and the latest showpiece Finding Nemo.
The final comment of the FT editorial is indeed telling and worth quoting: 'There are lessons for those who believe the unity of the board is the key to business success. Unity has to be the outcome of vigorous discussion, not the suppression of dissent. However much directors might feel like supporting one another, sometimes the top person has to go. And if the reluctance of the board to act imperils the company, directors might, very rarely, have to expose its failure with well-publicised resignations'
Following the performance of the two main Party leaders this week in criticising the budget and the replica to such criticism, I could only conclude that the `Time to go` appeal is very much applicable to Malta`s political scene.
The Prime Minister still believes that we can continue to solve the accumulating problems by simply talking positively about them. It is clear that to make a success inside the EU we need different leadership skills from those the Prime Minister has used to get us there. The Leader of the Opposition, rather than position Labour as an alternative government with bubbling solutions to the problems that government can`t solve, has re-proposed taking people to the streets in protest demonstrations. Government incompetence is now so glaring, its fatigue so tangible, that any Leader of the Opposition without Dr Sant`s problem of credibility, could instantly become the people`s majority choice. But credibility is much like virginity, once lost it cannot be recovered.
The `time to go` concept should cascade further down. Certainly there is ample case for a new hand at the Ministry of Finance. Presenting 10 budgets in 11 years would exhaust even the most capable. Exhaustion acts as a barrier to devising new solutions to problems which incumbents have difficulty to acknowledge and much greater difficulty to admit fault to.
The President of the Republic has also had his ample turn in Maltese political life and nothing short of an outright negation of any intention to pursue any other political appointments can preserve the dignity of the highest post of office.
The Archbishop has already offered his resignation. A new hand at the Church also needs to re-generate the Church to take it back to its evangelical roots ensuring that it remains the social conscience of the nation rather than seeking cosy relationships with the establishment.
If our leaders really mean well to the country and want to give us a prospect of a better future they should organise their gentlemanly exit during 2004 to make space for a new breed of leaders who can really take us forward to making a success inside the EU.
One of the main qualities of leadership is in knowing when it is time to go for the larger benefit of the organisation at the expense of unavoidable personal recrimination. The inner strength to surpass the natural inclination to hold on. Leaders are also judged by history through their judicious choice of the time to go. If only our leaders will acknowledge that the time has come for them to serve us better by going rather than by staying.
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