Great list. Thanks.
I'm not sure I'll ever understand the step between "I know that I shouldn't hide billions in losses" to "It just happened". To add insult to injury, these events are not over in a few days. Oh, no. We get to enjoy them from months as they unravel and fingers are pointed.
The thing is that many of these decisions/actions just seem so stupid. If I don't laugh, I cry.
Sadly, these stories and these lists get longer every year and it is almost to the point that we expect companies to have these things going on. Maybe it's the age of internet where we have more exposure and get more details on the stories but it seemed like years ago you would hear maybe one or two of these major blunders in a year. Now, it's a challenge to see which 10 are the worst out of many to make the list.
I'm not sure I'll ever understand the step between "I know that I shouldn't hide billions in losses" to "It just happened".
So true...and yes, so sad you have to laugh over the sheer audacity of it.
The episode where HP was led by Leo Apotheker stands out as one of the worst examples of board leadership in recent memory.
Would you believe the board hiried Apotheker without interviewing him? Yep. They were still reeling from spirited discussions over the dismissal of the previous CEO.
Wow.
People can look quite different on paper. Not interviewing him was just reckless - there is no way to know if he matches the corporate culture.
Two from the list are investor fraud, two are where somebody took the money and ran and two are (assuming foul play was involved) where somebody took the data and ran. Bad business decisions yes, but in this type of white collar crime the worst decision is getting caught!
BTW happy holidays to the IU crew and congrats on the Eppy!
Thanks Heinrich! Happy holidays to you too
Great round-up, Sherri! Here's hoping that the list will be a lot shorter in 2012, though I'm not overly optimistic.
What I am optimistic about is the power of the little guy through social media to spread the word about sub-par products and performance (RIM, Netflix, Groupon), and actions that jeopardize the consumer (B of A, Sony).
When I look at how most of these companies and situations were exhaustively discussed and dissected on the IU message boards, I feel slightly ahead of the snowball as opposed to crushed by the avalanche!
Yes it was a year full of blunders at one point I thought Netflix was just vying to get the Harvard Business case written in record time. Hopefully other companies learn from these public mishaps and lapses of judgment but I am pretty sure you will have another list in 2012! Happy Holidays!
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