Take Me To Your Leader

Every so often, a nation faces a test of character.  There comes a decision-point that poses a question of values and priorities to our legislators, our business and community leaders and ourselves.  Recently, we saw Republican legislators in the United States fail dismally at such an examination when they voted down a series of moderate and widely-supported gun reforms (as discussed in my previous post, Under The Gun).  Australia is currently facing a test of its own and it is revealing some interesting insights into some our largest businesses.

Earlier this week, the Gillard Government announced a 0.5% increase in the Medicare Levy to help fund the implementation of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).  The need for and the benefits of the Scheme seem almost inarguable.  Either implicitly or explicitly, most of us recognise that the NDIS is a matter of fundamental human rights in that it seeks to re-balance (at least to some extent) the decades of disadvantage heaped upon the already fragile shoulders of disabled people in our community (themes explored in previous posts, A Poverty of Will and The Discretionary People).  Above and beyond the fact that it is simply the right thing to do is the finding from the Productivity Commission that the NDIS also represents a long-term economic benefit to our nation.  You would be hard pressed to find a policy that carries such a beautiful balance of fairness and economics.

The question, of course, has always been about the financial - how do we pay for a NDIS in the short-term? It is a fair question.  That question has now been (partially) answered.  Fascinatingly, beyond some cheap inflammatory commentary in the usual trash media (deliberately designed to bait and provoke), the response has been little more than a shrug of the shoulders from most or, often, rapturous applause with many proudly announcing their willingness to forgo the two coffees a week it would take for their most vulnerable fellow Australians to have a better shot at a fair-go.  Indeed, such has been the prevailing public sympathy for the NDIS that the Opposition, despite some initial sniping, appears to have read the wind and is on the verge of supporting the bill into law before the next election.

Well done, Australia!  Our community and legislators look like passing this test with character and morality in place.  It's enough to restore your faith and pride.

But, as the saying goes, there's always one, isn't there?

In this case the one is two: the CEO of Myer, Bernie Brookes, and the Chair of Wesfarmers, Bob Every,  who have criticised the proposed 0.5% increase on the Medicare Levy because of a potential, unproven, impact on their businesses and, presumably, bonus schemes.  Now, we live in a democracy and it is of course their right to voice an opinion on such matters.  But the comments by Brookes and Every come across as particularly hollow self-interest in the context of the acceptance of the levy increase among so many of those who are the ones who actually have to pay it.  This self-serving hollowness is particularly deep in the case of Wesfarmers, a company which has based its success on putting Australians out of business and out of work (in case you'd like to join the boycott of these companies, Wesfarmers retail interests include Coles, Bunnings, Target, K Mart and Officeworks).

No-one would debate that Australian retailers - big and small - face a number of key challenges.  Perhaps, the very reasons for the inability of our largest retailers to respond to the issues they face are revealed in Brookes' and Every's reaction to the levy increase.  That is, these comments just under-score the rank failure of leadership within our corporate retailers.

Brookes' comments could almost be forgiven as yet another inept action by a CEO who seems incapable of making a good strategic decision.  But, of course, the storm caused by his words just highlights how out of touch Brookes is with his market.  Any shop-owner in any corner store would tell you that it's not good business practice to antagonise your customers.  Myer will weather this tempest, but it will be just more damage to the mast of ship already short a rudder.

Every's comments shed even more light on how it is that such highly paid and, allegedly, intelligent people can be so out of touch.  Every is quoted as saying, "What we need to focus on is what we have to have, not what would be nice to have."    

Sorry, son, that wheelchair is a "nice to have".  We have to return it to Bunnings

These comments can only be described as dickish, particularly coming from the Chair of company that makes its money largely by selling things that are "nice to have".  They are born of a degree of privilege that us ordinary folk can only marvel at.  Herein lays the seeds of failure for our major retailers - it's not in taxes or levies imposed by government but in the segregation between the leaders of these companies and their markets - we, the people.  In my professional life, I have been lucky enough to work with many excellent CEOs and Directors, the best of whom never allow themselves to forget where they came from or that revenue is something to be earned every day and is not an entitlement.  Among our major retailers, forgetting where you came from and forgetting who serves who seems to be part of the job description. Perhaps, instead of pointing the finger of blame at the government who propped up these companies and their executive salaries during the GFC, our retailers and their shareholders need to take a good long hard at who they've put in charge of their ships.  The breathtaking misunderstanding of public sentiment on this issue and the seemingly hard-wired sense of privilege and entitlement with which Brookes and Every speak would suggest that they are ill-equipped for the challenges that face their respective organisations.  One might even say they have disabled their organisations ... [fades to static]