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&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span&gt;Associated Press/Richard Drew&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0px;&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;OK, so John Thain&#39;s not exactly your average, run-of-the-mill executive, and he wasn&#39;t exactly in charge of your average, run-of-the-mill company, and he definitely didn&#39;t get or leave his job in an average, run-of-the-mill kind of a way. But that doesn&#39;t mean there aren’t a few things we can all learn about the fine art of management from the recently deposed head of Merrill Lynch, right? To that end, I&#39;ve compiled a short list of do&#39;s and don&#39;ts for current or wannabe execs to follow, gleaned from careful observation of Thain&#39;s tenure at the famed investment house (now a unit of Bank of America).&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;DO:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt; Take over a legendary company at its lowest ebb, right after it&#39;s fired an expensive, high-profile CEO who&#39;s brought it to its knees. Surely the only way to take such a firm is up, right? That&#39;s a career-defining no-brainer that only an idiot would pass up.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;DON&#39;T:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt; Run the company further into the ground, forcing you to sell it in a last minute deal rather than face the prospect of bankruptcy.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;DO:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt; Negotiate a salary that makes you one of the best-paid executives in the country (and therefore the world), regardless of your performance. Rule of thumb: the bigger the previous quarter&#39;s losses, the more you&#39;re entitled to ask for. For example, should your predecessor meet his demise after announcing the company&#39;s worst quarter in its history (losing, say, $9.8 billion following a $16.7 billion write-down of &quot;assets&quot;), then anything less than $50 million is an insult. Feel free to justify what seem to be exorbitant demands by claiming &quot;best in breed&quot; status—it takes a special talent to do what you&#39;re about to, so you should be compensated accordingly.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;DON&#39;T:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt; Negotiate a salary that includes stock options or awards. Not only are they pass&#233;, they&#39;re likely to lose a bunch of value should your reign happen to be a calamitous train-wreck that sees the firm get sold off in a fire-sale that also destroys the share price of the company that buys your firm.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;DO:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt; Lay off underperforming staff members in a bid to improve performance. No business can afford to have people around who are wasting the firm&#39;s resources, especially in a time of crisis.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;DON&#39;T:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt; Spend $1.2 million redecorating your office while the ink&#39;s still drying on the pink slips of those you&#39;ve let go. Sure, that kind of money&#39;s a drop in the ocean in your world, but try to keep a sense of perspective. To help, maybe a framed picture of the national average salary (a little over $40,000 according to the &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;Bureau of Labor Statistics&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;, or approximately one thirtieth of Thain&#39;s decoration expenses) could have found its way onto the wall above the now-infamous $35,000 commode.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;DO:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt; Blame your predecessor for all the ills that continue to afflict the firm under your stewardship—especially if he lost a fortune in the sub-prime mortgage derivatives market. It&#39;s important to remind people from time to time that the mess you&#39;re working to clear up isn’t one of your own making.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;DON&#39;T:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt; Double-down in the same markets that pushed the firm to the brink in the first place.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;DO:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt; Reward staff for great performance. Like, say, if they make a profit.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;DON&#39;T:&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt; Rush out billions of dollars of bonus checks to your employees right before the official handover of your firm. Especially when the acquiring firm&#39;s employees aren&#39;t getting bonuses on account of their employer receiving government funds to keep them afloat. And, uh, definitely don&#39;t do it a month earlier than usual, and right after losing $15 billion in a single quarter. Whatever your motivation, you can&#39;t help but look like you&#39;re behaving underhandedly and, given the circumstances, like you&#39;re looting the federal government for one last payday before you go.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;margin: 0in 0in 10pt; line-height: normal;&quot; class=&quot;MsoNormal&quot;&gt;&lt;span class=&quot;Apple-style-span&quot;&gt;Is there a moral somewhere in all of this? Sure. A CEO is the most visible representative of his or her firm to the public, and as such, they have a responsibility not only to act in the best interests of their business, but to do so ethically and responsibly. A CEO behaving in a manner that&#39;s completely out of touch with the real world sends a message that things like humility, common sense and respect for one&#39;s colleagues and shareholders aren&#39;t necessary within that organization. Not only that, but as Vault&#39;s CEO pointed out here recently, it gives all CEO&#39;s—even the good ones—a bad name.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Phil Stott

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