Super Ultra Mega CEO

“We in Japan learned in the bubble economy that businesses who pursue money first, fail.”

– Haruka Nishimatsu, President and CEO of Japan Airlines.

Here’s a leader who keeps the collective goals of his organization in context. Mr. Nishimatsu cut his salary, benefits, and any other corporate perk when JAL asked for early retirements and layoffs.

The mentality in the U.S. is far different… “performance-based-pay” has become a mantra for businesses. There are benefits to the idea of paying for performance, but that model has been pumped full of steroids and allowed to wreak havoc. I have no problem paying my waiter a bigger tip for remembering what I drink and giving me excellent service, but that model just isn’t scalable all the way up to the CEO’s of international companies.

CEOs are compensated (and traded) more like professional athletes. I’m not doubting that Mr. Nishimitsu isn’t being rewarded in other ways for his service to JAL. I’m sure he owns stock in the company, and benefits financially as JAL succeeds. In his case, though, he’s actually leading. His actions enroll the rest of JAL’s employees to see their work in context of the company’s success. Nishimatsu is a leader, not just a guy who can dunk great, but who doesn’t pass the ball very much.

For what it’s worth, I bet Lloyd Blankfein can’t dunk.