Listening to a YouTube video about RVing, boondocking etc, and the guy said “Don’t be a jerk. Leave the campsite better than you found it.”
I would like to send the same message to our CEO: CHARLIE, DON’T BE A JERK. LEAVE WELLS FARGO BETTER THAN YOU FOUND IT.
Let’s say you have made your #1 goal to cut headcount by 25%. You still have 75% of the employees who should be able to trust that you are exploring and implementing other responsible cost-reductions as well. You still have 75% of the employees who want to be empowered and know they will be treated fairly by you. Though you have taken the word “team” out of all communications, we will perform better if we can trust our CEO is working with us, rather than conspiring against us. Just as campers are stewards of the land they visit, you are the privileged steward of Wells Fargo and hopefully will challenge yourself to achieve superior returns by doing good for Wells Fargo shareholders, employees and society at large.
Show us that you can be a strategic businessman and a decent human being at the same time. A good CEO brings people together during the difficult times. A good CEO recognizes the emotional toll mass layoffs have on employees, and seeks to address and reassure his employees that better times are on the way. Are better times on the way? Because your leadership so far, leads me to question if there are positive outcomes for anyone other than yourself. A good CEO can steer a company through layoffs with compassion and integrity, while at the same time motivating the organization to create a healthy growing company which provides long-term shareholder value.
An excellent CEO will leave Wells Fargo better than he found it.