Farewell to a grey man in a gray suit with grey ideas. Although possessed of a limited vision, Roman nevertheless lacked the charisma to achieve it. 3M became weaker by many multiples during his tenure- the stock was around 258.00 per share on his first day. Although the collapse is not entirely his fault, it is his responsibility and an object lesson of what is wrong with the corporate world. The rules change once a person achieves a certain level in a large corporation, and Roman personally enriched himself because of the rule change.
Boards do not punish failure but excuse it for too long before finally paying massive dollars to make the perpetrator disappear or, in this case, make them a figurehead as the board's executive chairman. Such is the case with Mike Roman—the grey man with the grey suit and grey ideas. Maybe the next guy can bring in a splash of color. Whether that color will be commensurate with the massive dollars 3M is paying him is anybody's guess.