What we stand for

Chief Executive, The, May, 2005 by William J. Holstein

New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer attacked me personally when he appeared on "This Week," the George Stephanopoulos Sunday morning television show. When the host mentioned my comment several months ago that any chief executive would have to think twice before locating a business in New York State, Spitzer shot back, calling me "the voice for the corrupt CEOs," rather than for the vast majority who are honest.

Many of you may have been on the receiving end of comments like that, although very few of you have been singled out by Spitzer. There is no way to respond directly without sounding like Richard Nixon when he remarked, "I am not a criminal."

The wiser course of action is to explain, clearly and crisply, what I believe in and what this magazine stands for. I believe that chief executives have incredibly important jobs to do. You are at the heart of how wealth is created. You are responsible for the innovation that has changed all our lives. You take huge risks and make big sacrifices of your personal time. When you deliver value to your employees, customers and shareholders, you deserve to be rewarded. The media and the general public understand little of this.

Our job at Chief Executive is to help sort out the good from the bad. Yes, we write for CEOs and are pleased to be a platform that allows you to communicate with your peers. But we maintain some critical distance. We applaud when a CEO does something right. But we also criticize them when leaders stray from the proper path.

Our CEO of the Year selection process, now in its 20th year, is at the heart of our franchise. This year's winner, George David, has created a huge success at United Technologies. To understand more about how he's done it, see our story that starts on page 30 and also read the full interview at www.chiefexecutive.net.

The CEO of any publicly traded company is on the receiving end of brutal pressures from Wall Street. David knows that investors want "no bad news." So, of course, chief executives want to present their earnings in a positive light, playing within the rules. Failure to do so would be devastating to their share price and hence to shareholders. There is a fine line, however, between "managing" and "manipulating" earnings, and if CEOs engage in the latter, particularly as a way to benefit themselves personally, that's wrong. Messrs. Skilling, Kozlowski and Rigas are in trouble, and they deserve it. They betrayed a sacred trust.

What I'd like to ask from you, our readers, is to engage with us more deeply and regularly. I think we're fighting a good fight. I'd argue that Spitzer got it precisely backward: We're defending and promoting the good job that the vast majority of CEOs do. Let me hear from you at bholstein@chiefexecutive.net.

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