| It is not unusual for chief executives
to collect millions of dollars a year in pay, stock options, and bonuses. In the
last fifteen years, while executive remuneration rose, taxes in the highest
income bracket went down. Millionaires are now commonplace. Amiability is not a prerequisite for rising to the top, and there are a number of chief executive officers with legendary bad tempers. It is not the boss's job to worry about the well-being of his subordinates although the man with many enemies will be swept out more quickly in hard times; it is the company he worries about His business savvy is supposed to be based on intimate knowledge of his company and the industry so he goes home nightly with a full briefcase. At the very top--and on the way up--executives are exceedingly dedicated. The American executive must be capable of enough small talk to get him through the social part of his schedule, but he is probably not a highly cultured individual or an intellectual. Although his wife may be on the board of the symphony or opera, he himself has little time for such pursuits. His reading may largely concern business and management, despite interests in other fields. Golf provides him with a sportive outlet that combines with some useful socializing. These days, he probably attempts some form of aerobic exercise to "keep the old heart in shape" and for the same reason goes easy on butter and alcohol, and substances thought to contribute to taking highly stressed executives out of the running. But his doctor's admonition to "take it easy" falls on deaf ears. He likes to work. He knows there are younger men nipping at his heels. Corporate head-hunting, carded on by "executive search firms", is a growing industry. America has great faith in individual talent, and dynamic and aggressive executives are so in demand that companies regularly raid each other's managerial ranks. |