“I said, ‘Tim, I know everybody thinks it’s bad, but I’m in the middle of it. And this is really bad. You need to start rethinking a lot of things.’"
You may recall at last year's Deutsche Bank how CEO Seth Waugh shocked the scribes by openly voicing his displeasure with the tour kicking in a purse increase as the banking industry was melting down.
“I would not have raised purses last fall, not because they couldn’t, but because it was the wrong message. Every model of every business is under pressure, and you have to create more value for people, either by doing it cheaper, or by creating more value. People want a deal. They want to feel like they are getting more. They have to think their way through that, having people feel good about the experience, as opposed to being dictated as to what it is.”
In this week's notes column, Doug Ferguson shares this from Waugh, who recounts a fall, 2008 phone conversation he had with Finchem. It may explain last year's comments and also suggest that the Commissioner needs to listen more intently to folks like Waugh.
“This crisis was really bad,” Waugh said last week. “I said, ‘Tim, I know everybody thinks it’s bad, but I’m in the middle of it. And this is really bad. You need to start rethinking a lot of things.’ I wasn’t asking for anything, just giving him advice about being prepared.’
And then he called up the EVP of Contracts to ensure it was okay to kick in the purse increase!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010 at 08:37 PM
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