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CEOs Who Invite Email From All Employees

Carl Bialik from the WSJ writes "Cinergy Corp. CEO James E. Rogers, who at 11 one evening was reading email from employees at home while nursing a vodka, is the norm, not the exception at major U.S. companies, the Wall Street Journal reports. 'Advocates say such a policy is a powerful leadership tool that can nip crises in the bud, boost morale, uncover new ideas, and cut through corporate red tape. In the post-Enron era of CEO accountability, reading employee email helps the boss appear hands-on and accessible. But reading and replying to dozens of employee messages each day takes time that could be spent doing something else. Skeptics say the practice distracts CEOs from more-pressing work -- and extends already long workdays.' Of course, portable email devices have made it easier to sift through dozens or hundreds of employee messages each day. While being driven to meetings, Pfizer's CEO says, 'I don't look out the window. I use my BlackBerry and answer my email.'"

11 of 226 comments (clear)

  1. D'oh! by rovingeyes · · Score: 5, Funny
    Pfizer's CEO says, 'I don't look out the window. I use my BlackBerry and answer my email.'"

    Uh oh, he is screwed

  2. Only Eleven? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    If he's only 11 why is he sitting at home drinking vodka????

  3. Irony by gowen · · Score: 5, Funny
    Pfizer's CEO says, 'I don't look out the window. I use my BlackBerry and answer my email.'"
    Most of the time his replies read: "Funnily enough, I can get actual Viagra for the price you're selling fake C1AL1S. I'm the CEO of f**king Pfizer, you morons."
    --
    Athletic Scholarships to universities make as much sense as academic scholarships to sports teams.
  4. is there anything Alcohol can't help? by toupsie · · Score: 5, Funny
    "Cinergy Corp. CEO James E. Rogers, who at 11 one evening was reading email from employees at home while nursing a vodka, is the norm, not the exception at major U.S. companies, the Wall Street Journal reports. 'Advocates say such a policy is a powerful leadership tool that can nip crises in the bud, boost morale, uncover new ideas, and cut through corporate red tape.

    Who knew that drinking vodka could nip crises in the bud, boost morale, uncover new ideas and cut through corporate red tape. I always thought Bourbon was a better choice for that. Guess its Bloody Marys for me!

    --
    Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.
  5. Maybe he should lay off the Vodka... by MikeDataLink · · Score: 5, Funny

    http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=CIN&d=t based on the Stock Reports he should drink a little less (or maybe more!!!). ;) He's down .69 today already.

    --
    Mike @ The Geek Pub. Let's Make Stuff!
  6. Re:it's more self-aggrandizing egotistical behavio by cnelzie · · Score: 5, Funny

    That sucks.

        Hopefully, you poorly documented some of that application so that when/if they ever need to make changes to it, they will have no choice, but to hunt you down.

        Then you can stick it to them by charging them 6 times your previous salary to "fix" the program or make the needed updates to it and while you are there, if that CEO is still there, you can send him an email advising him of the "savings" the cost-cutting of letting you go has done for the company he is running...

    --
    If you ignore the other uses of a tool, does that make the tool less useful, or you less useful?
  7. Filtering could do wonders by Gallvs · · Score: 5, Funny

    But reading and replying to dozens of employee messages each day takes time that could be spent doing something else. Skeptics say the practice distracts CEOs from more-pressing work

    Well, just use this procmail recipe to filter 90% of messages out:

    :0
    * ^From.*mycompany.com
    * ^Subject.*raise
    /dev/null

  8. Justify the $$ by Red+Flayer · · Score: 5, Funny

    ""Cinergy Corp. CEO James E. Rogers, who at 11 one evening was reading email from employees at home while nursing a vodka, is the norm, not the exception at major U.S. companies, the Wall Street Journal reports."

    Well, first, it's about time someone makes a big stink about all the long hours that justify the ever-growing disparity between executives' and workers' salaries. I was beginning to feel like the Joe Sixpacks at the plant were beginning to resent my Rolls Royce. Thanks for sticking up for us, Rogers!

    OTOH, why is Rogers allowed to drink while managing employee relations? Last time I tried that, I got slapped with a lawsuit for breach of due diligence, among other things. I mean, sure, I wasn't exactly nursing the vodka so much as slamming it, and the employee relations were more in the nature of physical contact, not email, but really... Some shareholder should call his lawyer.

    --
    "Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
  9. Re:Good idea by moviepig.com · · Score: 5, Funny
    ...Only really imporant issues/crises should be sent to him.

    Maybe the other employees should be able to mod each other's eMails up and down. Hey, wait...

    --
    Seeing bad movies only encourages them. Watch responsibly
  10. Be careful if you email while drinking... by bytesmythe · · Score: 5, Funny
    Cinergy Corp. CEO James E. Rogers, who at 11 one evening was reading email from employees at home while nursing a vodka...

    After drinking for a solid hour, he started sending pathetic messages to former employees about how sorry he is they couldn't stay together and how he hopes they aren't bitter and if so then too bad because, hey, *HE'S* the one who dumped *THEM* and if they can't handle that then f*ck off, but maybe he can get together with them some weekend for a little "fun" sometime.

    He then passed out at the keyboard in a puddle of drool.

    --
    bytesmythe
    Hypocrisy is the resin that holds the plywood of society together.
    -- Scott Meyer
  11. GWB's mailbox by Hoi+Polloi · · Score: 5, Funny

    God - Cease and Desist notice
    Amazon.com - Your order ("The Baby-sitters Club") has been shipped
    FCC - Revised naughty word list for your approval (added "bottom")
    New Orleans - HELP!
    CIA - Update: Still looking for WMDs
    Disney Corp. - Re: Extending copyrights to "end of time"
    Tom DeLay - Master, why have you forsaken me?
    Osama Bin Laden - Nyaah Nyaah!
    Southern Baptists - Correction, Earth is only 500 years old (not 5000)
    Satan - As per our agreement
    Iraq - LAST NOTICE: You still owe $50,000,000,000
    God - I did NOT tell you to bomb ANYONE!
    RNC - Shuttle trips for doners? What do you think?

    --
    It is by the juice of the coffee bean that thoughts acquire speed, the teeth acquire stains. The stains become a warning