Why do they even bother? I'm referring to the countless CEOs and other so-called leaders who deliver speeches and say absolutely nothing or worse, sometimes collecting big fees to embarrass themselves and bore us. The phrase "mailing it in" comes to mind.
Here's the "absolutely nothing" part. I recall attending a 2008 Houston speech by Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig that still irritates me today. Here's this guy, no Bart Giamatti for sure, speaking to higher education leaders about one of America's great institutions - baseball. It was clear that Selig spent not one second thinking about the many interesting issues shared by universities and professional sports such as recruiting, Asian and Latin competition and growth, drug abuse, leadership training and such. All we got were the same tired stories and PR gloss he had delivered the previous 50 speeches with not even an intern's hand present in trying to make some connection - anything, please - to his audience.
Here's the "worse" part. We at the Council on Foreign Relations heard earlier this week from Intel president and CEO Paul Otellini. Now don't get me wrong. I have the utmost respect for Intel and especially its longstanding visionary leader Andy Grove. I don't know anything else about Otellini other than his speech was indefensibly selfish, predictable, and contradictory.
He called for a "culture of investment" in the U.S. to "create the conditions" for entrepreneurial success. Well, who can argue with that? The key questions are always, what are the specifics and who's going to pay for it? In whining about businesses being overtaxed, it's clear that he doesn't see Corporate America as the source of such new funding? So, Mr. Otellini, where will the money come from to fund this new investment culture and what's not working with the billions of taxpayer dollars the U.S. already invests in such initiatives? He complained that California has become a "third world nation" in terms of services and infrastructure. Fine, let's grant him that point for the sake of argument. Please tell us then how your incessant call for cutting taxes will help us find the taxpayer resources needed to repair California infrastructure - and that of so many other cities and states?
This is the same narrow-interests fallacy underlying the Tea Party calls for tax cuts, especially now amidst recession and unprecedented budget deficits and national debt. Until you tell us how you will find the money - in specific policy and financial details, please - to pay for your needs and expectations and those of your fellow countrymen then, well, sit down, be quiet, and let somebody else speak. And please, speakers, do your homework before asking us to invest our time in your message.
Here's the "absolutely nothing" part. I recall attending a 2008 Houston speech by Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig that still irritates me today. Here's this guy, no Bart Giamatti for sure, speaking to higher education leaders about one of America's great institutions - baseball. It was clear that Selig spent not one second thinking about the many interesting issues shared by universities and professional sports such as recruiting, Asian and Latin competition and growth, drug abuse, leadership training and such. All we got were the same tired stories and PR gloss he had delivered the previous 50 speeches with not even an intern's hand present in trying to make some connection - anything, please - to his audience.
Here's the "worse" part. We at the Council on Foreign Relations heard earlier this week from Intel president and CEO Paul Otellini. Now don't get me wrong. I have the utmost respect for Intel and especially its longstanding visionary leader Andy Grove. I don't know anything else about Otellini other than his speech was indefensibly selfish, predictable, and contradictory.
He called for a "culture of investment" in the U.S. to "create the conditions" for entrepreneurial success. Well, who can argue with that? The key questions are always, what are the specifics and who's going to pay for it? In whining about businesses being overtaxed, it's clear that he doesn't see Corporate America as the source of such new funding? So, Mr. Otellini, where will the money come from to fund this new investment culture and what's not working with the billions of taxpayer dollars the U.S. already invests in such initiatives? He complained that California has become a "third world nation" in terms of services and infrastructure. Fine, let's grant him that point for the sake of argument. Please tell us then how your incessant call for cutting taxes will help us find the taxpayer resources needed to repair California infrastructure - and that of so many other cities and states?
This is the same narrow-interests fallacy underlying the Tea Party calls for tax cuts, especially now amidst recession and unprecedented budget deficits and national debt. Until you tell us how you will find the money - in specific policy and financial details, please - to pay for your needs and expectations and those of your fellow countrymen then, well, sit down, be quiet, and let somebody else speak. And please, speakers, do your homework before asking us to invest our time in your message.