Business As The Art of Breathing Underwater
Iceberg of Ignorance
In 1989, Sidney Yoshida, a business executive from Japan, claimed that:
Frontline workers know about 100% of an organization’s problems.
Supervisors - about 74%.
Middle management - about 9%.
Top managers - about 4%.
Yoshida didn’t prove his findings. But he coined the term ‘Iceberg of Ignorance’.
And as someone who has worked as a CEO and a board member for many years, I believe he was fundamentally wrong.
A deal that left much to be desired
In early September 2001, Carly Fiorina, then the CEO of Hewlett-Packard, announced the acquisition of PC maker Compaq with US$25 billion in stock.
Shortly before that, Compaq bought DEC. So, Fiorina actually had to merge three companies.
Various experts had different opinions on whether it was the right decision.
The February 7, 2005, issue of Fortune described her merger plan as “failing” and the prognosis as “doubtful.”
In 2008, former CEO of Compaq Ben Rosen stated that Fiorina lacked the skills to run the merged company, b…