When Humans and Reptiles Collide

According the research of Fred Kiel, when the CEO is a person of high character the return on assets can rise as high as 8.39 percent, while for low character CEOs – who possess the moral intelligence of a 9^th grader – asset retention is a negative 0.57 percent. The compassionate CEO thinks of how his or her decision would impact those who are involved. They are never about the self, salaries or status; they admit their mistakes, communicating trust and respect to the employee.

For Kiel, what drives workforce engagement and talent retention is compassion. The driving engine of innovation in the workforce is forgiveness. And character, how a boss treats others at work, is something that can be taught through habit. It is the only way in which a corporation can escape its lowly stamp of reptilian origins and become a force for good.

In his final days in the public view, Greenspan publically admitted that his worldview itself was fundamentally wrong in a 2009 congressional hearing. All that remained of him was an empty shell of a broken man. He’d been living an illusion for forty years of his prestigious career and dragged down the entire financial system as the illusion fell apart.

So Scooter, in case you’re reading this I need to make things clear. Despite the troubling signs I don’t consider you a full-blown psychopath but rather a victim of the ideological bubble of a broken system. However, you’re victim-hood gives you no right whatsoever to act like a petty egomaniacal bully. All I ask of you is to admit you were wrong and tell Valerie you’re sorry, preferably on Youtube. And read a book for yourself so you don’t become the next Alan Greenspan or Fred the Shred. Personally, I recommend the Empire of Illusion.

Ken Cates has double majored in international relations and political science at the University of Toronto, while currently pursuing a certificate in freelance writing at the schools continuing studies program. Inspired by writers such as Christopher Hitchens and Chris Hedges, Ken writes about religion, politics, ethics, society, and on the little