![]() We also cannot make every company into a B-Corp, whereby the employees are tangibly invested in the company itself. Those people existed in 1800, and they’ll exist in 2400. There will always be people that prioritize money for themselves over the safety of those who work for them. We cannot stop human nature or reverse psychology. The unfortunate reality is that life is short, and peak earning years are even shorter – and many people (of both genders) want to exist in a way that maximizes those years. ![]() We slug it all as “greed,” and it feels greedy, but it’s really just “how capitalism has evolved, and how people perceive it now.” A better model for the future Boards of Directors approve that comp, theoretically based on performance. Inflated executive compensation is a little bit jarring, but on face it’s not “bad” either. However, in the last 2-3 years, there’s been a lot of incidents slugged by the digital masses as “corporate greed” that are really just “how people at the economic top of capitalism view it.” Stock buybacks on their face are not bad companies have a fiduciary responsibility to maximize returns for shareholders, and buybacks are a way to do that. In this case, they were right – this is largely corporate greed. Within literal minutes of the train derailment news being announced, people were tweeting and sharing SEC filings and compensation documents and video clips from the freight rail hearings, all in the name of rampant corporate greed. In the aftermath of the event, the firm has established a $1 million fund to benefit East Palestine, and they’re being sued left and right. Many of those suits will settle, but that will still represent money paid out to victims of the derailment. Very little applied to infrastructure, safety, or the betterment of employees. ![]() Most of Shaw’s early-stage CEO decisions were about financial maneuvering. The Norfolk Southern derailment is, absolutely, an example of corporate greed. As farm animals and pets die before our eyes, the public are left wondering what the long-term health consequences will be. The derailment happened less than two months later. for public hearings. One of the issues at the hearings was “chronic employee shortages,” which again is often a cost-cutting measure designed to boost stock price at the expense of actual productivity and safety of the train lines. ![]() In April 2022 (a month before those buybacks), the Surface Transportation Board (which regulates freight rail) was “so concerned” about the industry that they brought leaders to D.C. And it was used for shareholders and executives, essentially. But, the core criticism of buybacks is valid too: that money could have been used for capital improvements, paying staff more, etc. The derailment was bad enough on its own, but news came out that Norfolk Southern had done a $10 billion stock buyback in May of 2022. Buybacks are ostensibly designed to increase share prices while returning money to shareholders. That’s more vinyl chloride being released into the environment in one incident than all industrial emitters released in calendar year 2021. On February 3rd at around 8:55pm, a Norfolk Southern train derailed near East Palestine, OH releasing 1,109,400 pounds of it into the environment. If that seems interesting to you, consider subscribing in the next few days as we set it up. It will be a weekly recap of culture-related news from multiple industries, with quick links and ideas for shaping your own culture. Quick programming note: I will be starting a newsletter at the end of this week right here on LinkedIn. Don’t call everything “corporate greed,” but with Norfolk Southern, it applies.
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