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He took action and doubled the pay to 15/hr, then it further increased to 16.50/hr. I didn't think he was stumbling on a new lesson, your reading was a bit more

He took action and doubled the pay to 15/hr, then it further increased to 16.50/hr. I didn't think he was stumbling on a new lesson, your reading was a bit more cynical than mine. Simply put, he hadn't realized the plight of those on 7.25/hr until he heard what his employees were going through. How else can we improve things if we don't allow people to change their views? Mocking a CEO for changing his view is the opposite of what we need.

nanoservices 7y ago
I agree with you about allowing CEOs room for growth and increased understanding. This case though really points out the glaring problem we have today, it shouldn't take a more than a basic high school diploma to understand that $7.25 is an unlivable wage. I'm sure the CEO has had to go out for dinner with his family and is able to do quick mental math to realize that most of his employees would have to work for days to be afford a meal like that.
minikites 7y ago
>Simply put, he hadn't realized the plight of those on 7.25/hr until he heard what his employees were going through. The fact that he needed to hear what his employees "were going through" to justify paying them more than literal poverty wages is a problem. That shouldn't require a learning experience, it should be a day 1 realization.
dahart 7y ago
I’m so torn! I agree completely with you and I want to give the charitable interpretation and I want this to set a good example for other CEOs. That’s how I was feeling reading the article, but all of a sudden after I finished I started thinking this is nuts. 500 people is not that many to be that far out of touch with employees. It’s one thing at Walmart or McDonalds, but at a healthcare company with only 500 to have 20 execs making millions and employees at minimum wage in the first place, and for the execs to not know what their pay ratio is -- meaning not knowing how many employees could be hired for the amount of money they’re each paid -- seems like more than an oversight, and is definitely one more example of the hundreds of stories we’ve heard about how crazy modern business has become. So, anyway, I agree with you and I agree with the parent comment too, it is insane.
- yeahitslikethat 7y ago
  Is because the top tax brackets were reduced so much under Reagan, it made sense to pay out all the profits to a few at the top rather than the hundreds or thousands below. Now is easier with computers but the execs got greedy.
pdimitar 7y ago
> he hadn't realized the plight of those on 7.25/hr until he heard what his employees were going through. That's the crux of the problem right there. If you need somebody to start living with their kid in a car to get this grand epiphany then you are hilariously mis-prepared to be any kind of a leader. To be a leader, you need a much better [emotional] education than this.
- thatfrenchguy 7y ago
  Or higher taxation and less inequality so that the people whose parents are on minimum wage end up being the people making the decisions, not the people whose parents are from rich suburbia who never had these issues in life.
  - pdimitar 7y ago
    That might help as well. But so far our civilisation doesn't work in terms of meritocracy. I am hopeful you are right though.
  - HoochieKoo 7y ago
    Totally agree with you. By the way, your user name checks out.
- gbersac 7y ago
  No one is prepared to be a leader. You have to learn on the spot. Admitting he made one and acting to solve it made him better than most of the leaders.
  - bsenftner 7y ago
    No, the current "leader / management" culture in MBA America is toxic. MBA speaking. They are toxic to their peers and double to their disposable employees. The "enlightened caring manager" is also ridiculed as a "libtard" and never promoted. Young managers are selected for their superior manipulation skills and lack of empathy.
  - 7y ago
wutman 7y ago
Agreed. It's funny seeing replies here. Making people feel bad about themselves doesn't get very far in influencing their viewpoints. A lot of smart people disagree with higher minimum wage. You won't reach them by saying stuff like "it just takes a basic high school diploma..." "you're out of touch..." But you will get padded-on-the-back by others holding your beliefs.
5trokerac3 7y ago
The problem isn't the $7.25 specifically, it's what he was expecting them to do for that rate. Why would anyone deal with a minimum wage job being, I'm assuming, a call center operator when a) you can get paid the same to do far less stressful work or b) get paid more to do the same level of work? Secondly, notice how he never gives updated turnover numbers - an omission of note, that probably means they didn't really improve much. This guy most likely hasn't solved any problem other than what bullet point he's going to put on his resume when he parachutes to another company.

nanoservices 7y ago

I agree with you about allowing CEOs room for growth and increased understanding. This case though really points out the glaring problem we have today, it shouldn't take a more than a basic high school diploma to understand that $7.25 is an unlivable wage. I'm sure the CEO has had to go out for dinner with his family and is able to do quick mental math to realize that most of his employees would have to work for days to be afford a meal like that.

minikites 7y ago

>Simply put, he hadn't realized the plight of those on 7.25/hr until he heard what his employees were going through. The fact that he needed to hear what his employees "were going through" to justify paying them more than literal poverty wages is a problem. That shouldn't require a learning experience, it should be a day 1 realization.

dahart 7y ago

I’m so torn! I agree completely with you and I want to give the charitable interpretation and I want this to set a good example for other CEOs. That’s how I was feeling reading the article, but all of a sudden after I finished I started thinking this is nuts. 500 people is not that many to be that far out of touch with employees. It’s one thing at Walmart or McDonalds, but at a healthcare company with only 500 to have 20 execs making millions and employees at minimum wage in the first place, and for the execs to not know what their pay ratio is -- meaning not knowing how many employees could be hired for the amount of money they’re each paid -- seems like more than an oversight, and is definitely one more example of the hundreds of stories we’ve heard about how crazy modern business has become. So, anyway, I agree with you and I agree with the parent comment too, it is insane.

yeahitslikethat 7y ago
Is because the top tax brackets were reduced so much under Reagan, it made sense to pay out all the profits to a few at the top rather than the hundreds or thousands below. Now is easier with computers but the execs got greedy.

pdimitar 7y ago

> he hadn't realized the plight of those on 7.25/hr until he heard what his employees were going through. That's the crux of the problem right there. If you need somebody to start living with their kid in a car to get this grand epiphany then you are hilariously mis-prepared to be any kind of a leader. To be a leader, you need a much better [emotional] education than this.

thatfrenchguy 7y ago
Or higher taxation and less inequality so that the people whose parents are on minimum wage end up being the people making the decisions, not the people whose parents are from rich suburbia who never had these issues in life.
- pdimitar 7y ago
  That might help as well. But so far our civilisation doesn't work in terms of meritocracy. I am hopeful you are right though.
- HoochieKoo 7y ago
  Totally agree with you. By the way, your user name checks out.
gbersac 7y ago
No one is prepared to be a leader. You have to learn on the spot. Admitting he made one and acting to solve it made him better than most of the leaders.
- bsenftner 7y ago
  No, the current "leader / management" culture in MBA America is toxic. MBA speaking. They are toxic to their peers and double to their disposable employees. The "enlightened caring manager" is also ridiculed as a "libtard" and never promoted. Young managers are selected for their superior manipulation skills and lack of empathy.
- 7y ago

wutman 7y ago

Agreed. It's funny seeing replies here. Making people feel bad about themselves doesn't get very far in influencing their viewpoints. A lot of smart people disagree with higher minimum wage. You won't reach them by saying stuff like "it just takes a basic high school diploma..." "you're out of touch..." But you will get padded-on-the-back by others holding your beliefs.

5trokerac3 7y ago

The problem isn't the $7.25 specifically, it's what he was expecting them to do for that rate. Why would anyone deal with a minimum wage job being, I'm assuming, a call center operator when a) you can get paid the same to do far less stressful work or b) get paid more to do the same level of work? Secondly, notice how he never gives updated turnover numbers - an omission of note, that probably means they didn't really improve much. This guy most likely hasn't solved any problem other than what bullet point he's going to put on his resume when he parachutes to another company.