Recently billionaire CEO and owner of Westgate Resorts in Florida, David Siegel, sent an email which has been making the rounds across mainstream news. In his memo, Siegel indicates his perception that he will have to terminate employees and shut down other opportunities in his business should President Obama win the election.
All political views aside, Siegel’s actions are a prime example of what NOT to do as a business leader. Below are some select lines from the email:
“The economy doesn’t currently pose a threat to your job. What does threaten your job however, is another 4 years of the same Presidential administration … If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, as our current President plans, I will have no choice but to reduce the size of this company … My motivation to work and to provide jobs will be destroyed, and with it, so will your opportunities. If that happens, you can find me in the Caribbean sitting on the beach, under a palm tree, retired, and with no employees to worry about.”
There are a number of ways in which the CEO has terribly upset his role as business leader and as someone his employees can look up to and respect.
Problem #1: Siegel brought politics into the office in a way which worked to alienate workers. Anybody voting for Obama must feel some unease at an email from their CEO alerting them that such an action works against their interests and their employment with the company.
Lesson #1: Business leaders must never say things which can work to make certain employees extremely uncomfortable.
Problem #2: The statements made by Siegel don’t mesh with reality and this confuses workers and embarrasses him. His employees know that they can be paid. Siegel is not leading a boot-strapped startup here; he is currently in the process of constructing the largest home in America, which is even the focus of a recent documentary. In this light, Siegel’s dreams of owning a home with bathrooms and bedrooms in the double-digits are put ahead of the well-being of hardworking employees. This sends an incredibly offensive and mixed message to his employees.
Lesson #2: It’s one thing to enjoy your wealth as a successful business leader, but to indulge in it while at the same time identifying the costs of your workers in such a disregarding way, and in their email boxes, is inappropriate.
Problem #3: The manner in which the email is presented is not only disrupting but disturbing. Siegel signs it, “Your boss” and finishes with a statement about his backup plan involving retirement in the Caribbean. A retirement “with no employees to worry about.” This not only works to make apparent his financial distance but also portrays his workers as a type of burden.
Lesson #3: Your employees are not a burden and you must not refer to them as such. If you think this, you should reexamine your business and your understanding of it.
Further, while his memo was not illegal, it is a private company, professionals warn that it does plant the seeds for a discrimination case in the future if any employee were to be terminated and could possibly associate such termination with a difference in political views.