JP Morgan Chase 2009 Annual Report Download - page 25

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code for “getting along,” equally important is
an individual’s ability to have the courage to
stand alone and do the right thing.
Fair treatment
The best leaders treat all people properly and
respectfully, from clerks to CEOs. Everyone
needs to help everyone else at the company
because everyone’s collective purpose is to serve
clients. When strong leaders consider promoting
people, they pick those who are respected and
ask themselves, Would I want to work for him?
Would I want my kid to report to her?
Humility
Leaders need to acknowledge those who came
before them and helped shape the enterprise
– it’s not all their own doing. There’s a lot of
luck involved in anyone’s success, and a little
humility is important. The overall goal must
be to help build a great company – then we
can do more for our employees, our customers
and our communities.
The grey area of leadership
There are many aspects of the leadership
process that are open for interpretation. This
grey area contributes to the complexity of the
challenges that leaders – and those who govern
them – face. I would like to share with you where
I stand with regard to a few of these issues.
Successful leaders are hard to find
There are examples of individuals who have
been thrust, wholly unprepared, into posi-
tions of leadership and actually perform well
– I think of President Harry Truman, among
others. I would submit, however, that relying
on luck is a risky proposition. History shows
that bad or inexperienced leaders can produce
disastrous results. While there are possibly
innate and genetic parts of leadership (perhaps
broad intelligence and natural energy), other
parts are deeply embedded in the internal
values of an individual; for example, work
ethic, integrity, knowledge and good judgment.
Many leaders have worked their entire lives to
get where they are, and while perhaps some
achieved their stature through accident or
politics, that is not true for most. Anyone on a
sports team, in government or in virtually any
other endeavor knows when he or she encoun-
ters the rare combination of emotional skill,
integrity and knowledge that makes a leader.
Successful leaders are working to build something
Most leaders I know are working to build
something of which they can be proud. They
usually work hard, not because they must
but because they want to do so; they set high
standards because as long as leaders are going
to do something, they are going to do the best
they can. They believe in things larger than
themselves, and the highest obligation is to
the team or the organization. Leaders demand
loyalty, not to themselves but to the cause for
which they stand.
Nonetheless, compensation does matter
While I agree that money should not be the
primary motivation for leaders, it is not
realistic to say that compensation should not
count at any level. People have responsibili-
ties to themselves and to their families. They
also have a deep sense of “compensation
justice,” which means they often are upset
when they feel they are not fairly compen-
sated against peers both within and outside
the company. There are markets for talent,
just like products, and a company must pay a
reasonable price to compete.
Big business needs entrepreneurs, too
The popular perception is that entrepreneurs
– those who believe in free enterprise – exist
only in small companies and that entrepre-
neurs in small companies should be free to
pursue happiness or monetary gain as appro-
priate. Free enterprise, entrepreneurship and
the pursuit of happiness also exist in most
large enterprises. And you, our shareholders,
should insist on it. Without the capacity to
innovate, respond to new and rapidly changing
markets, and anticipate enormous challenges,
large companies would cease to exist. The
people who achieve these objectives want to
be compensated fairly, just as they would be if
they had built a successful start-up.