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Here are three thoughts about the novel coronavirus.
First, the novel coronavirus was present at the Mar-a-Lago birthday celebration for Donald Trump Jr.’s girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle. How many of you, like me, read this story and immediately thought of The Masque of the Red Death?
Second, in a sane corporation, who gets the praise?
In case that question wasn’t as rhetorical as I thought it was, the answer is: “The lower-level employees.”
The seven people at the top of the corporation do not take the stage at large corporate events to congratulate each other and give each other awards.
The seven people at the top of the law department do not run town halls at which they praise their own leadership and give each other bonuses.
This is bad form.
No one does it.
If awards are to be handed out, or accolades bestowed, you eliminate the top-ranking people from consideration. Those people don’t need awards. They’re recognized as leaders; they’re paid a great deal of money; they’re running the joint. The leaders recognize and reward the lower-level employees, both because lower-level employees do the work and because one morale is maintained by talking about people other than yourself.
So why am I watching all of these press conferences where Vice President Mike Pence first says what a great job the president has done and then says we should all recognize the heroic efforts of those on stage with Pence?
This is not how it’s done. The leaders should recognize the efforts of the thousands of hardworking people who are not standing on the stage; those are the people who deserve kudos. Those people don’t get the spotlight or the fame; you give them recognition.
Everyone knows this. (Except, perhaps, politicians and jerks. Or do I repeat myself?) Can’t someone mention this to Pence?
Finally, do you think something good (on the legal front) might come of this crisis?
Take annual meetings, as just one example. Corporations hold annual meetings at big hotels in New York for a reason. Anyone who wants to ask a question of the executives must travel to New York, pay for a hotel, and then stand up in a big room and ask a question. That’s hard, and it tends to suppress the questioning. (Maybe corporations conduct annual meetings this way for a reason, no?)
If corporations conducted virtual annual meetings, then anyone could submit a question costlessly. That would encourage shareholder participation and make annual meetings more meaningful.
COVID-19 may force some corporations to hold virtual annual meetings.
And people may well decide that virtual annual meetings make sense (for shareholders, anyway). That could be the wave of the future.
Annual meetings are not the only thing that may be improved by the novel coronavirus. I suspect that many corporations are learning that employees can conveniently and effectively work from home. More employees may work from home after the crisis ends.
Similarly, many corporations may realize that “nonessential” business travel is actually “nonessential.” Companies that forbid all nonessential travel will fare just fine in the marketplace and incur lower costs. Perhaps we’ll see less nonessential business travel after this ends.
It’s novel that a virus had to crash the party to teach us those things.
Mark Herrmann spent 17 years as a partner at a leading international law firm and is now deputy general counsel at a large international company. He is the author of The Curmudgeon’s Guide to Practicing Law and Drug and Device Product Liability Litigation Strategy (affiliate links). You can reach him by email at inhouse@abovethelaw.com.