CEOs with Extreme Hobbies Should Give Investors Pause

[ntrprnr 0]

http://www.foxbusiness.com/article/ceos-extreme-hobbies-investors-pause_302088_1.html

Go forth, all, and write well-worded letters to the editor.

_______________
"Why'd you track away at 7,000 feet?"
"Even in freefall, I have commitment issues."

[SBS 0]

Why? This sounds completely reasonable to me. It's business. If someone chooses the path of an executive of a large company, it's a price that they may have to pay. It's up to them to present their case as to why they should be allowed to pursue their hobby.

-S

_____________
I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...

[airdvr 197]

Agreed. The stockholders will never understand and it makes them nervous to think the person steering the ship that has their money in the hold won't be there.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[jellob 0]

Where does it stop, though?

If CEOs should disclose their extracurriculars in an attempt to allay fears or hide them to keep business, who else is likewise affected?

A colleague of mine suggested I keep my hobby a secret since "no level minded parent would want someone who jumps out of planes teaching their children right and wrong." I dealt with him directly, but do you think he is correct? Should we have to disclose what we do because it makes others scared?!

As far as the CEO article goes, as long as a succession plan is in place, it ought not matter what one does outside of work as long as it does not have a direct impact on work itself.

[akarunway 1]

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http://www.foxbusiness.com/article/ceos-extreme-hobbies-investors-pause_302088_1.html

Go forth, all, and write well-worded letters to the editor.

Hell. They'll all be jumping w/ golden parachutes soon anyway.

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

[ntrprnr 0]

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Where does it stop, though?

If CEOs should disclose their extracurriculars in an attempt to allay fears or hide them to keep business, who else is likewise affected?

BINGO. That's the problem I have. So now I can't jump? What's next? Can't eat red meat? No occasional trans-fat?

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As far as the CEO article goes, as long as a succession plan is in place, it ought not matter what one does outside of work as long as it does not have a direct impact on work itself.

Bingo again! Both boards on which I sit have key-man insurance on me. Nothing wrong with that. It's the nature of the beast. Howmany CEOs were killed lasyt year because their plane crashed, or they had a heart attack and dropped dead, or whatever? It's not just us. It pisses me off that we're "labeled" to investors.

_______________
"Why'd you track away at 7,000 feet?"
"Even in freefall, I have commitment issues."

[NtheSeaOrSky 0]

Hell, lately I would say a cheating spouse has a higher risk of injury and/or death than other risky 'hobbies'

Life is not fair and there are no guarantees...

[The111 0]

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Extreme skiing, race-car driving and piloting private planes aren't typical characteristics of CEOs of publicly traded companies.

When are journalists going to start proofreading their shit again? How is "extreme skiing" a "characteristic"? It's an activity. This is minor, but it's in the first sentence to the damn article, and I read many articles these days where the grammar is so bad that you have to struggle to figure out what's being said.

www.WingsuitPhotos.com

[-Scatter- 0]

And people wonder why all the cool kids are going private.

[SBS 0]

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Where does it stop, though?

Where should it stop? Being that we are skydivers, we think that it should stop before our sport, based on our knowledge but also, let's face it, our bias.

This is a slippery slope argument, but begs not the question where does it stop, but where does it lead? I, personally, don't see discussion or fear of extreme sports to be unreasonable, and the argument you present infers that this slope leads into the depths of the ridiculous.

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As far as the CEO article goes, as long as a succession plan is in place, it ought not matter what one does outside of work as long as it does not have a direct impact on work itself.

Agreed to a point. Investors don't pay millions for contingency plans...they hire who they want to run their company. If they wanted the contingency plan, they would have hired them in the first place.

That would be like saying to a woman, "Honey, if I die, I've set it up so you can marry our friend Fred."

As those who do something that is widely misunderstood, we take upon ourselves the responsibility to educate people, and have to expect that there will be times that the general public is not acceptant of our choices regardless of the argument that we present. They have a choice to do what they will for them and theirs, as we have a choice of what is important to us [the sport or that $500k salary]. We can't expect them to willingly throw money at people who do risky things without minimally, the benefit of some education on the subject (at which point they are still entitled to their own opinions and decisions).

We can throw a bunch of biased, loaded statistics at this like, "you're in as much danger driving home as you are at the dropzone", but realistically, we do something that is dangerous. If anyone doesn't see that or appreciate it, then I think they should take a serious look at the life choice that they have made. It is NOT the same as eating at McDonalds from time to time.

How often do you see an insanely obese CEO, or a chain smoking CEO, etc.? Not often, because smart people protect their investments, and that's all these folks are trying to do.

-S

_____________
I'm not conceited...I'm just realistic about my awesomeness...

[Baksteen 84]

The article deals with CEOs, but I do not think it concerns them exclusively. When you apply for your new job with your average modest salary, do you put skydiving as one of your hobbies on your resume?
I'm not entirely sure that that would be a good idea, the reason being the lack of knowledge about our sport among the general public.

So what is more important; their right to know who they're hiring, or your right to pursue your interests?

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One company asked its president to give up flying when it went from private to public. To keep the executive happy, the company offered to employ a couple of personal pilots.

This is not a solution, and a rediculous kind of compensation. Besides the fact that being flown around in some kind of glorified taxi is totally different from piloting, what exactly do they try to achieve? The risk of a fatal crash is still there, they just get to blame the CEO's death on a different individual.

"That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
~mom

[DougH 270]

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The article deals with CEOs, but I do not think it concerns them exclusively. When you apply for your new job with your average modest salary, do you put skydiving as one of your hobbies on your resume?

Fuck no... I spring it on them after a few weeks on the job.

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[riddler 0]

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When are journalists going to start proofreading their shit again?

It's a fact that Fox is about the dumbest major media outlet in the US.

Also, check out the quote from someone who supposedly lectures at MIT - does this make any sense at all?

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"There's a fine line, for either a business endeavor or personal hobby, between electrifying inspirational devotion to a cause and delusional or self-destructive behavior," said Ken Zolot, a senior lecturer at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's school of engineering and entrepreneurship center. "Investors need to have a good instinct for understanding whether a CEO knows how to dance along the edge of that fine line."

Why is he grouping delusional and self-destructive behavior together? Does he understand that there is NOT a fine line between these two unrelated things and business endeavors/hobbies (those two also being completely unrelated)? How can investors have an instinct for understanding how much of a personal risk taker another person is? Most people don't even understand the risks they take every day.

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[billvon 2,400]

>"no level minded parent would want someone who jumps out of
>planes teaching their children right and wrong." I dealt with him directly,
>but do you think he is correct?

Some parents will indeed think that way. Some parents will not want a drug user to teach their children - even if the drugs he uses are legal in the country he is from. Some will not want a gay man to teach their kids. Some will not want someone who is HIV positive. It all depends on the parent.

[brianfry713 0]

Major league sports have even more exclusions in the contracts. It is a very extensive list, that basically states that athletes can't participate in any sports or activities that could likely get them hurt. Baseball players can't play basketball, football, go skiing, ride motorcycles, etc.

This thread also reminds me of the movie "Along Came Polly".

What it comes down to is what you like more. The hobby or the paycheck. Unless we can get a law passed that lets us do whatever we want in our free time, we have to live with what the contract states. Or just risk it and hope they don't find out.

I wouldn't take a job that wouldn't let me do what I want to do in my free time, but I'm not a CEO or pro athlete. They do ask me to work late nights and weekends sometimes though.

BASE 1224, Senior Parachute Rigger, CPL ASEL IA, AGI, IGI
USPA Coach & UPT Tandem Instructor, PRO, Altimaster Field Support Representative

[Baksteen 84]

Reactivating this thread since I recently went shopping for a new job.

Yesterday evening I published an on-line resume in which i admit to skydiving.
So far it does not seem to count against me, I'm being swamped with phone calls and emails.
EDIT: Then again I'm not a CEO, merely a lowly lab technician.

"That formation-stuff in freefall is just fun and games but with an open parachute it's starting to sound like, you know, an extreme sport."
~mom

[jraf 0]

Well, I guess that CEO's should also seriously avoid cancer, cause it's even more deadly than extreme sports. I can't remeber when I heard of a CEO dying in an extreme sport (I know Fox quotes one) but I know a buch who died of what Fox would call natural causes without previously informing the public of their intentions to rapidly part ways with their shareholders.

On other hand I see FOX as a hybrid between the 700 Club and the Goebbelsian propaganda machine, and therefore treat them somewhat lightly.

jraf

Me Jungleman! Me have large Babalui.
Muff #3275

[jellob 0]

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On other hand I see FOX as a hybrid between the 700 Club and the Goebbelsian propaganda machine, and therefore treat them somewhat lightly.

Did you watch the "How to Behave" sticky? It informs us never to make comparisons to Nazis as we automatically lose the argument...

By the way, I completely agree with you.

[Stuntbabex 0]

Although I am not one and dont fully understand what its like to be a CEO, I imagine that if a company told me to pick either skydiving or being a CEO, Id pick skydiving. Cause you can find work anywhere.

[DrewEckhardt 0]

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http://www.foxbusiness.com/article/ceos-extreme-hobbies-investors-pause_302088_1.html

Go forth, all, and write well-worded letters to the editor.

Yeah, it's better to hire CEOs that come from an environment where mistakes mean taking away a nine-figure package and not broken bones or death.