Steven H. Korman is the CEO of Korman Communities, a 500-employee real estate company in Plymouth, Pennsylvania. On Thursday, February 6, 2009, he ran a full page open-letter advertisement in both the Philadelphia Inquirer and the New York Times urging executives of top companies to halt lay offs and "keep... employees working."
In this letter addressed to several companies in which he holds stock - including Apple, Caterpillar, Chevron, Cisco Systems, Coca-Cola, Dow, DuPont, General Electric, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft, Nokia, Oracle and Pfizer Inc. - Korman wrote, "I own stock in many of these companies [that are laying off workers] and would prefer that the company make a smaller profit and the stock fall, in the short term, rather than affect the lives of our neighbors and their families as jobs are lost." He added that laid-off workers and those fearing layoffs are reluctant to spend money, worsening the impact of the recession.
In a follow-up interview on MSNBC today, Korman noted that when companies avoid lay offs they not only keep their line staff but also their executives. He made the key point that when companies are loyal to their employees and administrators, that loyalty is usually re-paid. Studies indicate that executives who feel that they've received strong support throughout their careers will often turn down higher paying offers at other companies. Yes, loyalty is its own reward.
Korman Fed-Ex'd signed copies of his letter to the heads of each of the companies listed above. How many have responded to him? None. Let's hope he also sends copies to companies such as General Motors, Nike and Starbucks. Who thinks that GM CEO Rick Wagoner would read his copy?
All in all, Mr. Korman represents a breath of fresh air at a time when we seem to be drowning in a sea of old and ineffective ideas.
He is setting a good example!!!!
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