Dr. Mark Goulston is a former UCLA professor who helps high performing leaders, senior management and sales people reach their full potential using skills he learned training FBI and police hostage negotiators. He is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors and the Worldwide Association of Business Coaches and writes the weekly Tribune syndicated career advice column, "Solve Anything with Dr. Mark" and columns on leadership for FAST COMPANY and Directors Monthly and is an expert at People Jam. He is frequently called upon to share his expertise with regard to contemporary business, national and world news by television, radio and print media including: Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, Fortune, Newsweek, Time, Los Angeles Times, ABC/NBC/CBS/Fox/CNN/BBC News, Oprah, and Today. Mark Goulston is the author of The 6 Secrets of a Lasting Relationship, Get Out of Your Own Way: Overcoming Self-Defeating Behavior, Get Out of Your Own Way at Work and PTSD for Dummies. For more information visit: www.markgoulston.com.

How do you tell the truly worthy from the truly greedy to lead us into the future?

The truly worthy jump at a second chance to make right what was done wrong,

The truly greedy keep defending their actions and then ask for more the moment you want something additional from them.

If Jane and John Doe with lousy credit and a lousy track record take more risks and lose more money in Las Vegas, would Las Vegas give them a second chance and reward them with more money?

I don’t think so. So why should senior executives who risked and lost and furthermore did not steward their companies profitably or properly benefit from a bailout? Just the fact that they are not being prosecuted, get to keep at least one of their second homes, and most importantly are being given the chance to redeem themselves should be compensation enough.

What are we so afraid of? Why can’t we tell them the following: “This is your compensation (I like the $400k max. price the candidates have spoken about), take it or leave it.”

We are afraid that if we put conditions or restrictions on them, that they’ll reveal their true nature and values of being more self-serving than concerned about the public trust and they’ll walk. And then what will we do?

That’s because we have become so intimidated by how difficult these executives have made their jobs out to be. We think, better to have someone with experience and mediocre or worse results than you or me who can hardly balance our checking accounts. An empty suit seems less frightening than no suit at all.

I recently saw the movie American Gangsters where in a rush at the end of the movie they reveal how much of the New York City police department was purged of its corrupt policemen during the 1970’s. The movie didn’t go into it, but I’m sure many citizens thought that corrupt cops who probably were at least not murderers might be better than no cops. Apparently those fears did not get the better of New York City and their police department was cleaned up in time.

Maybe the time has come to give the leaders of these companies a “Take it or leave it” deal with compensation entirely connected to results (including repaying the American taxpayer). At the very least it should smoke out the ones who are more dedicated to making things right than to their own self-interests.

As for the others who don’t come forth, let them breathe smoke.

Afterthought. I think the current crisis offers America the greatest opportunity to overhaul its transactionally myopic (get the deal, do the deal, next deal) culture and transform it into one that transcends the “zero sum game” that our lives and relationships have deteriorated into. That would be something we can all look back on with pride rather than shame.

Our parents and theirs made the world safe for us in WWI and WWII. Can we do no less for our children?

Don't Panic!

Who Will Be Our Visionary Leader?