‘You understand why I did it? ……The man that passes the sentence should swing the sword.’
Those are the words of Edard Stark in Season 1, Episode 1 of Game of thrones as he explains to his son why he was the executioner of a deserter from ‘The Wall’
There is a lesson for all leaders in this passage.
As James Clear put it: ‘The one making the choice should also be subject to its consequences’.
The scale of modern economies and enterprises and the nature of the communities into which we have evolved since the industrial revolution have made this core tenet of management and leadership an extremely hard benchmark to reach. We have put the decision makers way above the normal flow of consequences from their choices.
Directors are there to represent the best interest of the shareholders they represent.
Politicians are there to represent the best interests of the majority of those they represent.
How often do you see the choices made by these groups, and many others up and down the scale of the social and economic edifices we have built in the name of the greater good reach that high moral standard.
Rarely it seems.
Perpetrators of ‘White collar crime’ that occupy seats of real influence are rarely prosecuted. Partly this is because it is often very hard to ‘prove’ in a legal sense, and I suspect also partly because it is a ‘victimless’ crime. However, such victimless crimes all have consequences, diffused amongst faceless stakeholders somewhere out there.
Occasionally, the consequences do come home to roost.
Elon Musk has made many choices in his life. Those choices made him a multibillionaire, an innovator who could do the impossible. Make digital payments of online purchases safe? Change the face of the auto industry? Land a space vehicle on a platform ready to be reused? These were all impossible, until he did them. By force of sheer will, determination, imagination, and an ability to attract incredibly smart people into his dreams, he did the impossible. Then he made a choice, to swing to a seemingly destructive position supporting a set of values completely at odds with those who had supported him and his businesses.
The consequences of that choice are becoming clear very quickly as the sales of Tesla cars around the world tank, contracts for the services of Starlink, a fantastic product are being cancelled, and the multibillionaire of today is rapidly becoming the sad millionaire of tomorrow. It will only take one bank to call in a loan made on the basis of the stratospheric value of Tesla shares a few months ago to blow the house of cards away, revealing the hollow commercial centre to be on display.
The one making the choice should also be subject to the consequences.
Elons choice to harness himself to a narcissistic sociopath that looked like the investment choice of the century in November last year, now looks like the absolute opposite. Musk will feel the consequences where it really hurts: his ego, self-belief, and $billions, as well as his ability to attract those who provide the means to make him so successful into his orbit.
Sadly, the impact of Musk’s choices will also be felt by many who have followed him, many without much more than a wish to ensure they were on the gravy-train.
The wider community will be worse off by the fall from grace of a remarkable innovator. However, I would not count out a revival, assuming my gloomy picture of the immediate future is correct. Musk, amongst his many traits is incredibly resilient.
