Delta Delay

Delta's search for a new CEO represents another delay. But not the type that leaves you in the Crown Room begging for a way out.

The challenge is two-fold: How to find someone to fill the chief post while keeping operations and the business moving continuously forward away from Chapter 11. The company says a decision isn't likely until at least the end of August when the board re-convenes. No lack of opinions out here on what they should or should not do. Some are informed while others, well...

Here's my personal favorite: "It's a cat fight to the finish between Paula Rosput (a current Delta board member and former CEO of Atlanta-based AGL Resources) and Marce Fuller, who used to run Mirant Corp. The fact that one of them (Fuller) is unemployed and the other semi-retired at a Seattle insuror makes it even more intense. Wake us when it's over."

According to an informal poll of search experts, the most likely option will be identifying a strong Chairman/CEO type along the lines of current CEO Gerald Grinstein. This person would then allow the two top internal candidates, Ed Bastian and Jim Whitehurst, to remain in their existing roles. Two other rumored contenders currently fit the bill but only one has experience operating a large airline. Daniel Carp currently serves as non-executive Chairman.

But that's all conventional wisdom. It's difficult to see how the board will just go with what's so obvious. Prior to Grinstein, there was Leo Mullin, the consummate outsider and McKinsey expert who inherited not only a flawed business model but also was forced to manage through 9/11. Some defend Mullin with great gusto, but we're not among them. It's a credibility thing. The last insider was a Delta original, Ron Allen, which, well, it's not worth turning that far back.

It's our view that the "new Delta" needs a fresh new leader, one that can continue the momentum, remain optimistic but accept a reality that no one else seems willing to: Sustained profitability for a large carrier in the current system is dreaming at best, living a lie at worst.

Would anyone like some peanuts? Okay, sorry, snack mix and complimentary beverage?

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Pay to Patter

'Rahodeb' here. Ok, not really. Anyone still scratching their heads after reading the latest on Whole Foods' CEO? We're moving quickly from the issue of pay to patter. Here are some observations for your own edification:

1.) Patter matters. Ironically, digital communication now has a longer shelf life than print. Emails, IMs, Yahoo chat room postings (who has time?), you name it. All subject to ready search and fast distribution.
2.) To update an old saying, it's never the (crime) indiscretion, always the (cover-up) trail. 'Rahodeb' not alone by any stretch. High time flat footed Baby Boomer executives caught up to the realities of new media. Taking this point a step further...
3.) Digital Dumb doesn't provide a free pass to decline participation in the electronic age. Information is moving too fast for some figures, such as New Jersey Gov. Corzine, to start thinking he can claim privilege and everything will go back to the way it was before. Distinctions between official and personal don't wash publicly.

Before the Whole Foods situation explodes into a Paris-like cable news frenzy, here's the key question that their board needs to answer: When the antitrust comments first surfaced, why did the CEO (or did the CEO) fire back on his own blog? Did he know then the extent of what we all know now? And if so, then does that represent an omission that was voluntary or one endorsed by a privileged source such as a lawyer?

Better yet...Take these questions/answers and then measure against the company's stellar performance and cult-like brand status. Then and only then can the "Fire Mackey?" be deliberately answered.

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Founder's Syndrome

Click here for the perfect summer read: http://www.foundread.com/view/curing-the-founders. Okay, maybe not perfect but entirely true. Take it from a founder who learned the hard way.