Real leadership

Scott Waddle, the former Navy commander, is one of the hottest speakers on the banking industry convention circuit. North*Western Financial Review first covered one of his speeches last summer when he spoke at the joint convention for the North Dakota and South Dakota Bankers Associations. I just

heard him speak at the Minnesota Bankers Association convention, after hearing him earlier this year address both the Independent Community Bankers of America and the annual meeting of the Nebraska Bankers Association. He makes an engaging presentation, but I have to admit that his message didn't really sink in with me until I was driving home from Duluth, where MBA had just concluded its annual meeting.

Waddle, a rising star in the Navy, was commander of the U.S.S. Greeneville submarine when it collided with a Japanese fishing vessel, resulting in the death of nine civilians. The accident occurred on February 9, 2001 and after an inquiry, Waddle was honorably discharged from the Navy. Although the story of the accident is dramatic, the pinnacle of Waddle's presentation is his description of apologizing to the victims' families. Against the advice of the Navy and his legal counsel, Waddle took full responsibility for the accident and ultimately traveled to Japan so he could personally apologize to the families of each of the nine victims.

Listening to the news on the radio, coming home from Duluth on June 28, however, I got a little better sense for what Waddle had done. June 28 was the day a jury acquitted Richard Scrushy of fraud charges related to his leadership at HealthSouth Corp. Scrushy was the founder and former CEO of this company that at one time employed 50,000 people and ran health care facilities in all 50 states. Over several years, the company had inflated its earnings by $2.7 billion. When shareholders and government auditors began asking questions, Scrushy denied knowledge of any financial shenanigans and blamed his five financial officers. I don't know any more about this case than what I have read in the newspapers, but it is hard for me to believe that the CEO of the company didn't know how the books were being kept. Scrushy is a man who refused to take responsibility; he blamed subordinates. Waddle, it occurred to me, could have done the same thing. But he didn't. He took full responsibility. It is not too difficult to figure out which of these two men is really a leader.

I am glad the banking associations bring us speakers like Scott Waddle. They offer us important messages, even if I have to think about them for a while to really understand. One more thing... If any banker association hires Scrushy to tell us his story, I'm staying home.

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By Tom Bengtson, Publisher