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A person’s title has always carried great significance. Whether a title is passed down by birth right or acquired through rising position, it is clear that people throughout history have cherished the social stature that accompany such denomination. Haile Selassie of Ethiopia described himself as Emperor of Ethiopia, Lion of Judah, Descendant of Solomon and Sheba, among many other titles. And the titles of present day Emperors of Japan or King of Thailand run into multiple lines!
In the business world, titles have often been utilised in the context of strategy. Cipla, one of the largest family-controlled (but publicly listed) companies in India, implemented a policy in which they discontinued the use of all titles. The calling card merely displayed the person’s name, department and the company name. As a result, many executives quit and joined other companies because they felt “orphaned” without a title. Many others stayed on – albeit reluctantly – and ultimately became accustomed to this policy. Cipla remained a title-less organisation for over ten years, in which it has grown to become one of the top three pharmaceutical companies in India! With the changing times, Cipla eventually reinstated titles, and now follows the corporate norm.
In contrast to this extreme, banks – especially multinational banks – distribute the title of Vice President liberally and generously. The reason behind this particular practice is that it it allows junior executives to be able to book meetings with senior decision makers in client companies. Without such a lavish title, they would not even get a chance to make an initial presentation. The same strategy can be seen in airlines, as well as insurance and finance companies. In order to fish for meetings, they often use the title as their “bait”.
In the family business, one can question whether titles matter to the founder, his children or his grandchildren. Surely the surname itself is sufficient and self-evident. After all, do the Rockefellers, Fords, Cardins, or Gates have to establish their positions and status by describing themselves as President, CEO, or any other title?
I found the answer to this question when I was doing an assignment for a third generation family company, where fourteen grandchildren were employed in worldwide operations. Each of these grandchildren were Presidents and Vice Presidents, but many of them were not pulling their weight. My assignment was to assess their suitability for their present positions, and report my findings to the Chairman. Ultimately, I found eight of them to be completely unsuitable for their position, and found them lacking in skills for commercial activity. They had neither the education, experience nor the ability to learn, and were a complete drag on the performance of the group.
Upon completing the assessment, I got these eight grandchildren to agree to resign from their assignment and be free to do whatever their passion was, whether it be art, golf or travel. They would be paid all the emoluments and benefits, and they would get substantial dividends from their shares. Ultimately, this new arrangement was successful, and the Chairman was greatly pleased that “operation weeding out” was complete without ill feeling or rancour!
However, a fortnight later, I began to receive notes from each of the grandchildren who began withdrawing from our agreement. What had happened? As it turned out, the wives of all eight had objected to this agreement. Their husbands could NOT quit their jobs! What would people say? If someone were to ask them what their husband did for a living, what would their answer be? That he plays golf? Or that he paints? All were unacceptable answers! They wanted to be able to say that he is the President of X Corporation. The wives needed a title for their husbands even more than the husbands did, because it was an anchor in the social circle that they moved in!
It was then that I truly felt the importance of titles in the family business, even when the surname commands easy recognition. The extent of the social implications of one’s title was astounding, and ultimately begs the question: What does your title mean to you?
