Culture Week - Part 3: Sargent Staples

In recent years when we read stories about CEOs of Fortune 500 companies it is full of dirt, dishonesty, greed, fraud, and theft. After all have we not all read enough about Enron, WorldCom and Arthur Andersen? It was with that background that I began to read an article on Ron Sargent.

Ron was named the CEO of Staples in 2002. A lot of what Ron Sargent does is the usual “run of the mill CEO stuff.” (If there is such a thing as run of the mill CEO stuff.) He leads his board and directs the incredible growth of this company. (It has grown 144% since 2002.) He says some pretty unusual stuff for a guy in his position at times, and some pretty predictable stuff at the same time. Here are a few quotes accompanied with my comments.

“Money does not trump integrity. Values like integrity and courage are alive and well in most directors and executives.” – This is a great line in response to a policy he has in place that he and other senior executives must own stock in the company worth at least five times their annual salary. Ron is an advocate that a good leader must have some “skin” in the game. In my line of work in the church, I feel like it is real skin that I have invested. I have often told folks, I did not go into ministry for the financial rewards. If I did I made the wrong career choice. Actually it is not a career for me, it is a calling. I spend most of my waking hours and many of the ones where I should be asleep, thinking and praying about what the church should be like or should do.

“Those two cases are in a league of their own. Those were unusual circumstances.” – Commenting on Enron and WorldCom. My response, maybe . . . maybe not. But I would probably say the same thing about Jim Jones and Jim Bakker. So I am not all that different in defending my field.

“You cannot legislate morality.” – Commenting on CEO fraud. I realize what he is trying to say, but that is a very broad statement that is tough to defend. Last I checked, murder and rape were moral issues. I sure hope we try to legislate them.

If you look at his picture, he is a pretty unassuming guy. He is 49 years old and reminds me of the “nerdy boss” or high school teacher on any number of sitcoms. But the guy does have an Economics Degree from Harvard College and an MBA from Harvard business school. He obviously leaves me in the dust when it comes to intelligence.

Now, I am not attacking a man I do not know. In reality, most of what I read about Ron Sargent would indeed make me buy Staples stock . . . if I had any spare money. Here is what ran through my mind as I read the article. In the 1980s and 1990s church after church got into trouble by Pastors who spent more time in the Wall Street Journal than they did in the Bible. Now, I think a Pastor should read the Journal or something similar; I just quoted the business section didn’t I?

Here is where the issues arise in my opinion. Many of those pastors bought into the idea of the Pastor as CEO model. Those men and women (although mostly men) ran their churches like a company and in many cases I think did irreparable harm to those churches. It was a trend, and a very bad one at that.

Do not misunderstand, I think churches should use sound business practices. There have been times (one in particular) where I allowed myself to lose sight of that, and paid a dear price for it. But, and this is a big one, let’s never forget, the church is not a business. The church is a living group of believers. The church is not an organization, although it has organizational characteristics. The church is an organism. It lives and breathes and reproduces.

Yes, there is much I can learn from men and women like Ron Sargent. I should listen to what they say. But, there are likewise one or two things they could learn from men and women like me. I always remember that even though I want to be a good steward of the things entrusted to me in this life, there is a spiritual dimension that will ultimately trump the physical reality in which we live. And here is the kicker, the two are connected!!

Oh, by the way, did I mention that Ron Sargent’s 2003 salary was $2.4 million with bonuses? Also, I failed to mention Ron drives a Toyota Camry with 152,000 miles on it.

His stock just dipped and rose in the same paragraph didn’t it?