(Un)conditional? Reversals

“The board of Wachovia Corp. forced out longtime Chief Executive Officer G. Kennedy Thompson after months of shareholder criticism and deteriorating financial performance.

“The surprise ouster was the culmination of a four-day drama inside the bank's Charlotte, N.C., headquarters. Just three weeks ago, the bank's chairman, Lanty L. Smith, had expressed unconditional support for the 57-year-old chief executive. On Thursday, however, Mr. Smith informed Mr. Thompson that he'd lost the confidence of the board and should retire. By Sunday afternoon, when the board met, he was out.

“Mr. Thompson's reputation as an effective leader… crumbled in an avalanche of bad news.

“Mr. Smith, who will take over temporarily as chief executive, said that the removal of Mr. Thompson wasn't in reaction to any new troubling developments, and that Wachovia has plenty of capital. ‘The fact that we're doing this in a thoughtful way should inspire confidence, since we're not doing this in the midst of a barrage of bad news,’ he said...

“A series of public pronouncements that were subsequently reversed -- including repeated expressions of confidence in Mr. Thompson -- threaten to undermine investor confidence in Wachovia's board. After insisting for months that it wouldn't need to cut its dividend or raise additional capital, Wachovia slashed the dividend by 41% in April and moved to raise $8 billion...

“Mr. Smith says he doesn't think he or the board has lost credibility. He says he meant it when he expressed prior support for Mr. Thompson. The board has been deliberative and ‘very thorough,’ he says…

“There was no major new catalyst for the board's ouster of Mr. Thompson over the weekend, people close to the situation say. ‘There's just a point at which the board says, Enough,’ one of these people says...

“Mr. Thompson was slow to acknowledge how seriously the bank's credit profile was deteriorating, according to people close to the board. Data on the performance of Golden West's adjustable-rate-mortgage portfolio… were far worse than internal projections had indicated, one of these people says. Mr. Thompson remained too optimistic about the company's prospects, this person says. ‘What he has been telling the board hasn't been realistic,’ this person says.”

(“Wachovia Board Ousts CEO As Bank's Missteps Mount; Thompson Faulted for Response to Credit Woes, Stock Slump.” Valerie Bauerlein and David Enrich. Wall Street Journal: June 3, 2008. p. A.1)

STAND UP AND DELIVER; or at least stand up, even if you can no longer deliver.

To know where you stand, you must stand where you know... know your world, your people, and yourself... really, in reality.