Forbes: Five Lessons for CEOs from Pope Francis
Time credits the Pope’s “masterly use of 21st century tools to perform his 1st century office.” Five are described below:
#4 Choose Personnel as Policy: To change the culture of the church, Francis announced new job qualifications for bishops. They are now expected to be: “gentle, patient and merciful, animated by inner poverty, the freedom of the Lord and also by outward simplicity and austerity of life.” To show he means business, Francis suspended a bishop for overseeing a $42.5 million renovation of a church residence that included a $20,500 bathtub.
He appointed a new head of the Vatican Almoner and told him, “Sell your desk, you don’t need it. You need to get out of the Vatican. Don’t wait for people to come ringing.” This on-the-ground-ministry was evident when the Vatican delivered free phone cards to Eritrean immigrants so they could call home and report they were safe after their crowded boat capsized on the way to Italy.
#5 Confront Tough Issues: Time describes Francis’ “talent for empathy and engaging people in conversation.” He also is recognized for making astute assessments of others and “leading productive meetings.” The deployment of these managerial gifts is evident in the progress made in tackling tough issues over the past nine months:
a) Corruption at the Vatican Bank: Focusing on initiatives to counter money laundering and increase transparency of the Vatican’s finances, the bank in October issued its first annual report, since it was founded in 1942.
b) Sex Abuse Crisis: In December, a group of eight consultative bishops named a new commission on sex abuse intended “to focus more on the behavioral problems at the core” of this crisis and less on “the legal challenges.”
c) Economic Inequality: In his first Apostolic Exhortation, Francis questioned the factual basis for trickle-down economics and the belief “that, encouraged by a free market, this will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world.” He echoed concerns expressed by Warren Buffett, as well as Nobel Laureates Edmund Phelps and Robert Schiller, who argue that capitalism is at risk when it ignores societal needs.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurarittenhouse/2014/01/06/five-lessons-for-ceos-from-pope-francis-i/