Hightower Lowdown

What’s the matter with CEOs? Why is it that they fire so many loyal and productive workers, willfully pollute our air and water, cruelly yank away the pension and health benefits earned by their retirees …and generally behave like ruthless bullies? Well, at last, we’re learning the dark truth about CEOs: Almost all of them were spanked when they were children. USA Todayand others have recently surveyed some CEOs, and--yep-- as kids, nearly all felt the sting of the belt, the switch, or whatever. For example, GE’s infamous tough-guy CEO, Jack Welch, notes that his momma used to whup him with a shoe! Some of these honchos assert that getting a regular whack has been good for them, making them disciplined, detailed, and driven. How about authoritarian, obsessive, and relentless? Joe Moglia, for example, the top dog at TD Ameritrade, says that his parents’ frequent swattings taught him that “tough love is better than soft love”--a lesson that he says he applies to Ameritrade employees. “You appreciate goodweather days when you get rain,” Joe barks. Yeah, Joe, we’ll remember that lovely little aphorism the next time our jobs get downsized or offshored. On a brighter note, Sara Blakely is a CEO who converted her spanking experience into a successful business. She says she was spanked so often that she soon learned to wear five pairs of undies at the same time to cushion the blow. Now, Sara runs a women’s underwear company, giving it the memorable name Spanx.