Ralph Shrader, chairman and chief executive of Booz Allen Hamilton, would seem to have little in common with Mick Jagger, lead singer of the Rolling Stones. Shrader, besides being the head of a management consultancy, is a buttoned-down electrical engineer. Jagger, of course, is a strutting rock singer known for his protuberant lips and fast lifestyle.
But a study commissioned by McLean, Va.-based Booz Allen says the Stones represent enduring value. Shrader's firm is publishing the study, done by a team of academics, as part of its 90th birthday celebration. Among the enduring institutions it identifies are Oxford University, General Electric, Sony, the U.S. Constitution, the International Telecommunications Union, Dartmouth College, the Salvation Army, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Olympic Games. According to the academics, these institutions share the ability to innovate and adapt, leadership that balances stability and change, and a commitment to excellence.
"Enduring value" was the theme of a talk that Shrader gave at Wharton in November. "The concept of enduring institutions intrigues us at Booz Allen Hamilton," he said. "I would like to challenge the contemporary thinking that something or someone has to be new to be good. We make a grave mistake when we look at the future with our backs to the past. The past is what brought us to where we are."
His message, Shrader added, is clearly relevant to today's business environment. "Some of the reasons for the corporate leadership problems we have seen over the last several years [have to do with] overemphasis on things that change and not enough on things that endure," he argued. Executives at companies such as Enron, Tyco and Adelphia certainly seemed more concerned about their company's quarterly results and their short-term compensation than about their companies' long-term viability and their shareholders' financial well being.
Likewise, the technology bubble of the late 1990s focused more on cashing in today than building companies for tomorrow, Shrader said.
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