When executives misspeak

MANY PEOPLEKPMG, including this columnist, complain that chief executives make bland statements that are full of corporate jargon. It becomes easy to understand why managers are addicted to waffle when a boss foolishly decides to give his employees a piece of his mind.The latest culprit was Bill Michael, the British chairman of , a big consultancy. In a virtual meeting Mr Michael dismissed staff concerns about the pandemic, saying that “you can’t play the role of victim unless you’re sick. I hope you’re not sick and you’re not ill and if you’re not take control of your life. Don’t sit there and moan about it, quite frankly.” Then he waded into the issues of racism and sexism by adding, “There is no such thing as unconscious bias. I don’t buy it. Because after every single unconscious-bias training that’s ever been done, nothing’s ever improved.”