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Standard Chartered CEO walks back comment about 'lower-value human capital'

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Re: Standard Chartered CEO walks back comment about 'lower-value human capital'

#11

Post by erulabs »

Obviously a stupid thing for a leader to say about his own employees but I think getting emotionally upset about this statement is also pretty silly.

Having employees represents deployed capital. Some of that "human capital" is lower value than others. Obviously AI will replace the lowest segments first. Call it heartless or accurate, you're correct either way, but these are not words that cut deep into the heart of heads of banks - its more or less their entire job to be heartless and accurate.

I've worked for companies who have kind, sensitive, and inaccurate leadership. The result was everyone was out of a job, rather than just the low performers. Pick your poison.

Re: Standard Chartered CEO walks back comment about 'lower-value human capital'

#12

Post by [deleted] »

etgpao wrote: post #2

Calling employees 'lower-value human capital' reveals a lot about a company's internal culture, regardless of the PR walkback. Even if AI can automate certain tasks, language like this completely destroys team morale and trust. Good leaders should view automation as a tool to empower their team, not just a weapon to cut costs.

[deleted]

Re: Standard Chartered CEO walks back comment about 'lower-value human capital'

#13

Post by bdangubic »

etgpao wrote: post #2

Calling employees 'lower-value human capital' reveals a lot about a company's internal culture, regardless of the PR walkback. Even if AI can automate certain tasks, language like this completely destroys team morale and trust. Good leaders should view automation as a tool to empower their team, not just a weapon to cut costs.

"lower-value human capital" sounds like a compliment to me, would expect a lot worse from an average CEO

Re: Standard Chartered CEO walks back comment about 'lower-value human capital'

#14

Post by ryandvm »

etgpao wrote: post #2

Calling employees 'lower-value human capital' reveals a lot about a company's internal culture, regardless of the PR walkback. Even if AI can automate certain tasks, language like this completely destroys team morale and trust. Good leaders should view automation as a tool to empower their team, not just a weapon to cut costs.

Especially when it comes to CEOs. I have worked at companies where the CEOs literally offered nothing but the skill of being friends with other CEOs.

Re: Standard Chartered CEO walks back comment about 'lower-value human capital'

#15

Post by tintor »

erulabs wrote: post #11

Obviously a stupid thing for a leader to say about his own employees but I think getting emotionally upset about this statement is also pretty silly. Having employees represents deployed capital. Some of that "human capital" is lower value than others. Obviously AI will replace the lowest segments first. Call it heartless or accurate, you're correct either way, but these are not words that cut deep into the heart of…

Humans employees are neither resources, nor capital.

Re: Standard Chartered CEO walks back comment about 'lower-value human capital'

#16

Post by happytoexplain »

mbesto wrote: post #8
etgpao wrote: post #2

Calling employees 'lower-value human capital' reveals a lot about a company's internal culture, regardless of the PR walkback. Even if AI can automate certain tasks, language like this completely destroys team morale and trust. Good leaders should view automation as a tool to empower their team, not just a weapon to cut costs.

Yes and no. The company is a bank - it's job is to take money and make money with that. I'm not surprised executive management is publicly saying they want to make investments in assets that will help their clients and they themselves make more money.

That's not what the parent commented on.

Re: Standard Chartered CEO walks back comment about 'lower-value human capital'

#17

Post by happytoexplain »

erulabs wrote: post #11

Obviously a stupid thing for a leader to say about his own employees but I think getting emotionally upset about this statement is also pretty silly. Having employees represents deployed capital. Some of that "human capital" is lower value than others. Obviously AI will replace the lowest segments first. Call it heartless or accurate, you're correct either way, but these are not words that cut deep into the heart of…

"But it's true" is nonsensical as evidence for "it's silly to get upset about", unless one is a psychopath by the common definition.

Re: Standard Chartered CEO walks back comment about 'lower-value human capital'

#18

Post by asdff »

mbesto wrote: post #8
etgpao wrote: post #2

Calling employees 'lower-value human capital' reveals a lot about a company's internal culture, regardless of the PR walkback. Even if AI can automate certain tasks, language like this completely destroys team morale and trust. Good leaders should view automation as a tool to empower their team, not just a weapon to cut costs.

Yes and no. The company is a bank - it's job is to take money and make money with that. I'm not surprised executive management is publicly saying they want to make investments in assets that will help their clients and they themselves make more money.

Where does it stop? Slavery would be fine if only it were legal? I mean that is the logical conclusion of a lot of business efficiency thinking. Business efficiency in a lot of ways is inhuman and against the spirit of "the collective tribe," which was originally about mutual wellbeing, not the ever more efficient extraction of resources to the benefit of the chosen few, although it was perverted that way at some point by those with the relevant mutations predisposing them to sociopathy.

Re: Standard Chartered CEO walks back comment about 'lower-value human capital'

#19

Post by mbesto »

happytoexplain wrote: post #16
mbesto wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes and no. The company is a bank - it's job is to take money and make money with that. I'm not surprised executive management is publicly saying they want to make investments in assets that will help their clients and they themselves make more money.

That's not what the parent commented on.

"Even if AI can automate certain tasks, language like this completely destroys team morale and trust. "

That's what the parent commented on and that was my response.

Re: Standard Chartered CEO walks back comment about 'lower-value human capital'

#20

Post by elzbardico »

etgpao wrote: post #2

Calling employees 'lower-value human capital' reveals a lot about a company's internal culture, regardless of the PR walkback. Even if AI can automate certain tasks, language like this completely destroys team morale and trust. Good leaders should view automation as a tool to empower their team, not just a weapon to cut costs.

Oh man. It is a bank, Most finance people think exactly like that.

They just pretend most of the time they don't and we also pretend that we believe them most of the time.

Maybe it is about time we stop with all those pretend pleasantries and face the reality: when mega finance CEOs talk about our glorious UBI feature, they are not planning an idilic post-work world that looks like a Jehova's witness book illustration where we all spend our days writing poetry, painting and making music, they are planning something more like Soylent Green.

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