I have met your backwards "CEO" in many different places and times. I
have never succeeded in changing his or her mental models except at great
cost to my time and sanity. However, in hopes that a better world awaits
those who keep trying, here are my suggestions for dealing with this
problem.
>He doesn't talk with the people...
Suggest he read the Prince and the Pauper - again.
>He doesn't trust them or believe that they care about the organization
Suggest that he take a three week vacation and when he returns to find
that the organization is still functioning, suggest that all the employees
simultaneously take a three week vacation while he runs the business in
their absence. Watch his face carefully for signs of inspiration.
>He seems to have a deep conviction that blue collar workers want to work
>as little as possible for as much pay as possible
Institute a "take the boss home to dinner and conversation" program and
send him out into the blue collar world for a night each week.
Have him watch the 1989 film, "Roger and Me"
(http://us.imdb.com/cache/urls/title+94603 for info).
Take him on a tour of any Veteran's facility in America and have him
identify the white collar residents and list their sacrifices to a cause
greater than themselves.
If all else fails, kick his butt really hard. This will not change his
mental models, but it will give you great satisfaction.
--Lon Badgett lonbadgett@aol.com
"Once a leader is wise enough to recognize the need to change then he must be courageous enough to make changes - for he truly is a coward first and a leader second if he cannot." Emil Gobersneke
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>