Authority without responsibility is illegitimate; but so is responsibility without authority.
“Public” responsibility was to Alfred Sloan worse than unprofessional; it was irresponsible, a usurpation of power. “We have a responsibility toward higher education,” a chief executive of a major American corporation once said at a meeting both Sloan and I attended. “Do we in business have any authority over higher education?” Sloan asked. “Should we have any?” “Of course not,” was the answer. “Then let’s not talk about ‘responsibility,’ ” said Sloan with asperity. “You are a senior executive in a big company and you know the first rule: authority and responsibility must be congruent and commensurate to ...
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