Could Pre-employment Tests Have Saved Lehman and Merrill Lynch?

Pre-employment tests plus corporate culture convulsions could have saved Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch, according to industrial psychologist Dr. Michael Mercer. 

CORPORATE CULTURES OF CIRCULAR FIRING SQUADS

“The corporate cultures of Lehman and Merrill were like circular firing squads,” observes Dr. Mercer, of Barrington, Illinois.

“Their bizarrely wild risky behavior naturally led to blowing themselves up,” says Dr. Mercer, author of “Hire the Best and Avoid the Rest.”  “It is like someone acting crazy at a rowdy party, and then committing suicide to cap off the night.”

Interestingly, Dr. Mercer had close encounters of the Lehman kind.  He was a member of the board of directors at a publicly-traded company that received unsolicited calls from Lehman.  At board meetings, he heard about pushy “Lehman bankers calling to peddle other companies to us, or trying to sway us to sell our company.”

“Those antics made Lehman seem like obnoxious children throwing frequent tantrums – hoping they eventually might get their way if they harassed us enough,” commented Dr. Mercer. 

Corporate culture trickles down from the top brass, just like children copy some of their parents’ behaviors.  “Now,” observes Dr. Mercer, “the whole world sees the horrible result of what trickled down from the top of two huge investment banks.”

PRE-EMPLOYMENT TESTS HELP AVOID HIRING KAMIKAZES.

If corporate culture changed, then pre-employment tests and other hiring methods could have helped Lehman and Merrill Lynch hire ambitious but cooler heads.  “Apparently, Lehman and Merrill hired many sensation seekers who felt thrilled executing a suicidal strategy.”

“Pre-employment tests could have helped Merrill and Lehman avoid hiring kamikazes,” quips Dr. Mercer.

“The pre-employment testing at Lehman and Merrill should have focused on helping hire investment bankers with healthier ambitions,” Dr. Mercer remarked.  “For instance, the pre-employment tests could have helped them hire bankers who were less aggressive, keenly followed rules, and focused on service rather than unquenchable greed.”

Of course, now it is too late to alter the harm and mischief Lehman and Merrill did to themselves, hoards of investors, and the financial markets. 

Nevertheless, Dr. Mercer feels optimistic:  “Some people need to learn the hard way.  Lehman and Merrill gifted millions of people with useful lessons about pushiness, sensation seeking, risky behavior, and immediate gratification.  I’m sure this debacle taught many people to act wiser.”