It's easy to talk about doing the right thing. But here’s a remarkable story about a CEO who actually did.
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By 2011, Glacier Bancorp suspected it had a problem.
Glacier is based in Kalispell, Montana – the biggest town in one of the most picturesque valleys in America.
It’s known as the gateway to Glacier National Park.
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Glacier is based in Kalispell, Montana – the biggest town in one of the most picturesque valleys in America.
It’s known as the gateway to Glacier National Park.
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To address the problem, Glacier’s board hired an outside consultant, @McLagan_Global, to review how much its executives were paid.
They knew Glacier was an outlier, but they didn’t know the full extent of it.
The consultant confirmed their suspicions.
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They knew Glacier was an outlier, but they didn’t know the full extent of it.
The consultant confirmed their suspicions.
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Glacier’s top execs didn’t just earn less than counterparts at similar banks…
They earned A LOT less.
Glacier’s CEO at the time, Michael “Mick” Blodnick, was paid less than any other CEO in Glacier’s peer group.
The average CEO earned FIVE TIMES as much.
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They earned A LOT less.
Glacier’s CEO at the time, Michael “Mick” Blodnick, was paid less than any other CEO in Glacier’s peer group.
The average CEO earned FIVE TIMES as much.
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Was this because Glacier was a poorly run bank?
Absolutely not.
Glacier wasn’t just a well-run bank…
Its performance was legendary.
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Absolutely not.
Glacier wasn’t just a well-run bank…
Its performance was legendary.
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Glacier was so revered by analysts and investors that, in Nov. 2008, it raised $98 million in the public markets at 2.1 times book value.
That was just NINE WEEKS AFTER LEHMAN BROTHERS FAILED, when most banks were on the brink of extinction.
glacierbancorp.com/news-market-in…
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That was just NINE WEEKS AFTER LEHMAN BROTHERS FAILED, when most banks were on the brink of extinction.
glacierbancorp.com/news-market-in…
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By the time Blodnick retired in 2016, Glacier had earned a total shareholder return of 30,000% since going public in 1984, according to @ycharts.
That ranked Glacier second among publicly traded banks based on all-time total shareholder return.
(M&T Bank ranked first.)
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That ranked Glacier second among publicly traded banks based on all-time total shareholder return.
(M&T Bank ranked first.)
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But Blodnick was not one to seek the limelight or bask in his glory.
He grew up dirt poor.
His father drove a forklift for 40 years at the copper smelter in Anaconda, Montana.
“We didn’t have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out,” Blodnick once told me.
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He grew up dirt poor.
His father drove a forklift for 40 years at the copper smelter in Anaconda, Montana.
“We didn’t have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out,” Blodnick once told me.
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Indeed, the more you study exceptional leaders, the more you appreciate the role that struggle and tragedy seem to play in their success.
It infuses them when genuine empathy, enabling them to operate comfortably across a broad spectrum of emotions.
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It infuses them when genuine empathy, enabling them to operate comfortably across a broad spectrum of emotions.
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Blodnick personified this.
He’s beloved in Montana.
His annual letters were a must read.
And he was one of the most inspirational speakers in banking.
After his final speech at an investor’s conference in 2016, virtually the entire room lined up to shake his hand.
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He’s beloved in Montana.
His annual letters were a must read.
And he was one of the most inspirational speakers in banking.
After his final speech at an investor’s conference in 2016, virtually the entire room lined up to shake his hand.
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Given all of this, it doesn’t make sense that Blodnick was paid less than every other bank CEO in his peer group.
None of them came even close to rivaling Glacier’s success during his tenure.
How does one reconcile this?
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None of them came even close to rivaling Glacier’s success during his tenure.
How does one reconcile this?
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The answer is simple.
Blodnick wouldn’t allow Glacier’s board to pay him more.
He also shot down the board's proposals to buy a plane so he wouldn’t have to constantly drive his pickup truck – his “Montana Maserati” – across the Rocky Mountains to visit Glacier’s banks.
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Blodnick wouldn’t allow Glacier’s board to pay him more.
He also shot down the board's proposals to buy a plane so he wouldn’t have to constantly drive his pickup truck – his “Montana Maserati” – across the Rocky Mountains to visit Glacier’s banks.
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He earned more than enough already, Blodnick figured.
And he didn't need more money.
Even today, his primary residence is the same house that he and his wife bought in 1980.
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And he didn't need more money.
Even today, his primary residence is the same house that he and his wife bought in 1980.
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Blodnick only relented after the board implored that they HAD to raise his salary if they wanted to attract a qualified candidate to succeed him.
To make his compensation competitive, in turn, the board had to increase it by a factor of five.
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To make his compensation competitive, in turn, the board had to increase it by a factor of five.
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Where does a selfless philosophy like this come from?
Why do most people, particularly those who lead large corporations, repudiate greed at the same time that they secretly embrace it?
And how can you distinguish between the two?
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Why do most people, particularly those who lead large corporations, repudiate greed at the same time that they secretly embrace it?
And how can you distinguish between the two?
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The answer lies in one’s background, I believe.
For Blodnick, it came from his dad.
“It’s never the wrong time to do the right thing,” he’d say, "and it’s never the right time to do the wrong thing.”
(His father suffered a heart attack watching news the day after 9/11.)
/END
For Blodnick, it came from his dad.
“It’s never the wrong time to do the right thing,” he’d say, "and it’s never the right time to do the wrong thing.”
(His father suffered a heart attack watching news the day after 9/11.)
/END
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