Godsoe Makes the Most of Resources to Become
CEO of ScotiabankHow do you ensure your way to the top? Peter Godsoe was determined to become
CEO of Scotiabank. In his quest for this job, he learned how to “outlast and outwit
other hopefuls.”^56 When he was put in charge of the bank’s lending in the United
States and Latin America, he made the operation his own by giving it a new name, the
Western Hemisphere International Regional Office (WHIRO). While heading WHIRO,
he reported to Scott McDonald, who was regarded as a potential successor to then
CEO Ced Ritchie. In order to raise his profile, Godsoe built “a loyal following by
making WHIRO the hot shop,” thus making himself look better than McDonald.
Godsoe developed cartoons, WHIRO hero awards, a crest, jackets, and a Latin motto
that translated: “If you don’t have a hernia, you’re not pulling your weight,” all with
the aim of strengthening his unit’s culture and making it more prominent within
the bank. After his time at WHIRO, Godsoe demonstrated a remarkable knack for get-
ting himself appointed the head of every organizational division created. Eventually,
McDonald ended up leaving the bank, while Godsoe replaced Ritchie (but not before
he threatened to leave to accept another job offer).Maybe the most important factor behind politics within organizations is the real-
ization that most of the “facts” that are used to allocate the limited resources are open
to interpretation. What, for instance, is goodperformance? What is an adequateimprove-
ment? What constitutes an unsatisfactoryjob? It is in this large and ambiguous middle
ground of organizational life—where the facts don’tspeak for themselves—that poli-
tics flourish.
Finally, because most decisions must be made in a climate of ambiguity—where
facts are rarely fully objective and thus are open to interpretation—people within organ-
izations will use whatever influence they can to taint the facts to support their goals
and interests. That, of course, creates the activities we call politicking.For more about
how one engages in politicking, see From Concepts to Skillson page 248–249.
Chapter 7Power and Politics 237OB IN THE WORKPLACEPresident and CEO Aris Kaplanis
of Toronto-based high-tech firm
Teranet (shown here at far right
with his senior management
group) discourages negative
office politics by his employees.
The company employs the Golden
Rule, “Do unto others as you
would have others do unto you.”
He tells his employees, “If you’re
here to play a game, you’re in the
wrong business.”Scotiabank
http://www.scotiabank.com