Friday, April 02, 2004
CEO Sabbaticals
Matthew Lynn of Bloomberg.com (quoted in The Week) notes that many high-powered corporate CEOs have “borrowed from the more sedate world of academia, awarding themselves a sabbatical.” Lynn points out that these CEOs may be using the term sabbatical in its original, biblical sense, connected with the Sabbath. He quotes Leviticus 25:2-3: "Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the Lord: Thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard. If the agricultural practicality can be applied metaphorically, the implication is that the seventh year is one of rest and recovery. Lynn suggests that CEOs are increasingly seeking this rest to refresh their minds:
Executive sabbaticals are, however, a far cry from academic sabbaticals. For one thing, few professors have the luxury of year-long breaks, let alone of "awarding themselves sabbaticals". For another, the purpose of the academic sabbatical may have changed over the years. Originally the purpose of the sabbatical was to give university professors time for the purposes of study and travel (I'm quoting from the Oxford English Dictionary here), presumably because such enrichment would enhance their abilities to perform their duties when they returned. But, as the OED notes, the meaning has been transferred to imply "rest or absence from other occupations, professions, or activities". In other words, the sense of activity has been lost.
But this is surely not the case in academia. Sabbaticals are technically not awarded unless requested for the purpose of an active scholarly agenda, and many of us look forward to them not as a period of rest and recovery but as an opportunity for intensive work on scholarly activity for which we do not have time whilst performing our normal teaching and service duties.
I wonder if corporate CEOs really are taking their cue from academia. Or perhaps academia should now start taking a cue from corporate CEOs?
Running a company used to be about doing things. Now, it is as much about thinking about things.
Maybe that explains why businessmen are stealing a lesson from universities -- professors know all about the importance of thinking rather than doing.
To see issues clearly, a mind needs to be rested. A sabbatical helps professors do that. Who knows? Maybe it will help corporate leaders as well.
Executive sabbaticals are, however, a far cry from academic sabbaticals. For one thing, few professors have the luxury of year-long breaks, let alone of "awarding themselves sabbaticals". For another, the purpose of the academic sabbatical may have changed over the years. Originally the purpose of the sabbatical was to give university professors time for the purposes of study and travel (I'm quoting from the Oxford English Dictionary here), presumably because such enrichment would enhance their abilities to perform their duties when they returned. But, as the OED notes, the meaning has been transferred to imply "rest or absence from other occupations, professions, or activities". In other words, the sense of activity has been lost.
But this is surely not the case in academia. Sabbaticals are technically not awarded unless requested for the purpose of an active scholarly agenda, and many of us look forward to them not as a period of rest and recovery but as an opportunity for intensive work on scholarly activity for which we do not have time whilst performing our normal teaching and service duties.
I wonder if corporate CEOs really are taking their cue from academia. Or perhaps academia should now start taking a cue from corporate CEOs?
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