“Theranos rose quickly from being a college dropout’s idea
to revolutionize the blood analysis industry to a hot tech bet that accrued
$700 million in funding and many famous names for its board.”[1]
Elizabeth Holmes, the company’s founder, was stripped of her position at the
company in 2018 after the SEC discovered her deep involvement with the fraud at
the company. Her “smarts, fierce determination and Steve Jobs-inspired look . .
. were critical” to her being able to perpetuate the lie that the company had a
device that could do blood tests with just a scant amount of blood, obviating
the unpleasant experience of having blood drawn by needle.[2]
Although Jack Welsh, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs accomplished enough to warrant their
fame, I submit that companies are too prone to create “champions”—even strangely
calling them “rock stars.” In other words, even though charismatic vision is of
value to a business, neither such a leader nor his or her vision itself should
be overplayed. Business, I submit, has a marked tendency to do just that, and
often with impunity.
The full essay is at "Fraudulent Charismatic Vision at Theranos."
On leadership vision, see Skip Worden, The Essence of Leadership: A Cross-Cultural Foundation
[1]
Marco della Cava, “Behind the Scenes of Theranos’ Dramatic Rise, Fall,” USA Today, March 16, 2018.
[2]
Ibid.
