Assignment: 9/11

IB BUSINESS & MGMT HL A 2024
2024-08-16T18:51:00Z

Due: Sep 15, 2024 by 11:59pm

From the

Harvard Business Review

“September 11, 2001: A CEO’s Story”

by Jeffrey W. Greenberg, Chief Executive Officer of MMC

From the Magazine (October 2002)

(Edited by Travis Foust, it was 14 pages when I started…)

Directions: Read and answer the corresponding questions, short answers are ok, turn it in today. As you read, put yourself in the day with Jeffrey, imagine yourself in his shoes. This lesson is intended to teach you about 9/11 and its effect on business and how one business in particular dealt with it.

On September 11, 2001, Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC) had 1,908 people working in or visiting our offices in the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Eight hundred forty-five worked on floors 93 to 100 of One World Trade Center—the floors directly in the path of the first hijacked airliner to hit the buildings. We also had an employee who was a passenger on one of the planes. These are facts I can tell you with certainty; we have lived with them day and night ever since. What I cannot do is convey the grief we felt that day and the loss that stays with us.

1. Not all of MMC’s 1,908 employees who worked in the Twin Towers died that day but many did. How do you think that affected their business? Be specific.

2. Go to this website and briefly describe what MMC does, https://www.marshmclennan.com/about.html.

We have assisted the families of lost colleagues, relocated employees, recaptured data, and restored business capabilities. We can never completely recover from our human losses. We will always live with the consequences of September 11. But enough time has passed to reflect on the impact of the terrorist attacks on the company and our response to them—how we have mourned our losses, supported the families and one another, and continued to serve our clients.

3. Judging from these comments, what are the two main priorities of CEO Jeffery Greenberg? In what order? Number 1 being most important.

The Day the World Changed

I had just arrived at my office that morning when a colleague grabbed me and told me to come to the south windows. MMC’s headquarters in midtown Manhattan has an unobstructed view to the tip of lower Manhattan. Everyone else on the floor was already at those windows, looking with horror at smoke rising from a gash in One World Trade Center. As we struggled to make sense of what had happened—Had a small plane hit it? How could that happen on such a clear morning?—we saw a fireball erupt from the second tower. Suddenly we realized that the Trade Center—perhaps the country—was under attack.

4. Describe what you think the mood was among those people? What must have they been thinking and saying?

I think I was the only person who left the windows. Everyone else was glued to the scene, trying to phone colleagues in the two buildings. I needed to get to my office and start dealing with what this atrocity meant for MMC. Were people getting out of the buildings? Had we lost people? Which facilities were affected? Which clients were affected? What could we do? Where should we start? My phone was out. I had a TV moved in to get news; it remained on for the next week. By ten o’clock, I had gathered a group of managers in a nearby conference room, and we were beginning to figure out what needed to be done.

With the hope of helping our employees cope with the situation, I got on the emergency public-address system later that morning. Until then, I couldn’t have told you that we had a PA system in our building. But I soon got to know it well. That first message conveyed everything we knew and no speculation beyond that: “As you know, both towers of the World Trade Center have been hit by airplanes. We have employees in both towers.” I went on to inform people that colleagues on the 48th floor of the second tower had been evacuated and that transportation out of Manhattan had been shut down. I promised an update as soon as more information became available.

5. What soft skills did Greenberg exhibit during this time?

There were numerous operational issues. We needed to be able to serve clients, some of whom would no doubt be severely affected by the attacks. Our World Trade Center facilities had included the headquarters of one division, a data center housing servers for another, and telecommunications equipment. And the fourth concern was the financial effect on our ability to do business.

6. How do you think 9/11 affected MMC’s business?

7. How do you think 9/11 affected other businesses around the United States?

8. How do you think 9/11 affected the economy?

One of our employees, a young man, had been on the elevator heading to his office on the 93rd floor. He got off at floor 90 and made it down the stairs just before the building collapsed. Incredibly, employees who had just been evacuated from Tower Two appeared at headquarters, asking how they could help. There were many tearful reunions.

By Wednesday afternoon, we knew that 1,300 of our colleagues were safe. By Friday, the number had crept over 1,400. Every confirmed survivor at that point became cause for celebration—but at the same time, the reality was dawning that no one who had arrived at work that day in Tower One had made it out. We were left with the devastating reality that we had lost 295 members of our corporate family. Pictures of the missing began to cover the walls. The 35th floor quickly became a living memorial—an ongoing, mass wake. It was hard to be there and harder not to be.

9. On the morning of September 11, 2001 everyone was busy thinking about their day, thinking about work, their clients, the things they had to get done, etc… How do you think their perspective changed by the end of the day? What were they thinking about and focused on now?

During the week of the attacks, I saw the real strength of our community and culture and observed remarkable qualities in my colleagues. One young woman, for example, in the midst of chaos, took an active part in organizing the call center. She had been with the company for only two weeks, but she saw what needed to be done and kept her composure—that’s just who she is.

10. What one major soft skill did this “young woman” exhibit so well?

Although we had received hundreds of inquiries from the news media, the Wall Street Journal interview was our first in-depth comment to the media. We hadn’t wanted to speak publicly until we could provide a comprehensive report. Our priorities were to take care of our people and their families and to make sure our clients were well served. On Monday, September 17, the day the WSJ article appeared, our communications director and her team released a detailed report. That same day, we published a full-page letter in major newspapers worldwide describing what we knew and what we were doing.

11. What marketing function were these people performing? (hint, its a two word term, sometimes abbreviated with just two letters)

Running Our Business

We had severe challenges to address on the financial and operational fronts. In the short term, we knew we would incur heavy costs. An early priority was to make sure that we had adequate cash and that our bank lines of credit were open. The markets were closed in the immediate aftermath of the attacks, but we soon heard they were hoping to reopen on Monday, September 17. How much disruption would they experience? Were we prepared to support our stock if necessary?

12. When he said the “markets were closed,” what was he referring to? What does that mean and why were they closed?

In the midst of all this, we were aware of great needs on the part of our clients. Many of them had suffered losses, and virtually all of them were affected directly or indirectly by the terrorist attacks.

13. At this moment, was the number one concern of MMC making money? Why or why not?

14. Should the number one concern of business be profit? Why or why not?

Marsh, our risk and insurance services business, was facing unprecedented demand.

15. Why would MMC be so busy with new customers?

Between caring for our people and managing the business, many of us were putting in long days. We lost our sense of time. I wouldn’t think about it until I looked at my watch at some point in the evening and realized I’d started my workday almost 18 hours earlier. I could see profound fatigue in the faces of my colleagues, but it didn’t seem to matter to any of us because of all the things we needed to do. It was vital for our employees, as well as our clients and shareholders, to know that we were moving ahead. I wanted to make it clear that, even in mourning, we remained a proud and determined organization responsive to our clients’ needs.

16. Does it seem that Greenberg and others were lost in their work? Why did they do this? Was it healthy for them?

You can’t anticipate the precise shape of such a disaster. In a moment, the key becomes adaptability. Suddenly, our management priorities were different. We had to do things differently. My leadership approach had to match the needs of the moment. In a crisis, you understand the need for flexibility in facing all the situations you had not anticipated.

17. What major soft skill is being explained here?

From the

Harvard Business Review

“September 11, 2001: A CEO’s Story”

by Jeffrey W. Greenberg, Chief Executive Officer of MMC

From the Magazine (October 2002)

(Edited by Travis Foust, it was 14 pages when I started…)

Directions: Read and answer the corresponding questions, short answers are ok, turn it in today. As you read, put yourself in the day with Jeffrey, imagine yourself in his shoes. This lesson is intended to teach you about 9/11 and its effect on business and how one business in particular dealt with it.

On September 11, 2001, Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC) had 1,908 people working in or visiting our offices in the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Eight hundred forty-five worked on floors 93 to 100 of One World Trade Center—the floors directly in the path of the first hijacked airliner to hit the buildings. We also had an employee who was a passenger on one of the planes. These are facts I can tell you with certainty; we have lived with them day and night ever since. What I cannot do is convey the grief we felt that day and the loss that stays with us.

1. Not all of MMC’s 1,908 employees who worked in the Twin Towers died that day but many did. How do you think that affected their business? Be specific.

2. Go to this website and briefly describe what MMC does, https://www.marshmclennan.com/about.html.

We have assisted the families of lost colleagues, relocated employees, recaptured data, and restored business capabilities. We can never completely recover from our human losses. We will always live with the consequences of September 11. But enough time has passed to reflect on the impact of the terrorist attacks on the company and our response to them—how we have mourned our losses, supported the families and one another, and continued to serve our clients.

3. Judging from these comments, what are the two main priorities of CEO Jeffery Greenberg? In what order? Number 1 being most important.

The Day the World Changed

I had just arrived at my office that morning when a colleague grabbed me and told me to come to the south windows. MMC’s headquarters in midtown Manhattan has an unobstructed view to the tip of lower Manhattan. Everyone else on the floor was already at those windows, looking with horror at smoke rising from a gash in One World Trade Center. As we struggled to make sense of what had happened—Had a small plane hit it? How could that happen on such a clear morning?—we saw a fireball erupt from the second tower. Suddenly we realized that the Trade Center—perhaps the country—was under attack.

4. Describe what you think the mood was among those people? What must have they been thinking and saying?

I think I was the only person who left the windows. Everyone else was glued to the scene, trying to phone colleagues in the two buildings. I needed to get to my office and start dealing with what this atrocity meant for MMC. Were people getting out of the buildings? Had we lost people? Which facilities were affected? Which clients were affected? What could we do? Where should we start? My phone was out. I had a TV moved in to get news; it remained on for the next week. By ten o’clock, I had gathered a group of managers in a nearby conference room, and we were beginning to figure out what needed to be done.

With the hope of helping our employees cope with the situation, I got on the emergency public-address system later that morning. Until then, I couldn’t have told you that we had a PA system in our building. But I soon got to know it well. That first message conveyed everything we knew and no speculation beyond that: “As you know, both towers of the World Trade Center have been hit by airplanes. We have employees in both towers.” I went on to inform people that colleagues on the 48th floor of the second tower had been evacuated and that transportation out of Manhattan had been shut down. I promised an update as soon as more information became available.

5. What soft skills did Greenberg exhibit during this time?

There were numerous operational issues. We needed to be able to serve clients, some of whom would no doubt be severely affected by the attacks. Our World Trade Center facilities had included the headquarters of one division, a data center housing servers for another, and telecommunications equipment. And the fourth concern was the financial effect on our ability to do business.

6. How do you think 9/11 affected MMC’s business?

7. How do you think 9/11 affected other businesses around the United States?

8. How do you think 9/11 affected the economy?

One of our employees, a young man, had been on the elevator heading to his office on the 93rd floor. He got off at floor 90 and made it down the stairs just before the building collapsed. Incredibly, employees who had just been evacuated from Tower Two appeared at headquarters, asking how they could help. There were many tearful reunions.

By Wednesday afternoon, we knew that 1,300 of our colleagues were safe. By Friday, the number had crept over 1,400. Every confirmed survivor at that point became cause for celebration—but at the same time, the reality was dawning that no one who had arrived at work that day in Tower One had made it out. We were left with the devastating reality that we had lost 295 members of our corporate family. Pictures of the missing began to cover the walls. The 35th floor quickly became a living memorial—an ongoing, mass wake. It was hard to be there and harder not to be.

9. On the morning of September 11, 2001 everyone was busy thinking about their day, thinking about work, their clients, the things they had to get done, etc… How do you think their perspective changed by the end of the day? What were they thinking about and focused on now?

During the week of the attacks, I saw the real strength of our community and culture and observed remarkable qualities in my colleagues. One young woman, for example, in the midst of chaos, took an active part in organizing the call center. She had been with the company for only two weeks, but she saw what needed to be done and kept her composure—that’s just who she is.

10. What one major soft skill did this “young woman” exhibit so well?

Although we had received hundreds of inquiries from the news media, the Wall Street Journal interview was our first in-depth comment to the media. We hadn’t wanted to speak publicly until we could provide a comprehensive report. Our priorities were to take care of our people and their families and to make sure our clients were well served. On Monday, September 17, the day the WSJ article appeared, our communications director and her team released a detailed report. That same day, we published a full-page letter in major newspapers worldwide describing what we knew and what we were doing.

11. What marketing function were these people performing? (hint, its a two word term, sometimes abbreviated with just two letters)

Running Our Business

We had severe challenges to address on the financial and operational fronts. In the short term, we knew we would incur heavy costs. An early priority was to make sure that we had adequate cash and that our bank lines of credit were open. The markets were closed in the immediate aftermath of the attacks, but we soon heard they were hoping to reopen on Monday, September 17. How much disruption would they experience? Were we prepared to support our stock if necessary?

12. When he said the “markets were closed,” what was he referring to? What does that mean and why were they closed?

In the midst of all this, we were aware of great needs on the part of our clients. Many of them had suffered losses, and virtually all of them were affected directly or indirectly by the terrorist attacks.

13. At this moment, was the number one concern of MMC making money? Why or why not?

14. Should the number one concern of business be profit? Why or why not?

Marsh, our risk and insurance services business, was facing unprecedented demand.

15. Why would MMC be so busy with new customers?

Between caring for our people and managing the business, many of us were putting in long days. We lost our sense of time. I wouldn’t think about it until I looked at my watch at some point in the evening and realized I’d started my workday almost 18 hours earlier. I could see profound fatigue in the faces of my colleagues, but it didn’t seem to matter to any of us because of all the things we needed to do. It was vital for our employees, as well as our clients and shareholders, to know that we were moving ahead. I wanted to make it clear that, even in mourning, we remained a proud and determined organization responsive to our clients’ needs.

16. Does it seem that Greenberg and others were lost in their work? Why did they do this? Was it healthy for them?

You can’t anticipate the precise shape of such a disaster. In a moment, the key becomes adaptability. Suddenly, our management priorities were different. We had to do things differently. My leadership approach had to match the needs of the moment. In a crisis, you understand the need for flexibility in facing all the situations you had not anticipated.

17. What major soft skill is being explained here?