Week 4 Assignment

The Pharaohs leading the cadres managing the work teams that built the pyramids understood leadership (Dade 2008).Nardelli took over as CEO of the home retailer Home Depot in 2000. Nardelli brought discipline to Home Depot but the shifting of gears was shocking to a lot of people who were well accustomed to his predecessor Bernie Marcus’ laid-back style. By many benchmarks, including sales, gross margins, and profits, Bob Nardelli did a fairly good job at Home Depot. However, Nardelli came under fire and extreme criticism for his gargantuan compensation package relative to the stock's weak performance, slowing profits and a regulatory probe about its options practices, and his management style. Also, Home Depot had to fight growing competition from Lowe’s and it needed to reinvigorate growth in the U.S. market and boost overseas growth. Finally, Nardelli stepped down and exited the company at the beginning of 2007.