BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

Throughout the current financial crisis, we've written quite a bit in this space about the need for America's executives to abandon business as usual and exercise the leadership needed to inspire recovery - before politicians and regulators exercise their special brand of leadership on them. With Ford Motor Company's announcement that it will be cutting executive pay by 30 percent for two years, it appears that some courageous companies are starting to step forward.

In order for the palpable anger against Corporate America to subside, consumers, regulators, elected officials, and the public at large need to feel as if executives are sharing in the economic hardship that they are in part responsible for. In this regard, Ford' s move is an essential step in the right direction.

In order for investors to once again feel confident in the marketplace, they need to know that companies are taking steps to address the governance issues they' ve been harping about for years. The 27 percent jump in Ford' s stock price (as of this writing) since the week began demonstrates that its sacrifice may very well pay off on the shareholder front as well.

It' s what President Obama articulated in his address before a joint a session of Congress last night - short term pain for long term gain. By making this move a time when auto industry woes are second only to the overall economic crisis in terms of media coverage, Ford has made a bold move towards setting a standard that others will likely have to rally around.