Kowabunga

On my commute home I was dismayed to learn, while listening to the Hugh Hewitt Show, that the President and CFO of PepsiCo, Indra Nooyi, compared America and Americans to the middle finger.

Here's an excerpt from the speech Nooyi made at Columbia Business School:

This analogy of the five fingers as the five major continents leaves the long, middle finger for North America, and, in particular, The United States. As the longest of the fingers, it really stands out. The middle finger anchors every function that the hand performs and is the key to all of the fingers working together efficiently and effectively. This is a really good thing, and has given the U.S. a leg-up in global business since the end of World War I.

However, if used inappropriately --just like the U.S. itself -- the middle finger can convey a negative message and get us in trouble. You know what I'm talking about. In fact, I suspect you're hoping that I'll demonstrate what I mean. And trust me, I'm not looking for volunteers to model.

Discretion being the better part of valor … I think I'll pass.

What is most crucial to my analogy of the five fingers as the five major continents, is that each of us in the U.S. -- the long middle finger -- must be careful that when we extend our arm in either a business or political sense, we take pains to assure we are giving a hand … not the finger. Sometimes this is very difficult. Because the U.S. -- the middle finger -- sticks out so much, we can send the wrong message unintentionally.

What she has done, through the use of carefully chosen words is America is flipping off the world

As a shareholder of PepsiCo, I am greatly disturbed by this analogy, that America, once again, is the great, belligerent of the world.

Her non-apology:

As part of this illustration, I assigned five of the world's continents to the different fingers and thumb. I refer to North America and particularly the U.S. as the middle finger because it is the longest and anchors every function the hand performs. The middle finger also is key to all the fingers working together effectively. That is how I view America's place of importance in the world.

The point of my analogy was to emphasize America's leadership position. Equally critical is the need for each of us as citizens to take a constructive role in whatever we choose to do in life to ensure the U.S. continues as the world's "helping hand."

Unfortunately, my remarks at Columbia University were misconstrued and depicted in a different context as unpatriotic. Although nothing could be further from the truth, I regret any confusion or concern that I may have inadvertently created. As I shared with the audience at Columbia, this country that I am proud and honored to call home is a "promised land" that I love dearly. I would never say or do anything to detract from our great nation and its people who have done so much for so many, including myself.

So far, this is a non-apology, as she claims that her statements were taken out of context, she has yet to show any regret for having made such outrageous remarks.

There will be great fallout against PepsiCo as Americans cease buying their products. Maybe PepsiCo can weather a 2-5% dip in revenues, maybe more. Revenues impact a stock's performance, and a company's relative strength in the market place.

If I were to have done as she has in a speech, while representing my employer, I would be fired.

This is what needs to be done to Nooyi.

Her actions will cause a dip in PepsiCo revenues, and if that does not wake up the board, and terminate her contract, then Pepsi deserves to take a serious loss in the market.

Had she taken a different tack, and instead made an analogy showing the good works of America and Americans, whether we are taking the liberation of millions of people in the Middle East who had for decades lived under tyranny, or the relief efforts for tsunami victims, not to mention all the other nature disasters that America has helped other regions, such as earthquakes, or the many famines in Africa and other regions that America has helped to feed., there would not be the outrage we see today.

If the powers that be have been monitoring what consumers are saying, they need to take action. As for shareholders, don't hesitate, contact PepsiCo and let them know what their shareholders think. Also: Shareholder Contact Info.

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