Would you have refused to accept this?

Let’s be honest here. Would you have done what Rick Holley did?

Who is Rick Holley I hear you say?

Mr Holley is head of Seattle based Plum Creek Timber, a company that manages forest land as well as energy and mineral extraction, and he did something which is extremely unusual.

He was awarded a bonus worth $1.85 million but he refused to accept it as he didn’t feel comfortable accepting the bonus.

According to the terms of his contract he was entitled to receive the bonus but he wasn’t comfortable accepting the bonus as he felt it wasn’t the right thing to do given that the shareholders returns in the company were down 10%. He stated that the results of the company he was running didn’t show the strong performance he believed was deserving of a bonus.

I can’t imagine many other people refusing to accept a bonus worth $1.85 million.

Cynics may point to the fact that he still received over $8 million in remuneration during the year but even so it’s an honourable thing for him to do and I’m sure the vast majority of the stakeholders were impressed by his actions.

Now, hands up who else would refuse a bonus of $1.85 million?