The financial crisis has created a tremendous amount of angst this year over the compensation of Wall Street titans. Main Street and Wall Street have been creating juicy rationalizations over what sum of money is considered excessive or sufficient. Emotions escalated to the point in France where workers actually took their boss hostage.

Many people are incensed over the notion that someone could be paid huge sums of money while the decisions that are made by these individuals have often yielded unprofitable results. Who are these people and how did they land these well paid positions? Did they work hard to achieve these stratospheric wages or are they just lucky and fortunate to become part of the annointed few?

Robert Frank in a recent Wall Street Journal article raised the following notion, “Contrary to what many parents tell their children, talent and hard work are neither necessary nor sufficient for economic success. It helps to be talented and hard-working, of course, yet some people enjoy spectacular success despite having neither attribute.”  I do not fundamentally disagree with the sentence.  One’s reasons for working hard and the defintion of success are probably complex and very personal in nature.  I strongly believe that one’s decision to go “all out” be done for personal fulfillment and not with any expectation that the business world owes you a big paycheck, although it would be nice.  As we approach Labor Day here in Italy, I ask you to reflect and share your thoughts on this topic.