[danso]

> This sounds like armchair quarterbacking. It's easy on the surface to criticize, but we don't really know all the factors that lead to Johnson's decisions. I don't think it's fair to try to boil it down so much.

Uh, are you suggesting that Johnson was forced to conduct actions that are consistent with moving JCPenney's to an upscale bracket? Because usually that kind of move costs much more money than maintaining the status quo.

It's fair to sympathize with a CEO had no options but to keep a slowly sinking ship from sinking faster. However, I when a CEO accelerates the sinking by his own initiative, it's fair to scrutinize his decisions.

[8ig8]

No, I honestly don't know anything about retail or Johnson (or the OP). I guess I just was bothered by this quoted statement:

> How do these CEOs make the noobest mistake?

To me it sounds unfair. It sounds like the OP thinks he/she could be a better CEO. That feels like armchair quarterbacking to me. (But I'm wrong if OP is Tom Brady or an expert in the field.)