Yes the story is full of touching episodes and wonderful people, but I totally agree with the sceptics at The Washington Post in their rather critical review.
However - even the Post misses what I think is the program's biggest flaw - the underlying assumption that the only person who can fix the problem is a high-ranking boss.
It is the American fable from the old cowboy movies all over again - the only one who can set things right is the town's sheriff. Yes, it is kinda touching when the COO realizes what effects his decisions in the boardroom have on the workers on the floor, but if I was O'Donnell, I would be more concerned with that the information does not travel through the organization. I don't know if the analogy of "trickle-down effect" works upward (percolate?), but there seems to be no real communication through the corporate layers in his organization, it resembles rather thick walls. But perhaps this is more typical of "the American way"? Scandinavian companies purportedly have much "flatter" organizations. (I should add that I don't expect ALL information to reach and be handled by top management - but that's why you have the so-called middle-management for!)
Every service company relies on the quality of it "front line". That the COO is unaware of the actual conditions of said front is remarkable. Is he surrounded only by yea-sayers? Not a good way to run a business. Whatever line of business (or activity) you're in, to make good decisions you need realistic facts to base them on. You need information to flow not only top-down, but also from the bottom-up.
(Read this article, even if it is an unashamed puff-piece for the so-called Scandinavian style of corporate management, it still describes a bit about what I mean.)
You can't rely on the sheriff riding into town every time to save the day.
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