Martha Stewart was not the first one to do this – but she’s certainly been successful. Why not capitalize on the reputation of a well-known CEO to create a high-level communications channel with the people who matter most to your success?
PR Guru, Jack O’Dwyer has been doing it for years. The old newspaper men (Hearst, McCormick and the rest) became so synonymous with their publications that you couldn’t extract one from the other.
But what about when you get beyond people who “live” in the business in media and start to leverage a CEO’s reputation built in other industries like healthcare, technology, logistics, etc.? It may not be as natural, but it might work.
The thing to remember, of course, is that media CEO’s gravitate towards this decision because writing and communicating is what they do. They understand it and they’re not as intimidated by it. CEO’s from other disciplines may feel less at ease with the idea of putting themselves out there in a weekly column or on a masthead or cover.
All of this plays into a larger discussion of the role of the CEO in developing a clear sense of the brand in both the public sense (to customers, peers and other business partners) and the private sense (to employees, shareholders, etc.). In fact, the CEO plays a vital role in how a company’s brand is understood and valued.
In a study conducted in 2001 by Burson-Marsteller, it was shown that 48% of the reputation enjoyed by a company is the direct result of the CEO’s leadership and management of the enterprise. Maybe even more notable is the fact that nearly all investors look at the behaviors of the CEO as a determining factor in whether they invest in the opportunity or not.
But what does all this really mean to a small or mid-sized company that, in all likelihood, will never go public? Why should the CEO view his job as the key champion for the brand?
In a word: Leadership.
As reported in the Burson study, people expect certain things from their CEO. Most importantly, they want CEO’s who are extremely credible and operate at a high ethical level. These CEO’s, if they pass muster, are expected to operate and communicate a clear vision of their company.
Knowing where the company is going and the ethically correct path to get it there is essential when it comes to establishing brand credibility for the CEO, no matter the size or nature of the enterprise. For smaller businesses, that means the following:
1) Make sure the CEO understands what it means to be in the public spotlight. Surely not every B2B enterprise is going to immediately vault it’s CEO onto the front page of the industry trade media – but for many corporate CEO’s even getting their picture or name into the local paper on a regular basis takes some getting used to.
2) CEO’s need to find one or two trusted advisors who are anything but “yes men”. These should be folks who will provide honest, objective counsel when it comes to presenting a position to the public or dealing with difficult situations honestly and transparently. Sometimes this advice is NOT what the CEO wants to hear – but he (or she) needs to hear it, swallow the bitter pill and move on.
3) CEO’s have to have a clear idea of where they’re taking their company. Hey, if you’ve got the keys and you’re sitting in the driver’s seat, we expect you to know where we’re all going. Too many CEO’s have a “feeling” or a “hunch” but are unable to explain their vision for the future clearly and succinctly. It takes coaching and practice – but you’ve gotta do it.
4) No matter the size of the company, remember that the CEO’s job is to work on the business rather than in it. If your CEO was a great salesman, that’s terrific. But he can’t stay exclusively in sales any longer. As a CEO, you have to lead the whole company, not just the parts you feel comfortable leading.
Address these issues and you’ll go a long way to creating the CEO as a beacon for your brand and a vital part of what makes your brand special to customers, business partners and everyone else who matters to your success.
Good luck.
