Oct 2, 2008
Four Reasons Why Your CEO Should Blog
Last Thursday, I participated in a panel discussion about corporate blogging with my colleagues Janet Clarey, Tom Werner, and Gary Woodill. One of the questions I was asked was “should CEOs blog?” My short answer during this discussion was “yes.” Here’s my long answer.
For many, the title of CEO has become synonymous with privilege, moral depravity, and fat paychecks and bonuses rewarded regardless of whether the company is flourishing or going bankrupt. (To you few CEOs who have contributed to this reputation, I’m reminded of something Oscar Wilde once wrote: “Some cause happiness wherever they go, others whenever they go.”)
REASON #1 FOR WHY YOUR CEO SHOULD BLOG: Tell the world that CEOs can be ethical leaders. Help eliminate the prejudice that surrounds this position. Attach a human face to the title.
If an outsider were to observe the staff of an organization without being told who’s who, chances are they would not be able to identify the CEO. She could be the person on the phone handling a customer complaint or the man restocking the shelves of the office supply cabinet.
On the last evening of the Innovations in Learning conference last week, I had a great conversation with the CEO of a successful software company. I mentioned that a current challenge I’m facing as CEO is that my responsibilities have increased yet I’m still doing most of the tasks I’ve inherited over my eight years at Brandon Hall Research.
I asked this CEO if he’s managed to shed some of the tasks for which he’s been responsible over the years. He mentioned that, until fairly recently, he was the person who cleaned the company bathroom.
This immediately made me feel much better about setting up e-mail accounts, formatting reports, fixing software bugs, and sending team members reminders to complete their time sheets and status reports. (I also immediately went out and bought a pair of rubber gloves to keep in my desk drawer just in case bathrooms appeared on my list of responsibilities.)
REASON #2 FOR WHY YOUR CEO SHOULD BLOG: If the person who cleans the company toilet can blog, so should your CEO. (This may, in fact, be the same person.)
If a person has acquired the top rank of an organization by climbing its corporate ladder, chances are that individual knows a heck of a lot about the organization. Consequently, the CEO is in a great position to write blog posts that provide deep insights into the company. Having such a CEO remain silent is a lost opportunity.
REASON #3 FOR WHY YOUR CEO SHOULD BLOG: Your CEO may not know where the size two coffee filters are, but he or she knows the industry and company very well and should be in a position to provide a big picture analysis. (I take that back. Your CEO likely knows where the size two coffee filters are.)
Lastly, the question, “should CEOs blog” seems strange to me. No one would dare ever ask “should sales reps/customer service personnel/software designers/[INSERT FUNCTION] blog?”
REASON #4 FOR WHY YOUR CEO SHOULD BLOG: Everyone should be encouraged to blog. Multiple viewpoints provide a better perspective. Sharing opinions and insights improves collective knowledge.
I agree with you overall, but have seen too many CEO blogs that were either clearly written by someone else (marketing?) or is rarely added to. In either case, I would argue that no blog would be better.
Lisa:
I certify that the post above was written by me.
About posts ghost written by marketing departments, I agree those provide little value and do even more harm to the reputation of CEOs.
Richard
Thoroughly enjoyed the post, Richard.
I’ve been wanting to blog for a while now, but just haven’t been able to get started. Hmmmm…
Ravi:
I strongly recommend you do this. It’s a great opportunity to discuss issues with members of the learning community.
Great post Richard. I’m sharing this with my CEO.
Thanks so much, Jenn. I hope this inspires your CEO to start blogging.
I’d like to add a tip I picked up along the way, because it’s true that CEOs have lots of demands on their time.
I agree completely that the CEO should be the person writing the CEO’s blog (even if he dictates it for someone else to post). One key to a valuable blog is an authentic voice.
Another is consistency: it’s better for the CEO to post twice a week, reliably, than to vary wildly (daily for a week, then once the next week, twice the week after, back to daily…).
I have an informal target for my own posts — and I know that I can skip any given day, but when I look at the weekly or monthly average, I can see what the tendency is.
Actually this is a brilliant idea with nice supporting points. I would add two more reasons:
1) Creates a line of communication to shareholders: I think a lot of shareholders get too caught up in investing in the company’s performance numbers and not enough in the people delivering that performance. If you have a CEO that can present vision and forward progress for a company it could do a lot to encourage investor confidence in what is currently a down market.
2) Open a line of communication to stake-holders: A CEO who can open a running dialog with employees and management could be very beneficial to a company. It’s a non-invasive way for CEO’s to more casually communicate with their employees, and the ability for employees to leave comments and feedback, even anonymously, could enable CEO’s to recognize potential problems spots within an organization before they escalate.
Dave: I would so much like to maintain a regular blogging schedule. For the first year, I was posting once per week. Now that I’m also contributing to the daily Workplace Learning Today blog with my colleagues Gary Woodill, Janet Clarey, and Tom Werner, I’m pleased if I can get a post in every two weeks.
Ryan: Your two additions are excellent. I like the latter, which is the equivalent of the CEO walking the halls, chatting with the employees to get to know them and learn from them.
This is something that should be a priority for all CEOs, regardless of whether they serve a bricks-and-mortar or virtual organization.