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Wanted: CEOs To Lead Us Through Economic Turmoil
Posted by Suzanne Bates on 10 Oct 2008 | Tagged as: economic crisis, economy, executive, government, market turmoi, recession
In times like these, this country more than ever needs visionary, courageous CEOs who can keep people focused on the future and give them reason to have faith in their companies. Yes, it’s been an enormously challenging few weeks, but folks, this is the United States of America. We survived the Great Depression, fought and liberated countries through two World Wars, and built the greatest economy on the face of the earth. We just need leaders and all Americans to recognize this for what it is, a crisis of confidence.
One of the reasons I am writing my new book, Motivate Like a CEO (McGraw Hill, January 2009) is because now more than ever, we need leaders to step up and be leaders. They need to keep people focused on the vision and strategy and and motivate and inspire them to keep moving toward their gaols.
During this time of economic uncertainty when many people are growing fearful, anxious and depressed, CEOs and leaders need to be a beacon of hope in their companies. Now is not the time to hide in long meetings with each other. Leaders need to get out, show their faces, talk to people and reassure investors, the public, even the media. Leaders need to keep people focused on the future and what they can do right now to keep the economy moving.
A few CEOs are giving the title a bad name right now, those who caused this crisis should give back their ill-gotten earnings and spend some timein jail if they’ve committed crimes.
At the same time, we have many great CEOs and leaders in this company who can help lead us out of this mess. Now is not the time to stop doing business, but to move forward together as one nation, believing in each other and keeping the engines of commerce moving. This will take courage on the part of every leader.
I was reading an interview with Warren Buffet a few weeks ago on CNBC http://www.cnbc.com/id/27116449 just as the credit crisis began to unfold. Buffet takes the long view on the market:
“You know, five years from now, ten years from now, we’ll look back on this period and we’ll see that you could have made some extraordinary (stock market) buys. That doesn’t mean it won’t get more extraordinary a week or a month from now. I have no idea what the stock market is going to do next month or six months from now. I do know that the American economy, over a period of time, will do very well, and people who own a piece of it will do well.”
Now is the time when we all must believe in ourselves. We are a great country, American business is innovative and resilient, and our economy, the strongest in the world.
Tyler Mathisen of CNBC’s “The Call” says they are receiving on their late morning program lots of questions about where all the leaders have gone: http://www.cnbc.com/id/27120332/site/14081545
Mathisen says, “When they have tried to speak up and lead, why haven’t they been heard? Maybe it’s because we’re all too rattled to listen. Maybe it’s because no single soul, in business or government, has the clarity of understanding to express fully what we face. Maybe it’s because none of our leaders, in public or private sectors, has the stature, the standing, the voice, the rhetorical power to break through the din. Maybe it’s because the lawyers or the PR guys have gotten to them and said, “Go on CNBC? Now? Are you nuts?” Or maybe it’s because we’re four weeks from a Presidential election, with a lame duck president and two candidates who, like all candidates, would really rather score political points than speak clearly and sometimes uncomfortably to the people they say they want to lead.
“Whatever the reason, Mathisen says it’s time for America’s leading CEOs — the Fortune 500 guys — to blow past their lawyers and handlers and get their messages to shareholders, customers, employees and the broader public.
“I know they’re worried about Sarbanes Oxley. I know they’re afraid of saying something that could come back to haunt them. And I know that quite a few of them have spoken out, many on our air, and we are grateful to them. Warren Buffett, Wilbur Ross and Mike Jackson of AutoNation come to mind. But more of them need to. Many more.”
CNBC and other networks are trying to get CEOs to step up to the microphone and provide public leadership - but many are indeed avoiding the spotlight. Companies like Fidelity, Vanguard, T Rowe Price and others could also help calm fears in the market if they were more visible.
I can understand why CEOs don’t want to be in the hot seat publicly now, but the country needs leaders in every sector, not just financial services, to speak up and reassure the nation. I hope they are at least meeting with their own employees letting them know we can survive and thrive if we work together. That is real leadership — and that is what will keep this country from suffering a long, deep, painful recession. We simply have to reject fear, and start believing in ourselves.
Economic Turbulence Requires Leaders to Communicate
Posted by Suzanne Bates on 26 Sep 2008 | Tagged as: Communication, Leadership, Politics, economic bailout, economy, executive, government
With all the turmoil in the markets this last week we started talking with some of our clients about how it’s affecting their businesses. Stocks continued to decline today on news of the clash in Washington between the Bush administration, Republican John McCain and Democrat Baraq Obama. http://www.boston.com/business/markets/articles/2008/09/26/wall_street_points_lower_after_gdp_revision/Our
Our firm got together yesterday afternoon to discuss what our role should be– in helping clients who are handling difficult communications with their employees, customers, analysts and the media.
One of our clients told us yesterday that she has prepared the talking points– but isn’t at all confident her leadership can deliver the messages effectively. Another said they have been inundated by calls and emails from concerned employees. They are naturally anxious about the impact of the market swings and government bail-out talks; they know it may hit home in their 401 K plans, their jobs, and even the future of the company.
With that in mind, I thought just to check in with any of you reading the blog and say if we can be helpful, let us know. It can be pretty lonely to be a leader during times like these, and many leaders are feeling vulnerable themselves; you are not alone as you deal with the pressures of communicating in tough times with employees, customers, vendors, analysts and media outlets.
What you are dealing with is people’s feelings of vulnerability; you need to communicate very effectively to get people focused, motivated and energized, so they keep their companies moving forward.
By the way there is a school of thought that volatility is a good thing for “value creation.” If you want to look at the bright side, check out the article in Fast Company: http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/36/ideazone.html
However, while we wait to see how this all shakes out, we have to keep our companies in the black and moving forward. One of the most important things leaders can do in these times is to remind people what their real purpose is, why it matters, and what they can do to keep the company on solid financial footing. Leaders who are highly motivated by purpose themselves create positive momentum by attracting others who want to work with purpose and contribute to the solution. When you have people working “on purpose” you don’t have to work so hard to manage them. They are far less distracted by little bumps; when faced with bigger bumps they meet them head-on, knowing how important their work is to the enterprise.
Right now, I’m putting together an advance excerpt of the 8 principles of motivating people with communication, from my upcoming book, Motivate Like a CEO, Communicate Your Strategic Vision and Inspire People to Act! (McGraw Hill 2009). I feel these ideas are important to share right now as companies are being buffeted by bad news.
If you would like a PDF copy of this article please email Meredith O’Connor, our Marketing and Communications Director, moconnor@bates-communications.com and we’ll forward it immediately.
Executive Presence in the person of Steve Forbes
Posted by Suzanne Bates on 06 Aug 2008 | Tagged as: Communication, Leadership, Politics, Presentations, economy, executive, executive presence, government, public speaking
This weekend at the National Speakers Association convention in New York, www.nsaspeaker.org Steve Forbes took the stage. He had 1,800 professional speakers on the edge of their seats as he shared his insights about the future of the US economy. Forbes, President and CEO of Forbes, and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes Magazine, www.forbes.com as well as a former Republican candidate for President, can actually be a little awkward on stage, yet people who get paid a lot of money to speak to corporate audiences were mezmerized; in a room full of people who love to talk, you could hear a pin drop. Why? Forbes was funny and smart –he made economics accessible to all. And, even more important he told us things we really really didn’t know.
What’s the real state of the US economy? Not bad at all! But don’t ask the media, says Forbes. They would rather stand in front of a gas pump talking about $4 a gallon gas than actually do research on the the dry stuff that matters, like US monetary policy. And he’s right. (Full disclosure, as many of you know, I was a reporter for 20 years. I know how it really works.)
Forbes spoke eloquently about the real drivers of our economy, and I was convinced after he spoke–we still have the largest most resilient economy in the world. He pointed out that as voters we’d better start asking better questions of the people running for office. For example, how will they approach monetary policy? Because according to Forbes, it wasn’t oil companies or mortgage lenders that brought this on, but by the Fed, which four years ago, and again last year, started printing money like there was no tomorrow. In an overreaction to the credit crisis, both times, it did more harm than good.
But back to executive presence. What makes Forbes so powerful on stage? Wit, intelligence, and the ability to explain something that dry and dull and make it fascinating. What else did we like about him? Smart as he is, he didn’t swagger onto the stage or lord his fortune or his smarts over us. He was hilarious really, as well as respectful. He treated his audience as the intelligent citizens they want to be.
Something else– he obviously wasn’t reading someone else’s talking points. He walked away from the podium five minutes in, and stood center stage for the better part of an hour, speaking eloquently. If you’ve seen him speak, you know that sometimes his gestures seem slightly out of sync with his message. Yet he transitioned beautifully from gas prices to the mortage crisis, tax policy to monetary policy, government to politics, all without notes. He even threw in several funny lines about the speaker who had immediately preceded him on stage. That’s confidence.
You also can’t argue with Forbes success, even if he did inherit the company started by his grandfather. Forbes is still on the cutting edge. In 1977 they entered the new media arena with the launch of Forbes.com. The site now attracts over seven million unique visitors a month and has become the leading destination site for business decision-makers and investors.
For a copy of his speech, contact the National Speakers Association at www.nsaspeaker.org - I highly recommend you watch it, and take notes.