Nov
6
2008
Never Before Has So Much Been Asked of… CEO Bloggers
Posted in the Category of CEO Bloggers
It will be interesting to see how many CEO bloggers (and corporate blogs) step up to the plate and talk about lay-offs and downsizing. Here's an Oct. 15, 2008 post by Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk which does just that, although in a bit of corporate-speak: "There will also be some headcount reduction due to consolidation of operations."
The NYTimes makes the point yesterday that this is particularly effective when it is done on the offensive: In Era of Blog Sniping, Companies Shoot First. I hope PR companies are writing proactive CEO blogging into their crisis communications plans for clients. It just makes good sense.
Anyone know of other examples of CEOs (outside of the Silicon Valley cool set) blogging about lay-offs?
Trackback URL
Comments
Mike Myatt said on November 6, 2008 at 10:11 PM
Most CEOs won’t comment on layoffs as they are much more a reflection of poor executive leadership then they are a sign of the times. If you want a contrarian view on layoffs it can be viewed here: http://www.n2growth.com/blog/workforce-reduction
Ricardo Bueno said on November 7, 2008 at 07:07 AM
Tesla Motors in Santa Monica recently hosted an event for a Grad. Student Association that I’m working with (I’m trying to get them to transition into the web 2.0 world; not Tesla of course, the Grad Students).
Anyway, as blogging proliferates across the corporate arena, I think that it would benefit them to control the message by being the first to deliver the news (however painful to deliver it might be). When you say: “I hope PR companies are writing proactive CEO blogging into their crisis communications plans for clients. It just makes good sense.” I’m in agreement with you.
violet said on November 7, 2008 at 03:21 PM
Nice post Debbie.
As more corporations start to understand the power of blogging, more of these posts will come up.
I read over the NYT article, and I am surprised that Tesla would blog about layoffs without telling the employees first. That doesn’t seem right to me. Don’t most companies lay off employees first, then blog about all the hard economy, the hard choice they had to make and then looking forward to the future?
Reading about being lay-ed off on the company blog then turning around and getting the pink slip just doesn’t resonate well with me. Just my opinion.
Barry Hurd said on November 10, 2008 at 12:49 PM
I have been watching blogging about layoffs for a few years now. Unfortunately many news-supported bloggers/editors have the sometimes questionable need to write about these before employees are properly alerted.
The “net effect” will be that CEOs and companies will need to be alerted 24/7 to press mentions in times like these, so that they do not let incorrect information go unaddressed. If Elon had not known about possible coverage, a day or two of inactivity on his part could turn into an absolute terror online. Jobster went through a period like that in 2006 when John Cook from the Seattle PI released information before the company officially did.
Jaren Stutzman said on December 2, 2008 at 10:54 AM
There is no doubt that the greatest quality that a CEO can have is leadership. Leadership according to my business class at Adrian College means, “Getting another person to do something that he normally would not do on his own.” When companies “downsize,” everyone seems to blame the CEO for poor leadership. I would say I would have to disagree with this because every CEO of a business is trying to make the most money as possible, and wouldn’t have gotten their job if they hadn’t proved themselves. With that being said I feel that most CEO are forced to downsize due to the change in the economy, and the change of people needs. Also, the most important thing that people don’t understand is the workforce inside the company other than the CEO’s are in fact just as responsible for the business forced to downsize. Business is just like football. A team could have the best coaches and the best quarterback in the league, but if the quarterback has know one who can catch or block for him, then there simply not going to make it very far.
Nick said on January 12, 2009 at 02:40 PM
Sure, the CEO of Zillow.com, Rich Barton, blogged about layoffs after the companies downsized 25% of their employees: http://www.zillowblog.com/difficult-times-difficult-decisions/2008/10/
Nick from Avvo
