With every new beginning and “first” communication comes the opportunity to make a reputation shaping impression. When a CEO posts his or her first blog, where the writer’s voice alone is showcased (regardless of whether there are communications staff writing behind the scenes), there’s much to consider. As a new CEO, do you speak in your voice or take on the voice of the company personality you’ve inherited? Who will read this, and how will they take it? How do you want to come across as an individual? Do you want to lay the groundwork for a change in the company’s “personality” or is it business as usual?
On February 26th, Yahoo!’s new CEO, Carol Bartz, posted her first entry to the Company’s corporate blog, Yodel Anecdotal.
Bartz used her inaugural posting to let people know that she’s spent her first month and a half on the job getting to know Yahoo! – what makes it tick, areas for improvement, and musings on key constituencies including employees (”people here have impressed the hell out of me”) and customers. She also used the posting to announce a new management structure that “will make Yahoo! a lot faster on its feet.” Using a colorful, casual, conversational tone, (Bartz wrote, “Look for this company’s brand to kick *** again”) Bartz communicates to everyone reading that there’s quite a bit of work to be done as Yahoo! gets its “house in order.”
Bartz, a seasoned CEO who came to Yahoo! following a 14 year tenure as CEO at Autodesk, already has an established reputation, as does Yahoo!. And this blog posting adds another facet to the respective reputations.
Now more than ever, communications from the helm, whether scripted analyst meetings or conversational blog postings, carry tremendous weight. Everyone – employees, customers, competitors, Wall Street, government… yes everyone – is watching, listening, reading, forwarding, and analyzing every last word for signals. Whether a public blog, a town hall meeting, a press interview, or even an internal memo, you can bet that it will find its way into the hands of every audience you’ve ever considered and will be dissected down to the last period… And in turn, adding to the cumulative perception and reputation of the CEO and the company she represents.
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Carol Bartz’s penchant for profanity is being spoofed on a Twitter feed called “FakeCarolBartz.” As of 14 Oct 2009, http://www.twitter.com/fakecarolbartz has 508 followers.