When I see well-known people – let’s call them celebrity CEOs – manage major crises poorly – there are lessons in there for all of us.
My experience as the go-to Hollywood media trainer, this is something I know a lot about.
Each of these business people / CEOs have different problem, yet their problems stem from the same issue: a complete lack of ability to show – not tell. In this case, I’m talking empathy, the ability to show you CARE!
Here is the lesson: If you do not show you care (not talking about the words you speak), people will think you don’t. Put another way, if the way you look and sound contradict what you say (your words), people will believe the way you look and sound, NOT what you say.
It sounds simple, but it’s difficult to implement, especially for people like Timothy Geithner, Mary Barra, and Arthur Sulzberger Jr., who all have spent all their working lives in corporate, where any display of emotion is frowned upon.