The phrase “You are what you eat” originated in France in 1826 as a way to suggest that if you ate better, it would improve your health. The 21st Century equivalent is: You are what you tweet. Whatever you say on social media can reflect your on-line health and becomes part of your identity.
Two recent examples of executive stumbling: John Gibson, the now former CEO of Tripwire Interactive, a successful video game company, personally tweeted his support of the new Texas abortion law. It took the company less than a day to disavow his remarks, remove him as CEO and appoint an interim CEO. In successive LinkedIn posts, Sweetgreen co-founder and CEO Jonathan Neman, walked back a statement that “no vaccine nor mask will save us” from the pandemic in a post that was hoping to put emphasis on healthy eating (a mantra of Sweetgreen). The follow up post: “Wearing masks and getting vaccinated works to protect against COVID-19. Full stop.”
Over the past year, many organizations and companies have either distanced themselves or embraced the “personal” opinions of leaders and rank file employees. Of course, the US Constitution enshrines freedom of speech. Yet that personal freedom is so inextricably linked to our social and professional lives that it’s a challenge to come up with the right rules.
Without taking a stand on the merits of the examples above, or even Ben & Jerry’s or My Pillow’s leaders and their views on politics and issues, here are suggestions for communicators to TRY to head off controversies that do not speak to the quality of your product or services.
Sweetgreen’s Neman actually made the key point in a staff meeting according to Motherboard: the lesson he learned was to consult with his PR team “We have a great team that could have helped craft that message in a way to not be so divisive and to be more effective,” he said.
Since we don’t always see these epiphanies, here are other suggestions:
- Communicators and senior management should meet on a regular basis to discuss organization and broader communications trends.
- Ask leaders to consult with communications before posting comments of what could be considered controversial on their personal social media pages. It may be a tall order for a senior leader to “clear” their personal messages with communications, but reminding them of examples of poor judgment may help convince them of its merits.
- If a CEO is going to post, counsel as to whether the communications align with the organization’s values.
- Monitor after each post and be ready for rapid for course correction, if needed.
In the spirit of “you are what you eat & tweet” one misguided post can instantly be fatal to even the brightest career.