If you are a CEO, the fortune of the brand is on your shoulders. No question about that.
You embody the brand. A great CEO, therefore, passionately positions the brand in the psyche of the stakeholders. A great CEO is the Master Narrator. Such a CEO grabs opportunities to articulate the organisation and therefore advance its image and interests. The CEO intelligently prosecutes the organisation’s interests, while at the same time defends it, in the court of the public opinion.
That is why the CEO is the Corporate Chief Story Teller. He succinctly packages the ideals of the organisation to the public: its very essence, dreams and triumphs, the journey, the cutting-edge culture, products, and services. Think of the wizardry of folks like Steve Jobs, Richard Brandson, Howard Shultz and even Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. They are great communicators. Acutely influential. Their styles have changed the world.
A great CEO, therefore, understands and appreciates that Communication works magic in the growth of the organisation. Such a CEO is also ready to support, and partner with this critical docket and its actors. In any case, the very act of leadership is the act of communication. It’s communication that will charm, inspire, direct, and influence people. It’s communication that will procure success and profits. In fact, it’s not for nothing the eminent French Philosopher, Charles Montesquieu, appreciated that “the history of commerce is that of the communication of the people.” Great Communication makes a great CEO , makes a great brand.
CEOs who are shy or mute are doing a great disservice not only to the brand, but to themselves and to their employees. Great CEOs know the power of communications. As they say, those who control the narrative, rule the world.
