| What BP’s Tony Hayward Failed to Hear May 9th, 2012 by Bill Boyajian |
In our current culture of instant information, replete with 24-hour news channels, Twitter tweets, and almost instant YouTube digital video, even a media-savvy executive can be a hero on “Good Morning America” and out of work by the “NBC Nightly News.” Having the presence of mind to truly understand the situation on the ground and to field questions from the media in real time is just one more skill set today’s successful executive needs to master. The potential downside for a company leader lacking this ability is hard to overstate. There is an excellent chance that British Petroleum CEO Tony Hayward’s lament to Fox News — that he “wants his life back,” as he led his company’s disaster response to the oil spill in the Gulf — will become legendary in journalism and public relations schools as the most senseless comment ever made by a CEO in a crisis setting. How much more out of touch with a tragedy at the center of the world stage could a senior executive be? Amazingly, in the same interview, Hayward also said: “There’s no one who wants this thing over more than I do.” Really? Clearly, for a company leader on the site of the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history, when the entire world is hanging on your every word for a glimmer of hope, it’s not about you. How could it be? For an executive who witnessed unbelievable suffering on a scale that reached hundreds of miles, as Hayward had, it should be about speaking with reverent respect to the families who lost loved ones and to workers who lost their livelihood. Only an executive who had failed to hear their suffering could utter such insensitive remarks. In the wake of his comments, BP’s share price plunged on the world market, but, more importantly, its credibility as a company reaching out to help its victims was called into question. Tags: Advice, Business, Business Development, Business Tips, Crisis Management, Ethics, Knowledge, Leaders, Leadership, Leadership Excellence, Leadership Problems, Leadership Skills, Learning, Life Tips, Management, Personal Development, Project Leaders, Reputation, Values |
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