It may have started with Lee Iacocca when he ran Chrysler. Or maybe it was Jack Welch and his amazing run at General Electric. Or perhaps it was the debut of CNBC in 1989, the business world’s version of ESPN where CEOs are celebrated like superstar athletes.
And the tech era ushered in an even more intense focus on those guys (yes, it’s been mostly men) at the top of juggernauts that include Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and their successors. As Jeff Bezos became one of the world’s richest men, and social media entrepreneurs like Mark Zuckerberg have become the face of their companies, we’re living in the age of the celebrity CEO.
But just as salaries, bonuses, benefits, and perks have mushroomed over the decades, so have the golden parachutes that accompany the termination of the boss for any number of reasons. its challenging to lord over a mega-company even during sunny economic times. It is not so easy to adhere to the strategic vision, stay focused, and keep a steady hand on the tiller during a shit storm.
So today’s JacoBLOG looks at CEOs in the crosshairs – leaders who are under fire because it’s simply not going well. (And all have themselves to blame).
Let’s start with the 800 pound gorilla in the room:
Twitter’s Twit – Someday, perhaps soon, there will be PhD dissertations written about Elon Musk and his Twitter folly. Unless there’s an underlying strategy few understand, the guy who revolutionized the auto world with Tesla and created a commercial space company is the same guy who seems to be systematically driving Twitter into the ground – at Mach 3.
Even a rich guy must value the $44 billion he paid for a grossly underperforming social media platform, right? But Musk appears to be dismantling people in record
time. He may be right that it doesn’t require 7,000+ employees to run a company like Twitter. But whatever money he’s saving on salary and benefits may be cancelled out by advertising cancellations (heading into the holiday season, no less), and user departures. Of course, now that Twitter is no longer public, we will (likely) not be privy to all the gory details of its decapitation.
It’s hard to understand exactly what’s going on here, especially given Musk’s urgency to back out of deal he first proffered. When the courts ruled “a deal’s a deal,” Musk has jumped into the fray, making big moves, including the reinstatement of the former President. Trump has yet to grab his phone and launch one of his patented “tweet storms.” His last tweet was posted on January 8, 2021, two days after the you-know-what.
And then there’s the “blue checkmark” fiasco – Jesus Christ still has a verified account, apparently paying $8/month for the privilege – as do all sorts of other imposter account holders.
It’s as if Musk is writing the “I Alone Can Fix It” chapter and verse for his newly acquired company. As someone who’s been an “unverified” Twitter P1 for many years now, I am somewhat distressed about “the neighborhood” going downhill, and I am resigned to move elsewhere, and perhaps soon. If you’re so inclined, Seth Resler wrote a great blog post yesterday, “Dear Radio Industry: Yes, You Can Ditch Twitter.” I highly recommend it.
In the meantime, how this Twitter debacle turns out could have a lot to do with shaping Musk’s legacy. Will he find a way to miraculously turn Twitter’s fortunes around, including his own missteps? Or will he tube a unique and once high-flying social media network and go the way of Friendster and MySpace?
Anybody got two tickets to the Taylor Swift show? – Twitter’s a mess. Ticketmaster may be worse, still reeling from the Taylor Swift fiasco, a technical labyrinth that seems to get gnarlier by the day. So, our second CEO story is about whoever it is who runs that company. Can you think of his name?
Rolling Stone called buying tickets for Taylor’s “Eras Tour” the equivalent of playing “Hunger Games.” It has gotten so bad she put out the following statement on Instagram:
You don’t me to tell you just how frustrating it is to watch your biggest fans jump through Ticketmaster’s hoops. Taylor has a great audience relationship and a powerful brand. Her legions of acolytes will forget it ever happened, and they certainly won’t blame her.
Now, Ticketmaster. That’s another story. The Justice Department has announced an investigation of the company’s practices, and Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) has been one its most outspoken political critics.
And you’d think the vitriol would be reserved for Ticketmaster’s CEO. But amid all these convoluted stories about this concert ticket disaster, do you even know his name?
I found several articles where Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei is quoted. His company is the parent of Live Nation who merged with Ticketmaster back in 2010. Maffei has stated the company is “working hard on this,” citing outrageous demand and bots gumming up the works.
Maffei has been the go-to spokesperson, showing up on program’s like CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street.” But Ticketmaster’s CEO? His name rarely comes up in these stories where journalists try to get to the bottom of this mess.
Note that Taylor Swift doesn’t name names either. In fact, her statement doesn’t even reference Ticketmaster, although you get the feeling she’d can them if she could figure out a better alternative.
Ticketmaster’s CEO is Michael Rapino (pictured). He hasn’t exactly flown below the radar, but he’s been shrouded by parent Live Nation. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he had this to say to investors at a Liberty Media press day last week:
“There’s no nice way to tell 10 million Swifties, ‘There’s no tickets.’ So they do what they do and go to social and we deal with that every day.”
Oh, those crazy fans. Now the ones with the most money will be stuck dealing with even higher prizes on the secondary market using sellers like StubHub.
Good luck.
What about Bobs? – And the final CEO tale is even more shocking than the these first two nightmares because it is all about one of the most stable and successful media and entertainment conglomerates of them all:
The Walt Disney Company.
Over the weekend, they shocked the business world with the announcement their former CEO – Bob Iger – was replacing his replacement at Disney, Bob Chapek. Interestingly, Chapek was given a 3-year extension this past June when the company’s board was apparently happier with his performance.
Iger was a tough act to follow. And Chapek moved into Disney’s corner office in February 2020, underscoring his spectacularly bad timing.
Then, controversies including Scarlet Johannson’s lawsuit over compensation for the superhero film, “Black Widow” surfaced.
And then the dustup with Governor Ron DeSantis over the company’s apparent “wokeness.” Some believe Chapek was slow to respond to Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Act, angering members of his workforce. When he eventually pushed back against the law, DeSantis went to war with Mickey Mouse.
So, politics are in the mix at the CEO change at the top, reportedly “blindsiding” Chapek who didn’t see it coming. And for Disney, Iger’s return may turn out to be the right move (Disney stock rose 6% yesterday).
But it certainly doesn’t follow the fairy tale script we’re used to seeing from Disney. So much for great storytelling.
Three recent stories in the business, entertainment, and media world – and three CEO performances that leave much to be desired. They’re only human, a fact they don’t always realize themselves.
Thanks to Lori Lewis and Marty Davis. – FJ
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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Last Friday there was an especially perspicacious Plain Text newsletter from Wired’s Stephen Levy about Chief Twit Elon Musk, I recommend it to your attention, Fred. Trying to get into Musk’s mind seems the road to madness.
Of course, yet another enormous self-harmed pachyderm of late is (now former) FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, who in the space of a few days torched a stack of dollars nearly as high as the one Elon has recently set a match to. Does wealth cause immunity to even caring?
John, it’s weird how this moment in time has seemingly brought out the worst in many CEOs. But perhaps that’s to be expected when the sun is not shining and hitting your numbers isn’t an automatic. These are the times that test and define leadership. We’ll see who’s left standing at the end.
I thought the way Jimmy Kimmel described the Iger-Chapek-Iger situation at Disney in his monologue last night was perfect. He called it “pulling a Jay Leno” … a reference to his being replaced by Conan O’Brien as host of the “Tonight Show”, only to return months later as Conan’s replacement.
Kimmel also says the situation at Disney was “old Bob” being replaced by “new Bob”, and now “old Bob” becomes “new Bob” and “new Bob” is now “old Bob”. Hearing it that way was good for a laugh or two.
As for your other observations … Musk appears to have a business model which is based on alienating the customer base so that any repeat business becomes difficult (if not impossible). Rapino seems to have a similar mindset and I imagine it’s driven by his having a virtual monopoly on concert ticket sales. No wonder Sen. Klobuchar’s criticism is resulting in a DOJ investigation.
The takeaway for radio (presuming any management types are paying attention) is, or should be: It is not enough to attract your audience in the first place … you must continue to work to keep their loyalty. Let’s not forget RKO’s big mistake some 50 years ago in thinking KHJ would be number one without Bill Drake or the rest of the people who worked hard, every day, to keep KHJ at the top.
The best stations are the ones where the GM and PD aren’t just “phoning it in”.
Good observations all, K.M. The Musk thing is an enigma. I’ll be interested to see how Twitter looks in Techsurvey 2023.