When a CEO is Gone

At the end of August this year, Steve Jobs quit as Apple CEO. Tim Cook filled in the vacancy right after with the full support of Jobs. The public may have sensed something was going to happen to Jobs, although the company did not detailed the reasons. And it turned out that the public was right. He died shortly after the resignation. 

No panic occurred amongst board and staff in the company. It appears that everything is under control and the legend of Apple will still continue without Steve.

The succession of Apple was certainly planned before Jobs' death. Since Jobs had cancer for a very long time, the board would have plenty of time to decide a succession. 

However not all companies have plans for the death of their CEO or leader before it happens. Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) may be one of the examples. It is one of the leading semiconductor foundries in the world and the largest and most advanced foundry in China. 

The chair of the board Jiang Shangzhou died in June 28, 2011. According to the press release on the company's website, it does not mention the cause of the death, although cancer is most likely according to some news reports. The next day, an election of CEO was held by the board. Wang Ningguo lost in the election and resigned from all his duties at the company afterwards. 

Until three weeks after Jiang’s death, the company finally announced the new CEO, Zhang Wenyi. During the three weeks, rumors were widely spread that there was power struggles over corporate control at the company. No statement was made during the three weeks to clarify what was going on in the company until it decided whom to be the new CEO. In the meantime, a letter to the shareholders from the new CEO was published. 

The announcement of the new CEO's appointment mainly addressed the qualification of Zhang as a capable and the best person for the position. It further addressed the contribution of both Jiang and Wang to the company. The achievements of the new CEO so far give the public confidence that he is able to lead the company.

But why are the compliments to Jiang and Wang so important? Because they were expected to be a team working together to contribute to the company. Despite rumors that the company was facing turbulence due to vacancy of the board chair and CEO, the statement is trying to convince the public that everything appears harmonious and well-controlled. 

The announcement also include its plan for seeking talent to fill another position at the company. Furthermore, the new CEO's states his plan and hope for the company, which are fully supported by the entire board. However it fails to explain the reason why the CEO resigned.

The letter to shareholders from Zhang, the new CEO, apologized to the shareholders since induced rumors have led to invest concerns. This apology is quite necessary because it shows their care for those shareholders though it may not be enough to compensate them. The letter also indicates how successful the company is and progress the company has made during the recent few years. Again, the letter highlights the accomplishment of the two leaders. Finally he expresses that he is honored to be appointed as the CEO of the company and his team's ambition to  run the company.

Overall, the announcement and the letter are well written. Key messages are covered in the two documents and the wording is appropriate. However, the process of communication of the CEO change looks passive. Especially when news reports about the internal power struggle after the chair of the board's death and the former CEO's lost in the election, the company did not make any statement fast enough to clarify the situation and to stabilize internal and external stakeholders.

See the letter, and the announcement.

I hardly find a company use social media to announce a succession. In the above example, SMIC does not even use social media at all, despite the fact that they hire student from colleges every year. It would be a great opportunity for them to publicize the company by using social media to their potential employees. 

Apple Inc. does not use social media in China, either. However, when the announcement of Jobs' resignation was reported by newspapers, journals and website on Chinese microblog, the information was soon disseminated widely and became the hottest topic for a couple of days. 

Social media actually play a very important role in announcing an succession. Of course, a company does not have to use social media to make the statement. However once the announcement is made through social media, it can spread faster and probably wider than make it through other communication outlets. 

For example, the Wall Street Journal in Chinese version online published the resignation of Jobs at 7:18 a.m., August 25, 2011. Whereas it published on its microblog at 7:09 a.m. the same day. Nine minutes early may seem nothing to you, then try to think about how easy for the users to view just one sentence so that they can get the most important idea,  and how easy for them to click the reblog bottom to share the information to their followers. 

Social media allow people to gather all kinds of information in one page. Many people do not frequently check a company’s website to see its news. Then it may be an alternative or even better way for the company to make announcement to its public through social media. Simply because social media allows distribution of information faster and easier.

The Wall Street Journal Chinese version

Microblog of the Wall Street Journal Chinese version

The Wall Street Journal Chinese version

For CEOs: use your blog wisely

Nowadays, social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, are so popular that some people have stopped writing blogs. Wait! Check out the following websites – they are all blogs of CEOs.

http://blog.craigslist.org/ (CraigsList: Jim Buckmaster)
http://blogmaverick.com/ (Dallas Mavericks: Mark Cuban)
http://www.blogs.marriott.com/ (Marriott: Bill Marriott)

Blog is not dying. For many times, it is more effective to interpret ideas and opinions than to twittering with a limit to 140 characters.

You may keep a blog to complain what happened to you, writing reviews about restaurants you had dinner, places you visited, movies you watched…

But what do these CEOs post on their blog? Today, let's look at Mark Cuban's blog.

Mark Cuban's blog is really a popular one. Every single blog post has many comments, and some of them are quite long and thoughtful, which means those audiences cared about what the blogger’s opinion and they also thought hard after reading the posts.

Cuban did not often write about corporations that he works for (there are some posts related to topics including NBA, sports business and sporting events), on the contrary, he wrote most of the blog posts about current national issues such as tax, employment, electronic books, and social media. He also talked on the blog about himself – his childhood, his experience when he started business and what hardships he underwent.

It is very easy to know what political stance he takes, what exactly his view is to certain events and issues. The pros to this kind of CEO blog are:

1.       The blog gives readers an impression that a real person is writing all the articles, rather than some other anonymous guy on behalf of the CEO and the company. Readers can feel the personality of the CEO from what he has written. Generally people find it interesting to listen to a person, rather than an official voice. When people notice a real CEO is writing a blog, they may feel more close to this person and also the company – a feeling that they are not far away from our lives.

2.       Current issues invite more discussions on the blog. Some of the issues such as tax and employment are under fierce debate. They are closely related to everyone’s life in the country. When the public are discuss these issues and watching how different parties arguing about them, they also want to know how a influential people thinks about these issues. If he/she makes sense to what he/she says, people will feel positive about the CEO, and hence the company.

3.       Posting thoughts about current issues keeps blog updated. People will stop visiting a blog if they find the blogger has stopped writing for too long. Sometimes, CEO may not have so many appealing things to write about their own company frequently. Therefore, current issues will help keep the blog moving forward.

4.       CEOs’ blog promote their own visibility and also the companies’.

How about cons for a CEO keeping a blog?

The blog may be appealing to the public when the CEO post current issues on it. However, as I just mentioned earlier, many of the current issues are under a fierce debate, which means some people may agree with you, while some do not. It would be great that people agree with you and comment supportively, especially when the CEO’s stance is on the mainstream side.

But what if he/she makes a very controversial argument? Remember he/she is a CEO. He/she has the right to express their opinions, but sometimes that reality is so cruel that the person as a CEO may think more times than a nonpublic figure before posting an article on a blog. Because what he/she says may jeopardize his/her company.

I believe there are more pros than cons for a CEO to keep a blog with personal characteristics in it and personal opinions about current issues. Because this is how communication between people (or between a influential person and the public) can continue and how this relationship maintains.