Does celebrating celebrity CEOs set retail on a perilous path?

The recent media focus on the relatively young age of Burger King’s CEO Daniel Schwartz, in light of Burger King’s Tim Hortons acquisition, has me thinking of our growing tendency to glorify young success, and equate it, sometimes erroneously, with genius. The social media boom, with its larger-than-life figures and spectacle IPOs, has made us think of CEOs—often young—as celebrities.

If a recent CNNMoney article celebrating Burger King’s under-35 c-suite is any indication, the fast food industry as well as others could be in danger of yielding to the appeal of the upstart celebrity CEO. If this is the case, caution is important. When we treat CEOs like celebrities, we run the risk of forgetting that their performance should be judged on more than the ability to peddle hype from quarter to quarter.

The myths we often see about upstart CEOs tend to be stories of lightning strikes, successes that hinge on innovation, but also on being in the absolute right place at the right time. When we believe that every CEO with a cavalier attitude and a gimmick has his or her thumb on the pulse, we end up getting easily sold when we should know better.

For every Facebook or Twitter, there are thousands of social media endeavors that have choked anywhere along the line. Look no further than Forbes.com’s "America’s Most Powerful CEOs 40 And Under" list (on which Schwartz appears). This year’s list specifically notes the absence of ousted Groupon CEO Andrew Mason. His tenure at Groupon, which found investors following him like he was a half-mad wizard with a dowsing rod, imagining every new post-IPO stunt held the cryptic promise of profits, is a surefire cautionary tale against CEO worship.

So, if we find ourselves watching any company with a young or irreverent CEO pursue a strategy that seems geared towards short-term gains or at odds with what a responsible executive should do, we shouldn’t jump to the conclusion that what we are seeing is some work of inspired brilliance. Sometimes what we’re looking at is exactly what is there.

Old-fogey concepts like wisdom, thoughtfulness, self-awareness and self-criticism are the important parts of leadership, whether the leader is a suit-clad square, a hot young finance guru or a rogue coder with head-to-toe tattoos. While I don’t expect an "America’s Fairest 40 CEOs" article to appear any time soon, appreciating those virtues could save us from buying into some bad ideas. To invoke an era of leadership that predates even Zuckerberg—there were a lot of wild parties under the reign of Caligula, but Marcus Aurelius was probably the Roman emperor you’d want to live under.

BrainTrust

Discussion Questions

Do you agree or disagree that celebrity CEOs are, on the whole, a negative phenomena? What makes a good retail CEO?

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Cathy Hotka
Cathy Hotka
9 years ago

We have an odd proclivity. We celebrate top executives as “geniuses” when their companies are growing, and when they’re making huge mistakes (here’s looking at you, Jamie Dimon) we think it’s fine that they are awarded huge bonuses. You just can’t have it both ways.

Ryan Mathews
Ryan Mathews
9 years ago

I think America is a nation erroneously besotted by the notion of celebrity which is, after all, the product of a system rather than an actual representation of individual skills.

And, let it be said, that the idea of celebrating false celebrity is not age dependent. Plenty of older CEOs are lionized way past their effectiveness “sell date.”

As we saw with Steve Jobs, a little celebrity in a CEO can go a long way towards bolstering a company’s success, BUT for every Jobs there are a hundred Andrew Masons.

A good retail CEO, like a good any kind of CEO, is an effective mix of leadership, and yes, personal charisma, intelligence, experience, reflection, courage, balance, a collection of a variety of skills—at least enough to follow the arguments of CTOs, CFOs, etc., and compassion.

Of course, it’s a lot easier to find celebrity, which—if you think about it—explains a lot about today’s business culture.

Warren Thayer
Warren Thayer
9 years ago

I’ve long believed that the concept of celebrity is ridiculous. One of my favorite books, The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, nails this quite well, in the early pages. It’s one of those disappointing facts of life that’s never going to change.

Tom Redd
Tom Redd
9 years ago

A few re-directions on terms—First, many of the social network and Silicon Valley instant success CEOs are in that new role not from innovative ideas but for DISRUPTIVE ideas, or as Robin Lewis of the Robin Report chants, disruptive innovation. Also, they are in the seats due to timing and luck.

With true “core-business” CEOs the game is changing and the age or sex issue is no longer an issue as it was in days of old. Under 40 solid business CEOs share a common talent—they are good leaders. Good leaders have no age limit and real business leaders—young and older—know how to communicate across all audiences (where some Silicon Valley young CEOs do not).

The celebrity factor is not a good play for a young CEO—too much hype on their age and when (and if) they fall—they fall harder. Good business ops will kill the celebrity factor and quiet down their PR departments. The CEOs will focus on their companies as a team and share the attention and success.

The press and gossip magazines just need something to spin around and try to make readers go, “wow, I wish I was young.”

A good CEO thinks TEAM FIRST, CEO last.

Camille P. Schuster, Ph.D.
Camille P. Schuster, Ph.D.
9 years ago

Why are some CEOs considered celebrity CEOs? The Burger King CEOs are celebrated for being young, irreverent and different. However, their approach has not yet resulted in a turnaround at Burger King. Their ultimate success is still in question. Different is often celebrated. The story of a young CEO with different ideas bringing success is a great story that the media and everyone else loves. However, celebrating them before success is solid is premature.

What about the CEO reinstated because of employee demand? He is not young or hip. His celebrity status came from being so valued by employees that they worked hard to bring him back. That celebrity status was based on a history of success. The characteristics of this CEO certainly should be considered when compiling a list of traits for a good CEO.

Gene Hoffman
Gene Hoffman
9 years ago

Burger King is king of what—Going to Canada? I guess someone had to replace Target for trying to gain that royal iconicism. Today CEOs seem more likely to be throned by social media and such than by strategic sustainable results. That’s a phenomena that’s a bit more polished than substantive.

As for what makes a good retail CEO, you should have asked Sam Walton or ask Costco’s CEO today.

Mohamed Amer
Mohamed Amer
9 years ago

Call it what you will, in the U.S. at least we are fascinated by celebrities of all kinds (no immunization on the horizon for this disease).

This phenomenon speaks to our zealousness for individual heroics against insurmountable odds. The CEO is the tip of a pyramid, where all responsibilities eventually stop. Whenever you elevate the position and person to great heights, it will attract both praise and condemnation.

Startups are notorious for youth, ego and vanity—necessary traits to survive the gauntlet from ideation to productive enterprise.

As a society, if we privilege extraordinary growth (at all costs), then we’ll need to also deal with the phenomenon at hand.

Kenneth Leung
Kenneth Leung
9 years ago

A good CEO in the modern age needs to be a little bit of a celebrity within the field to engage the employee, customer base and investor community. The “invisible” CEO doesn’t work well when coverage of the company comes not from Wall Street, but everyone with a social media feed. Having a proactive image helps to amplify success, and yes, it will amplify the failures, but I think the celebrity game needs to be played in the c-suite in the modern age.

Gordon Arnold
Gordon Arnold
9 years ago

I am not so sure that age is a celebrity characteristic, as in the Rolling Stones, Bill Clinton, Madonna and so on and so forth. I am also not so sure that age is an indicator of maturity and practical ability. There are many more failed and failing companies driven into troubled waters by men and women well over 40 than under.

What is a good indicator in the Burger King leadership is remarks from the company that the current CEO was able to learn how to make a Whopper in 35 seconds and it still takes anyone 15 to 20 minutes or more to get one while watching several people standing around and the newest under-trained employee working a long line alone. Perhaps working the registers a bit longer would help with insight for his career as chief in place of cleaning toilets. But that’s just my take from this introduction to Dan Schwartz info-blast. As for the question “What is a good retail CEO?” I will try to be brief. Anyone that sees everyone else as a customer and works to keep and improve the relationships with everything they have.

John Karolefski
John Karolefski
9 years ago

It is no surprise to me that America’s infatuation with celebrities in all walks of life (especially entertainment) has touched business CEOs. Lots of people with a neat idea have had the good luck to be in the right place at the right time, and made a lot of money. Wow, aren’t they cool! The true test of corporate leadership, however, is sustained excellence. I would be curious to see how many of these wunderkinds grow into wise greybeards.

Shep Hyken
Shep Hyken
9 years ago

Most CEOs are interested in staying out of the news. However, it’s hard to not get news attention as the leader of a company that is flourishing, failing or doing something different. The successful CEOs make their company the focus and the star.

Don Uselmann
Don Uselmann
9 years ago

In addition to much of what has already been said, good CEOs 1) should not believe their own press, and 2) need to possess a great deal of humility. Or else they will be a peacock today and a feather duster tomorrow.