CEO Symbolic fallout, 2023 Edition

My friend and colleague Bob Sutton and I continue to be amazed (and a little depressed) at the ongoing popularity of his landmark book “The No Asshole Rule.” It seems that, as Ron Boire is fond of reminding us, CEOs are people, too. Somehow, it is quite possible to become a very senior leader without a corresponding and necessary amount of emotional awareness.

Visiting pity city

You really don’t want to be a leader featured in a video that goes viral for all the wrong reasons. That’s what happened to Andi Owen, CEO of MillerKnoll, the iconic office furniture company. As reported by Fast Company, a leaked video featured her berating employees for asking about their bonuses. “Don’t ask about, What are we going to do if we don’t get a bonus? Get the damn $26 million,” says Owen, apparently attempting to motivate her team to reach a corporate goal. “I had an old boss who said to me one time, ‘You can visit Pity City, but you can’t live there.’ So people, leave Pity City!”

Owen, of course, is not exactly visiting pity city herself. As reported by NPR, Owen’s pay package includes…