When you ask the really hard questions, the CEO may lead with a hard right!
This week’s International Herald Tribune reports that California’s now-candidate for governor, Meg Whitman, went too far as eBay’s hard-hitting CEO and paid dearly for it. Seems Ms. Whitman “forcefully pushed” an eBay corporate communications employee who was attempting to prepare her for a news media interview and paid a six-figure sum to avoid a threatened lawsuit.
To “Ready” a CEO for a journalist’s potential aggressiveness is virtually impossible for an employee.
The best preparation for war is training with live ammunition. It takes an external professional in media training to go head-to-head with your company’s spokesperson or CEO. It’s not as hard on the employees and may save your company a black eye.