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Prior to becoming the CEO of Lyft, David Risher didnt post much on social media. That began to change just before his first day on the job, when Risher decided to sign up on the ride sharing platform as a driver. I had no plan, he says. I just wanted to get in the car and see what it feels like to drive for Lyft and hear the riders story, but also experience it from a driver’s perspective. At the end of that first outing, Risher revealed to the passenger who he was, and requested a selfie. He posted it on his personal LinkedIn account. I drove for a couple more hours and I didn’t tell anyone at Lyft I was doing this. Since then, Risher has made a regular habit of getting behind the wheel and sharing the stories (and selfies) he gathers from the road on his personal LinkedIn and X accounts, which have since added about 25,000 followers. Part of a CEO’s job is to be an external spokesperson for the company. The thing that I get the most consistent positive feedback on is my social media posts, particularly around driving, or pulling back the curtain on what it’s really like to run a company, Risher says. People trust individuals more than they trust institutions so I think it is important for Lyft. I kind of just want people to know CEOs are just people. As the personal brand of CEOs becomes increasingly tied to the brand of the companies they lead their voice, their interests, their faces more and more top bosses are taking pages out of the books of influencers. But is the expectation to whip out a phone and lead a TikTok Live changing the way these leaders function, and is it too much for a role thats already all-consuming? In this paid Premium story, youll: Learn whats driving this new expectation for chief executives Hear more from Lyft CEO David Risher The risk of turning your CEO into an influencer The age of the Chief Promotional Officer Risher isnt the only chief executive blurring the lines between business leader and social media influencer. According to author, personal branding expert and the founder and president of Sterling Marketing Group, Karen Leland, CEOs are under increased pressure to have an active online presence. People don’t just look at the company, they look at the brand of the CEO and the executives. They want to know how that person is putting themselves out there, she says. The CEO becomes almost like the chief promotional officer. Not only are potential customers interested in the CEOs online presence, according to Leland who has helped hundreds of Fortune 500 and Inc. 1,000 CEOs develop their online personas but so are prospective employees and investors. In a 2020 survey of global executives, 59% said their CEOs should have an online presence. In another, 74% of employees said customers associate their company with its executives. Other studies suggest that a positive CEO reputation can significantly improve an organizations ability to attract and retain investors, and can even positively impact their market value. To some degree, this isnt a novel idea. CEOs have been the faces of organizations for decades. But recently, stakeholders are expecting more, encouraging business leaders to fashion an authentic persona to connect with audiences the same way influencers do on YouTube, TikTok or Instagram. CEO branding as a discipline is fairly new, says Leland. Only in the last couple of years has it really gained traction. Leland even says its now common for CEOs to work with publicists to develop a personal narrative that is relevant to but distinct from the brand they represent. That could, for example, take the form of thought leadership, advocating for causes they care about, behind-the-scenes perspectives, and even personal interests and hobbies. Sir Richard Branson, for example, has long maintained a public persona closely connected to, but still distinct from, that of his companies, making frequent media appearances and posting on social media. Though Branson used to be the outlier his strategy has recently become the norm. Like Risher, many tech CEOs in particular have jumped on the branding bandwagon. As he transitioned from the COO of Shopify to CEO of Opendoor, Kaz Nejatian began posting on social media, sharing internal memos, and building his brand online. CEOs like Bumbles Whitney Wolfe Herd, Microsofts Satya Nadella, JPMorgan Chases Jamie Dimon, Ciscos Chuck Robbins, Best Buys Corie Barry, and many more have follower counts in the hundreds of thousands, or millions. CEOs as attention merchants? It may be inaccurate to group CEOs in the same camp as YouTubers or Twitch streamers, though. Influencers arent necessarily thought leaders, Leland says. But CEOs who do this right are establishing themselves as thought leaders in a particular domain. Recent media or conference appearances, product announcements, site visits, conversations with customers and employees, and other day-to-day responsibilities have all become fodder for a CEOs online content. I think today, it is a core responsibility, says Leland. If a CEO makes a lengthy, thought leadership-style post on LinkedIn that goes viral, its a huge branding opportunity for their company. But while there may be benefits to a strong social media presence for some CEOs, others may have more to lose than gain from the added visibility. Just as influencers get canceled for posting bad takes or faux pas online, so could more CEOs (and thus companies) who are following this influencer-ization model. There is this concomitant risk that goes along with it, says Jerry Colonna, an executive coach, author, and CEO of Reboot.IO. If they make a personal misstep, which every human being does, it’s not just the person who’s canceled it’s the brand. Colonna explains most people couldnt name the CEOs of most Fortune 100 companies, often because well-established organizations have the luxury of letting their products speak for themselves. At the same time, he says others Apple, Microsoft or Patagonia were more successful because of the public personas of their leaders than they could have been otherwise. As long as you’re doing it in an authentic way, then you’re probably doing good for your company, says Risher of Lyft. I think this is true for social media influence as well as for CEOs: if it feels forced, I don’t think you’re fooling anyone. While he has seen the pressure on CEOs to be more present on social media growing in recent years, Colonna who has gained a reputation as The CEO Whisperer for coaching countless prominent business leaders says the impact of their online presence has its limits. It can be really, really helpful, but it doesn’t solve the long term, build-the-business problem, he says. Because no matter how many likes and subscribes your CEO drives: You still have to deliver high quality products.
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Its not always fun to look your finances in the eye, but it can unlock a rewarding path forward. These five books make tackling personal finance approachable, clear, anddare we say itan enjoyable journey. Rule Breaker Investing: How to Pick the Best Stocks of the Future and Build Lasting Wealth By David Gardner The real secret to building lasting wealth on the stock market is breaking the old investing rules. In Rule Breaker Investing, Motley Fool cofounder David Gardner teaches how to craft a purpose-driven portfolio, manage investments, and even master time management for a smarter, happier, richer investment journey. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author David Gardner, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon. The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness By Eric Jorgenson Naval Ravikant is a legendary investor, entrepreneur, and founder in Silicon Valley. Beyond his business acumen, he is known for the distilled wisdom that he shares on living a rich and meaningful life. The Almanack of Naval Ravikant compiles his most powerful ideas about achieving wealth and happiness. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Eric Jorgenson, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon. All the Presidents Money: How the Men Who Governed America Governed Their Money By Megan Gorman The money dramas that plague us today are tales as old as time. We share all the same personal financial issues of the present with Americans of the pastincluding presidents. History is filled with relatable stories of money management (and mismanagement). How do your wealth-building skills compare to those of our nations presidents? Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Megan Gorman, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon. Robin Hood Math: Take Control of the Algorithms That Run Your Life By Noah Giansiracusa Robin Hood Math is a guide to navigating the algorithmic world we inhabit today. By understanding the numbers games influencing our experiences and opportunities, we can better resist their undue influence in shaping our lives. Math is a tool for empowerment. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Noah Giansiracusa, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon. The Wealth Ladder: Proven Strategies for Every Step of Your Financial Life By Nick Maggiulli The optimal wealth strategy varies based on your financial starting point. Depending on where you sit on the Wealth Ladder, the best approach to getting more money shifts. Its not necessarily about hard work but rather picking the correct place to focus your time and energy based on your current situation. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Nick Maggiulli, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon. This article originallyappeared in Next Big Idea Club magazine and is reprinted with permission.
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Tell me: Do things like this ever happen to you? You have clarity of purpose. You know what you need. You walk into another room to get it. Then, distraction hits, and you forget entirely what prompted you. Or else, you search the house for your car keys or your glasses, or your wallet. A good 10 minutes later, you realize theyve been with you the whole time. You sit down to write an article about an intriguing study having to do with memoryif only you could remember what it was. Yes, these are highly personal anecdotes. But like all the best stories, I hope theyre simply the unique expression of universal truths. Perhaps second only to the fear of death itself, the one thing Ive heard business leaders admit that they fear most is the idea of losing their memory. And thats why Ive latched on with gusto to a recent study out of Harvard University, among other institutions, that suggests a simple, straightforward way to improve cognitive health. A Mediterranean-style diet Writing in the journal Nature Medicine, researchers from Mass General Brigham, the Broad Institute of MIT, and yes, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, say that making a simple dietary change can influence key metabolic pathways that protect memory and cognitive function. The strategy: Make a conscious change to switch to a Mediterranean-style diet. More on the nose, according to a summary: People following a more Mediterranean-style diet had a lower risk of developing dementia and showed slower cognitive decline. Theyre not the first to tout the benefits of this diet; heck, Ive written about other studies here before. But this team analyzed data from two studies, including a total of 5,705 men and women from two longitudinal studies: the Nurses Health Study, followed by the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study. And, by studying three factors: long-term dietary patterns, participants inherited risk for Alzheimers disease, and the incidence of new cases of dementia, they were able to make some striking conclusions. Help reduce the risk According to the studys first author, Yuxi Liu, PhD, a research fellow in the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Womens Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, and a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard Chan School and Broad: These findings suggest that dietary strategies, specifically the Mediterranean diet, could help reduce the risk of cognitive decline and stave off dementia by broadly influencing key metabolic pathways. Before I forget (ironic, right?) we should ensure that weve established what a Mediterranean-style diet actually entails. It includes a few factors: First, the primary fat source is olive oil, as opposed to higher saturated fats that are sometimes seen in Western diets. Second, whole grains. Lots of them. Plus, vegetables and fruitsprobably four servings per day. Third, lean proteins. Think fish, chicken, turkey, and eggs. Fourth: Very limited red meat intake. Finally, lots of fiber from a variety of plant sources. My favorite kind of study Honestly, this makes it fall into the category of frankly quite pleasurable things I might do anyway, even without the study. Which therefore makes it my favorite kind of study. Short version? Do something Id normally do almost without prompting, and get an unexpected benefit? Im on board with that. Barely even need a reminder. Bill Murphy Jr. This article originally appeared on Fast Companys sister publication, Inc. Inc. is the voice of the American entrepreneur. We inspire, inform, and document the most fascinating people in business: the risk-takers, the innovators, and the ultra-driven go-getters that represent the most dynamic force in the American economy.
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