CEOs in the Spotlight
When times get tough, it’s not easy for CEOs to be in the spotlight. But it’s more important than ever, and the ones who lead now are the ones we’ll remember. Like Trish Karter, CEO of Dancing Deer Baking Co.
Next month, Karter will take a 1,500-mile bike ride to raise awareness of the needs of homeless families, sleeping at homeless shelters from Atlanta to Boston. “Cookies are my excuse for social change,” said Karter at a Commonwealth Institute leadership forum Tuesday night. That’s an authentic statement, not a marketing platform, as anyone who knows Karter can attest to.
But Dancing Deer’s commitment to social change is a message that resonates even more loudly today and, so in the course of advocating social change, Dancing Deer will hopefully sell some more cookies, too. (Try their Sweet Home line of cookies – 35% of retail sales goes to job training, child care and housing for homeless families.)
Back to Karter’s bike ride. Karter commented that some might not approve of a CEO’s “going out for a long bike ride” amid one of the worst economic crises in recent decades. But as Karter went on to explain, “it’s absolutely the right time.” She’s right. This is a time for CEOs to break out of the board room, to be visible, and to inspire and lead us.
So take that bike ride, and take your employees, your investors, and your customers with you – their reaction just may surprise you.
I totally agree that it is important for CEOs to really roll up their sleeves in a tough economy – to be visible in and out of the board room and to act as leaders. Good for Trish Karter!
Plus, I LOVE Dancing Deer cookies – so yummy!