CEO危机公关榜样：玛丽•巴拉

    “为王者无安宁。”

    ——威廉•莎士比亚，《亨利四世》(Henry IV)

    领导不好当。莎士比亚早就说过了，公司CEO也深知个中滋味。在某段时期，掌舵者的日子会比平时更加难熬：那就是危机期间。

    此时此刻，通用汽车公司(General Motors)正处于一场严重的危机之中。这场由点火开关故障引发的丑闻还在持续发酵，通用汽车已经接受了多轮国会质询，并发布了一份冗长的内部报告，详细说明这次的错误有多严重。此外，一个专项赔偿基金有可能让通用汽车付出高达4亿到6亿美元的代价。美国交通部和国家公路交通安全管理局也发来了一份3,500万美元的罚单。司法部或将启动的调查有可能使通用汽车面临刑事指控或巨额罚款。通用汽车已经承认，这一错误直接导致13人死亡，这个数字还有可能继续上升。

    经历如此多负面新闻之后，通用汽车CEO玛丽•巴拉依然收获了许多褒奖，她的人气不降反升，这种结果出乎所有人的预料。

    上个月接受国会质询期间，参议员们似乎每次发言，都免不了对巴拉大加赞赏一番。

    “愿上帝保佑你，你做得很好，”加州民主党参议员芭芭拉•博克瑟由衷地赞扬道。

    那么，为什么巴拉没有像她执掌的这家公司，或者其他许多深陷危机的公司领导人那样，成为千夫所指的对象呢？

    看起来最主要的原因是，她呈现出了一副真诚悔悟的形象，从一开始就诚意十足，而不是不屑一顾，或躲在暗处，不向媒体和公众发声。

    “Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.”

    -William Shakespeare, Henry IV

    It isn’t easy being the leader of anything. William Shakespeare knew it, and so do corporate CEOs. And there’s one time when being in charge is even more trying than usual: during a crisis.

    General Motors is in the middle of a serious crisis right now. The ongoing scandal regarding faulty ignition switches has resulted in multiple rounds of congressional testimony, a lengthy internal report detailing just how badly the company screwed up, a compensation fund that could cost the company between $400 million and $600 million, and a fine from the Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety administration of $35 million. An unconfirmed but widely speculated probe by the Department of Justice could yet result in criminal charges or a large fine. GM has already admitted that its mistakes led directly to the deaths of 13 people, and more could be coming.

    And through it all, CEO Mary Barra has come out looking better than anyone could have expected.

    During her congressional testimony last month, Senators heaped praise on Barra seemingly every time they spoke.

    “God bless you, and you’re doing a good job,” said Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.)

    So why has Barra managed to escape the ire that so many have for her company, and that so many other leaders of companies in crisis have faced?

    Mostly, it seems to be because she has portrayed herself as truly contrite, and as honest as possible, from the start, rather than showing any sort of scorn or hiding in the shadows and not speaking to the press and the public.