The tightrope CEOs are walking is getting more precarious

• It's a difficult time to be a CEO, writes Insider's Hasan Chowdhury.
• CEOs are serving customers, employees, and shareholders; their interests aren't always aligned.
• Consumers want more clarity around what a brand stands for, not just the product being sold.

Running a business is technically about money: generating revenue profitably that can be reinvested for sustained growth.

Practically, it's about so much more — and CEOs these days are being held accountable for more than profits.

That leaves corporate leaders at a crossroads. It's a difficult time to be a CEO, writes Insider's Hasan Chowdhury, as corporate America's leaders are under more scrutiny than ever and expectations on performance rise.

There's also the notion of social justice — which often sees CEOs encountering criticism when they speak up on culturally sensitive issues, or facing blowback if they stay silent.

In the past three years, CEOs have been asked — and forced — into the social-justice spotlight, through the pandemic, the death of George Floyd, Black Lives Matter protests, the continued scourge of gun violence, the overturning of Roe v. Wade, legislation restricting transgender care for minors, and now backlash involving Pride Month.

"There's really three groups to consider for a CEO: employee base, your customer or your clients, and the third is your shareholders and your stakeholders — and they're not aligned," Karen Eber, a global leadership consultant and keynote speaker with 20 years of experience, told Insider. "It's really hard to thread the needle perfectly," she added.

This year has brought a level of scrutiny that makes being a CEO today a nightmare for even the toughest leader, Chowdhury wrote. More than ever, it's crucial for top bosses to get messaging right on sensitive cultural issues, and one misstep can alienate employees, customers, or shareholders.

The usual guidance — speak softly, carry a big stick — is good on paper, but it's harder to pull off when you're mired in the day-to-day storms of management. Of course, CEOs are handsomely paid, which makes the job alluring for many. Plus, they have a C-suite full of execs and advisors to help guide them through difficult times.

Broadly, customers are showing less patience for companies that botch their handling of touchy subjects.

"We're in an age of 'storydoing,' not 'storytelling,'" Eber said. "Consumers want to know what your brand stands for, what it is that you choose to do, not just what your product is, so there's this expectation and a need for CEOs to be more clear. You're not able to just sit back and let things happen."

From Disney to North Face, companies can face blowback for tackling sensitive issues

Being a CEO is "a relentless slog," Richard Hytner, who served as advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi's CEO for Europe, Middle East, and Africa in the mid-2000s, told CNN in 2019. And that isn't likely to change soon.

The Wall Street Journal reported some CEOs are rethinking how—or whether—to weigh in on sensitive political or social matters as companies have become targets in the nation's culture wars, where one misstep can turn into a social-media storm and a corporate crisis.

Brands like Disney, Target, Bud Lite and North Face face consequences for expressing a view, including boycotts, online protests, and threats of violence. The Disney-DeSantis war has potentially far-reaching consequences, Insider's Kelsey Vlamis writes, as central Florida's economy relies heavily on the tourism Disney generates.

Take Bud Light: Sales dropped 23% in May, according to data from research firm Circana, on the heels of conservative outrage over a March Madness promotion that featured transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney. That sparked calls for a boycott.

Eber highlighted the Bud Lite controversy as an example of when leaders and companies need to take a stronger stance. By not supporting the employee who had run the Mulvaney campaign — Alissa Heinerscheid, the first woman in Bud Light's four-decade history to run its marketing — parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev sent "a really interesting signal to female employees that you do something different, you take a risk, and then we're gonna make you the fall guy," Eber said. "Differences aren't necessarily recommended, and that feels a little uncomfortable."

And the latest flashpoint in the corporate world is the shocking news that the PGA Tour will merge with the Saudi-backed LIV Golf, ending a year-long conflict. Venues, vendors, star golfers, and legal and public relation firms were pulled into the skirmish. There was even an antitrust investigation.

Insider's Joe Ciolli wrote that there were feuds about the exorbitant amount of money being thrown at LIV recruits, which included nine-figure deals for PGA superstars and major-championship winners.

The PGA had previously claimed a moral high ground over LIV. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan said in 2022, "I would ask any player that has left or any player that would ever consider leaving: Have you ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour?"

Last week, after the deal was announced, when asked how he would explain to his daughters why he did a deal with Saudi Arabia, given its treatment of women, Monahan "the circumstances we were in" meant that he had to "think about all of our players. I have to think about everybody in this room," according to The Wall Street Journal. "I understand all the human rights concerns," he added. "I've had them myself."

Fan reaction hasn't been positive. The Wall Street Journal reported 46% of sports fans said last month that they have a favorable opinion of the PGA Tour, compared with 17% who said they had a favorable opinion of LIV, according to a survey by research company Morning Consult.

Pick your battles

It seems like after three years of being thrust into the leadership spotlight, CEOs are more reluctant to speak up, weighing whether it's better to step back and say nothing.

But, Eber said, she doesn't believe that companies should get caught in a pattern of "singling out" every issue and taking stands on every hot-button topic. It's OK to avoid constantly getting into the fray; instead, pick moments that enforce the company's values.

She cautioned companies to "get really clear on your values, because anytime you speak out, it should be aligned with that," and referenced the PGA-LIV deal as an example of a decision that appeared to go against the PGA's values. "It sounds like they walked away from everything they value, which is what makes those actions feel disingenuous."

When CEOs do decide to take a public stance, Eber said that their PR teams are there to help. Nevertheless, the messaging shouldn't sound "formulaic and watered down," but instead "sound real, which is what people want to hear. That vulnerability is what customers, employees, and shareholders are going to respond to."