Home > People > CEOs and CMOs Are Just Like You

There’s a tendency for people to view C-level executives and leaders within a given company (especially corporate America) as untouchable. Ask people how to get in contact with these folks and their eyes gloss over in mystery, awe and fear. It would be easier to map out a journey to Africa on a rowboat they might say…

The truth is that CEOs and CMOs are human just like us.

Some are nice and some aren’t.

Some are easy to get on the phone (relatively easy) and others are not.

Some are terrified of the dentist and small dogs.

Some like Farmville while others prefer Angry Birds.

Some are genuinely interested in growth and others fake it.

Some keep promises and some don’t.

Some are talented and some you wonder how the hell they got so far up in the company (we all know people like this).

They have friends, they have an office where they talk to a select group of people on a regular basis, they have fears and hopes and needs. They commute to work, eat McDonald’s and take out the garbage.

They take Advil when they have a headache, they sure as hell have played hooky and prefer one toilet paper to the next.

And just like the rest of us, they end up 6 feet under.

They don’t live in a “business” or an ivory tower in the sky. In fact, they reside right there over on 34th and Madison 15 minutes from where I live.

If your fear of the people you’re selling or marketing to supersedes your belief in what you, you won’t say what needs to be said to move the deal forward.

And if you think they are untouchable well then you probably won’t ever pick up the phone, will you?