The decision by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation to abandon its bid for full control of British Sky Broadcasting comes in the wake of the scandal that caused the shuttering of The News of the World. As commentators and politicians try to figure out how this all happened, one of the explanations for the chain of events comes from trying to understand Murdoch as a CEO.
We recently collaborated with Cheryl Strauss Einhorn for an article in CEO Magazine called, “Finding and Fixing Your Achilles Heel.”
In the article, we define several types of CEO personalities. Murdoch falls into more than one category, he’s part Globalist and Executioner. Murdoch, still working hard at the age of 80, inspired a culture of results at all costs, business success before people and a far flung empire that he couldn’t fully control.
Do we think that Murdoch actually authorized the privacy invasions and the unethical and illegal activities? No. But given the nature of the business culture that is created and tolerated by a CEO, excesses were bound to happen. In the article, we look at CEO types and possible ways that CEOs and other leaders can fix their flaws.
What do you think caused the Murdoch debacle?