CEO gone AWOL? How to maintain stakeholders’ calm

S.C. governor’s vanishing act raises ethical and tactical questions for corporate communicators

To paraphrase Simon and Garfunkel: Where have you gone, Mark Sanford?

For the past few days, journalists, politicians, South Carolinians, bloggers, and your wife wondered about your whereabouts. First, we heard you were hiking the Appalachian Trail.

Well, not so much.

It turns out that you were in Argentina visiting a woman with whom you’ve been having an affair. (That’s a whole other domestic communication quandary.)

The issue for corporate communicators is this: Let’s say your CEO leaves unexpectedly—doesn’t even send a postcard. How do you communicate the message to your employees and other stakeholders?

Dustin R. Walling, principal of Dustin Walling Associates, shares these four tips on dealing with a missing or ailing CEO.

Business as near-usual: Every good corporation of size has—or ought to have—a well-conceived set of strategic and tactical plans. This is one of the primary jobs of the CEO and the executive team. If these plans don’t exist, hire a management consultant and get to work.