Forget the Extremes When Covering CEOs

As Martha Stewart departs jail, Bernie Ebbers heads toward it. We last saw Ken Lay in handcuffs, and a second trial's underway for Dennis Kozlowski. Forget rebellious rockers, CEOs seem to be the troublemakers of today.

But perhaps business reporters are too quick to rush to that very judgment.

Too often, CEOs are portrayed as either riding a white steed or donning a black mask. Too seldom, we show their grayer shades in between.

That takes legwork and an open mind, an eye for detail and a nose for numbers.

"No one is good or evil. Everyone is a combination of both," says Mark Leibovich, former technology reporter who now covers politics for The Washington Post. "No one is as good as the publicist says. No one is usually as bad as the press says. … At the end of the day, they're human beings."

Let go of preconceived notions. Stories should be comprehensive, not judgmental. They should contain nuance, not verdicts. Having that kind of track record also encourages the CEO to talk to you.

As a tech reporter in the 1990s, Leibovich profiled the likes of Bill Gates and Steve Case. In burrowing for new details about five widely covered CEOs, he talked to more than 400 people.

No one gets crossed off his source list. Childhood neighbors, high school friends, teachers, coaches, college roommates, university alumni offices and former bosses, employees, partners, mentors and board members. The further from the public realm, the better.

"And rather than calling Joe or Mary Neighbor out of the blue," he says, "try to schedule a time to talk the next day so they have time to think."

Hunt for them in old hometown newspaper clippings and public documents. Ask for anything on paper -- old school reports, company memos, casual e-mails. Turn to our online pal, Google. Type in the company name and "resume," or "former (COMPANY) employee." When you reach one, ask for five more names and numbers. Plant a phone tree.

No surprise that your next sources are numbers. Gauge the company's financials on the CEO's watch, and stack that against his salary. Follow the stocks, learn the industry's historical shifts and mood swings. Check dividend yields, profit-to-equity ratios, free cash flow, and compare them to your company's competitors.

"Someone shouldn't be hailed as a genius when their company is losing money," says Brett Arends, a Boston Herald financial columnist whose own Martha Stewart story calculated her earnings despite falling sales while in jail -- not what she ate for breakfast when she left it. "Contest it. We actually have the numbers to check these people."

Sports reporters measure athletes by their stats all the time, he points out. Why not do the same with CEOs?

"It's basic mathematics," Arends reassures. And an accounting professor is a phone call away for those who tremble at that word.

The more information you bring to your CEO interviews, the stronger they'll be. After that, it's all about steadying yourself against their spin. All CEOs duck behind a public persona. They're always "on," chanting vetted answers and canned jokes.

Pick away at the artificial layers. Scan their walls, bookshelves and desk toys. Ask about the people in their photos. Note their demeanor, their dress. Try to catch them driving or in social situations for a different view than from behind the desk.

Don't be shy about adding in some commentary of your own. "If seven publicists are sitting through the interview, then write that. That says something," Leibovich says.

Thanks to his habit of switching his tape recorder on when he walks into a building and off after he walks out, Leibovich was able to offer that kind of commentary on a CEO he once covered, simply from how he said goodbye.

He was profiling Michael Saylor, a high-flying, high-tech CEO, who'd crash-landed into an eight-month federal investigation of his company's restated earnings. Afterward, this embattled executive was insisting to Leibovich that he'd turn his back on the media spotlight and focus instead on the background nuts and bolts of technology. He continued insisting about 35 minutes into his next appointment -- ironically with a nuts-and-bolts technology worker -- even hinting as he literally followed the reporter into the elevator, that politics may lie in his future.

Talk about stripping away an artificial layer. Leibovich made that incident the kicker of his four-day series on Saylor in 2002, silencing the CEO's words with his actions.

Throughout the series, Leibovich drew on details and anecdotes to give readers a more genuine view of the bombastic leader. If Saylor had once lined his basement walls with framed articles about himself and planned to write a life treatise entitled "Intelligence," then he also watched half of his brown hair turn gray in a single year and confided his fears to his mother who said she'll always love him regardless of stock price.

Through those bits of color Leibovich splashes into his piece, we get a clearer picture of who Saylor is -- neither white knight nor dark lord.

Just a human being.

Some questions Leibovich likes to ask people who know the CEO:

• What were they like growing up?
• What are they like to argue with?
• What are they like during a crisis?
• How do they treat their enemies?
• What are their lesser known quirks?
• How does he treat his employees?
• How do his employees respond to him?
• What would you ask the person if you had a chance?
• Ask for anecdotes -- have them describe what it's like to be in a room with the CEO and give examples of how he or she has acted out each personality trait.

Some questions to ask the CEO:

• How much do you typically sleep?
• What's your normal caffeine intake?
• What are you afraid of?
• How do you want to be remembered?
• What drives you?
• What do you worry about at night?
• When's the last time you cried? When's the last time you laughed really hard?

Copyright © 2008 Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism