When I saw Cracker Barrel’s announcement last week that its CEO, Julie Masino, was stepping down, it caught my attention. Cracker Barrel is the company that was besieged by pushback after changing its old-fashioned logo last year. The redesign became a national controversy, well beyond its relevant stakeholders.
The timing of the CEO change is curious in some ways. Cracker Barrel’s shares this year are up over 100% and its earnings beat analyst expectations. Beyond its strong performance, there were no obvious signs of mutiny as the board stood by her in November, which is when things were the worst.
Looking at the numbers does not tell the story. While the numbers came back strong, trust never did.
Let’s review the pattern that played out after the backlash hit, and see if it fits with the one I've seen sink leaders again and again.
Deny: Her first interview after the logo change called the public response "overwhelmingly positive," which seemed disconnected with reality. It is hard to build trust when your comments are so inconsistent with what people are seeing and hearing.
Disappear: After the interview and as the controversy continued on, the CEO was essentially silent for nearly three months. Silence is a poor strategy if you have something to say that can rebuild trust and take control of a crisis.
Apologize too late: In November she finally said what she should have months ago: "We messed up." Her apology was fine and sincere, yet where was it three months ago.
Repairing and rebuilding trust takes time and delaying its start raises the hill to be climbed. Every week you delay turns a fixable mistake into the thing you're remembered for.
It’s a big part of why I wrote my leadership book, Win Via Trust: results can buy a leader time, but trust sets the expiration date.
What's the fastest you've seen a leader own a mistake?
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