MillerKnoll CEO Reveals her True Colors

In a fit of finger-wagging, Andi Owen, the CEO of a high-end furniture company, is the latest corporate executive to "go viral" illustrating the crisis in empathetic and courageous leadership.

Andi Owen, the CEO of high end furniture company MillerKnoll, was caught on camera this week in an internal meeting taking employees to task for being in “pity city” while wagging a scolding finger at them.

Before I get into it, it is utterly shocking that people haven’t yet learned, 3 years in to all things virtual, that what you say or do on-line in internal virtual meetings isn’t assumed to just be public. Jeffrey Toobin anyone?

Ok getting back to the latest in misbehaving corporate executives — and no, I’m not comparing Owen to Toobin in the gravity of her misconduct per se, other than in terms of her cluelessness about the ways of Zoom life.

Owen started calmly enough: “Questions came through about, ‘How can we stay motivated if we’re not going to get a bonus . . . What can we do?’ The most important thing we can do right now is focus on the things that we can control.”

But then she lost it: “Don’t ask about, ‘What are we going to do if we don’t get a bonus?’ Get the damn $26 million dollars!”

Assumedly the $26 million dollars equals a revenue “gap” to their financial plan (in business lingo), and represents the incremental amount of sales necessary (versus where they are predicted to land for the year) to trigger bonuses for employees. And for Owen.

For the fiscal year ending in May 2022, Owen received about $5 million in total compensation ($3.9 million on top of her fixed salary of $1.1 million). While this is not unusual for CEO pay packages to include significant incentive-based compensation, CEO total pay is at an all-time high vs the average employee. In 2021, CEOs made 399 times more than the typical employee. From 1978 to 2021, CEO compensation grew by 1,460%, far outpacing stock market growth (1,063%). But this is not about the business ethics of that situation nor what could be done about it. More on that another time . . .

Presumably Owen is a little less dependent on that incremental bonus bump at the end of each year than employees. Perhaps a little patience is in order in terms of employees’ hope that they might receive bonuses as they likely count on them to cover expenses.

That said, it is likely that part of her frustration lies in the fact that she won’t get the extra $4 million in bonus compensation that she got last year to pay for whatever extravagances she deems necessary. She might even be worried about her own job if she misses the financial plan by a significant enough margin.

I say this as someone who has been in countless executive conference rooms over the last decade or so, side by side with panicked executives staring down the barrel at a miss to the financial plan. And a miss to their own vacation home buying bonus. I know of what I speak.

Furthermore, many leaders are frustrated with the fact that employees have had such a strong voice of late. With low unemployment and work from home having become the norm, workers have called the shots more than they ever have in the past. Many CEOs are tired of it now, and, right or wrong, they want to grab back some of the power they’re accustomed to having.

"I think you've got a lot of companies that are hoping this storm of workers actually having a voice will pass," says Dave Kamper, a senior policy coordinator with the Economic Policy Institute.

During my last year at Levi’s, we tried to get employees to come back to the office on a hybrid schedule of 2-3 days a week. We officially announced it as the “new normal” rule. The employees essentially refused in quiet protest. Our offices were never at more than 15% capacity, max. And then we leaders kind of gave up.

So maybe Owen’s frustration due to a challenging business situation and a sense of losing control of her organization bubbled to the surface.

No matter. Leaders stay calm amidst the storm. They lead their organizations out of difficult business situations. They don’t scream at them as if they are misbehaving children. This is not an effective way to motivate your team.

Owen delivered this message from what appeared to be her home. One might reasonably ask: Why is the CEO working from home in April 2023?

To add insult to injury, the company sells office furniture. How do they expect to sell furniture for offices when they themselves — their leader included — don’t go to the office? What company needs office chairs when all the employees work at home? Why not model the behavior necessary to actually make your business relevant? And, I don’t know . . . go to the office?

Beyond that ridiculousness, she seemed to say the quiet part out loud screeching at employees to go get the money. This from a leader who feigns a “values-led” stance, identifying herself as a “Champion of the planet. Defender of equity and inclusion” on her Instagram profile. I guess she’s not a champion or defender of her employees.

As a side note, this all feels akin to the “we’re all in this together!” crowd singing from their balconies and ordering UberEats while screaming at innocent passersby to “just stay home!” Empathetic bunch.

Look, business is tough. Tensions run high. But there’s a right way to lead and this wasn’t it. How about saying something like:

I know business is tough. I know it’s worrying and even frustrating that we might not make our numbers this year. But let’s keep at it. I’m here to support you. Those of you out there in Sales, trying to close this gap. . . tell me what you need and how I can help. We can do this if we work together. Keep your eyes on the horizon because even if it’s tough right now, things will get better if we keep doing what we do best. Making beautiful furniture that enhances people’s lives.

Just spitballing here. And maybe do it in person, from the office.

I’d add, this whole incident is evidence of the corrosive nature of working virtually. When you don’t connect with actual humans regularly, well, it becomes all too easy not to treat them like humans. I somehow find it hard to believe she’d have done this in person, looking employees in the eyes. I think Owen might have maintained the veil of compassionate leadership. But alone, in her home office, she showed her true colors. A temperamental, panicked leader worried about her own bonus, reputation and loss of control. And she unleashed her inner authoritarian. Hence the “get me the money!” vibe.

There is a crisis in compassionate and courageous leadership. From the Bud Light head of marketing calling the customers of the brand she leads “fratty” and “out of touch” to this latest incident with Owen. And on and on.

Perhaps we should count ourselves grateful to finally see the true intentions of corporate leaders. But I, for one, would like to go back to the days when they at least pretended to be decent people worthy of the jobs they hold and the responsibilities they have to their employees and customers. Because, as the old adage goes, if you “fake it til you make it,” often, if engaging in the simple act of behaving like a decent human being, you end up becoming one over time.

Owen issued an apology to employees after her rant went viral:

“I want to be transparent and empathetic, and as I continue to reflect on this instance, I feel terrible that my rallying cry seemed insensitive. What I’d hoped would energize the team to meet a challenge we’ve met many times before landed in a way that I did not intend and for that I am sorry.”

No. Your “rallying cry” was insensitive. It didn’t just seem that way. Apologize for what you said and felt, not how it accidentally “landed.”

Perhaps there’s a career in writing actual apologies for corporate leaders who act like jerks for all the world to see? There seems to be no shortage of it these days and the crisis management PR folks seem to be missing the mark. For what it’s worth, my advice to those crafting these inadequate statements: an excuse is not an apology. Say “I’m sorry” for actually acting like a jerk. And then get back to work, ideally demonstrating actual leadership.