It can be easy to forget that even important executives are human beings who are just like the rest of us. They have hobbies and interests that are very similar to our own. People like to know when the President of a great nation enjoys the same sort of sporting event as they do because it makes them seem like they are real people. When a CEO is found doing something that we enjoy, we will feel as though we can relate to them and understand them. We have the same interests and they are really not much different than we are.
1 – Mark Zuckerberg enjoys hunting.
Anybody who has seen The Social Network featuring the CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, may feel as though they can sympathize with him and relate to him. They have seen a glimpse of his personality. But most people would probably be surprised to find that Zuckerberg spends a lot of time hunting, and in fact, he only eats food that he has hunted.
2 – Gal Horvitz likes to play basketball.
One might be able to predict that a CEO enjoys exercising, because many people do. But if a CEO exercises by playing their favorite game, that is a relatable feature. The CEO of PNMSoft exercises by taking in a game of basketball. This raises several questions about the famed executive. How good are they? Could I defeat them in a game of pickup basketball? Many people will think that this shared hobby will make this CEO of PNMSoft quite approachable.
3 – Marissa Mayer likes to bake.
Who makes the best cupcakes that you can think of? Is it one of your older relatives? What about the CEO of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer? She has always had an affinity for baking and has been laboring for years to develop the perfect cupcake recipe. This may strike many people as surprising, because one would not think that a CEO is someone who has to cook their own food. They have a host of personal chefs and bakers, right? While she may not have to cook her own food, she thoroughly enjoys baking. She might even serve you just to show you how great her recipes are!
4 – Jack Dorsey studies botany.
Rather than developing a method to give us more than 140 characters, the CEO of Twitter spends his leisure time studying the intricacies of flowers. He thoroughly enjoys the science of botany. This may strike many people are surprising. Many people would probably expect that one intellectual endeavor was enough. But it seems that Dorsey may be a Renaissance man.
5 – William Clay Ford Jr is a blackbelt.
The great grandson of Henry Ford is a martial arts expert. He is a blackbelt and I probably would not want to be found anywhere near him when he is in a bad mood. Martial arts is a great form of exercise and something that a lot of people can take pride in. It assures them that nobody is going to take advantage of them or bring their family to harm. That is the sort of thing that Ford is thinking. He has gotten that training for a lot of the same reasons that many of us would.
6 – Novarad's Wendell Gibby enjoys traveling.
The world has so much to offer and there is much that is beyond our hometown or our favorite city. Many of us can sympathize with the spirit of the adventurer. The CEO of NovaRad can likewise sympathize with it. Dr. Gibby has even traveled to South Africa.
So many people are intimidated by CEOs. They think that these people are radically different from the rest of us. But they are not. As this list demonstrates, CEOs think and feel and enjoy many of the same things as many of their employees.
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This guest post is courtesy of Greg Dastrup.