“Come down from your ivory tower!”

Cried the loyal customer’s and employees of Whole Foods to its CEO. In response, John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods did just that. The economy has deteriorated, the Whole Foods customers seek lower priced but high quality foods and its employee morale is down. In order to combat these problems, Mackey is taking one step at a time and not only putting his ear to the ground, he is taking action and getting his feet wet. A clear and steadfast step—he is back to blogging. When Janet Paskin interviewed the CEO in the February issue of SmartMoney, she asked him why he was back to blogging. “It’s fun. I really do believe that the 21st century CEO is going to be more accessible and transparent. I can’t just live in an ivory tower and expect to understand what’s going on,” said Mackey.

John Mackey is one of the many CEOs that have learned the benefits of participating in the blogosphere. These forward-thinking CEOs get to understand their customers and appreciate the fact that they’re involved and want to share their ideas. Time and time again, people have demonstrated that they want to share their ideas for products and services. These loyal customers can help the company by eliminating the guesswork. Not sure about a new product or feature? When in doubt, just ask your customers. Additionally, the company can also learn what the competition is doing.

If CEOs choose not to participate in the blogosphere, or don’t do a good job of participating, they are missing out on lucrative opportunities. Why would CEOs not want to get in on the fun? At the Forrester's Marketing Forum in 2008, Forrester Research Chairman and CEO George F. Colony shared the five things he's learned after blogging for just two months. His insights explain why CEOs might be frustrated with the process. Furthermore, his observations may help marketers frame the "should the CEO be blogging" discussion within their own organizations.

George’s top observations include:
1. No one is reading my blog.
2. Posting a blog entry is time consuming and I have to run a company.
3. The blog technology and software sucks.
4. It feels like I am talking into a dark vacated house—no one is there.
5. Where the hell is the money in this thing? Why are we giving all these insights and information away for free?

Check out this video for the full scoop.