Seagate CEO Apology Doesn’t Mean the End of Candour

Over the Christmas break I was reading some comments about Seagate CEO Bill Watkins’ decision to send a note apologizing to any employees offended by his published off-hand comment about the company storage devices allowing people to store porn on their computers.

Anil Dash suggests that Watkins will be loathe to make jokes with bloggers or reporters in the future. But Matthew Ingram disagrees: “What’s more likely is that the Seagate CEO feels completely comfortable with what he said, but issued the memo as a face-saving measure.”

I’d have to agree with Ingram. Straight shooters may occasionally apologize for things they’ve said, and they may temper their comments sometimes. But in my experience, the urge to speak plainly and openly is hard to overcome, once an executive has had success with that approach.

The business world would be a greyer place without some mavericks who are willing to make comments that haven’t been vetted by a committee.

Related posts: Seagate CEO Flaunts his Candour

Tags: ceos, corporate, executives, apology, seagate, silicon valley, technology