DISCUSSION
What Happens When a CEO Tells Employees to Skip The Trip to Pity City?
Written by George Anderson
Photo: MillerKnoll Townhall
Andi Owen, CEO of MillerKnoll, which designs office chairs and home furniture under the Herman Miller, Knoll and Design Within Reach brand names, has gone viral–and not in a good way.
Ms. Owen, who has led MillerKnoll since 2018, was recorded last month on a virtual town hall meeting responding to questions from employees on various topics, including bonuses.
She took issue with questions that came through regarding how workers could “stay motivated” if they knew they would not be receiving performance bonuses. She characterized the questions as some being “nice” and others and “not so nice.”
Ms. Owen said employees needed to stay focused on things they could control.
“None of us could have predicted COVID. None of us could have predicted supply chain. None of us could have predicted bank failures, but what we can do is stay in front of our customers. Provide the best customer service we can. Get our orders out of our door, treat each other well, be kind, be respectful, focus on the future, because it will be bright,” she said. “It's not good to be in the situation we're in today. But we're not going to be here forever. It is going to get better. So lead. Lead by example. Treat people well. Talk to them. Be kind and get after it.”
Ms. Owen followed those words with a return to the topic of bonuses.
“Don't ask about what are we going to do if you don't get a bonus? Get the damn $26 million (internal sales figure). Spend your time and your effort thinking about the $26 million we need and not thinking about what you are going to do if you don't get a bonus, all right?”
Staying on the subject, she later added, “I had an old boss who said to me one time, ‘You can visit pity city, but you can’t live there.’ So people, leave pity city, let’s get it done.”
Ms. Owen earned $4.9 million last year, including a $1.29 million performance bonus. Her remarks led to a swift reaction on social media with accusations that she was out of touch with the realities of employees who earn significantly less than she does.
MillerKnoll’s CEO emailed an apology to workers after the video of her remarks went public.
“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,” she wrote.