[AlexCoventry]

I'm skeptical that this a gender-specific issue. Lots of men complain about the difficulty of getting helpful feedback, too. And feedback is hard to provide, regardless of the recipient's gender. You're always walking a line between being sharp enough to be heard versus gentle enough to avoid offence. Ultimately, the recipient is still responsible for the consequences of their actions, and you just have to let them play it out.

[ScottBurson]

I can only speak personally, but I sure haven't experienced any of this alleged difficulty of getting feedback, especially of the negative variety. Sure, it's not the case that everyone I've mentioned one of my bad ideas to has objected to it, but there's always been someone willing to give me the bad news as they saw it.

I think it's entirely plausible that there's something gender-related going on. Women are often seen as less tough than men.

[DoreenMichele]

Lots of men complain about the difficulty of getting helpful feedback, too.

Yes, feedback is generally hard to get. But this situation really blew up crazily. It was valued at $10 billion at one time and was a whole lot of hot air.

My argument is that the "Gee, golly, whiz I am talking to a charming, pretty girl!" factor dramatically magnified the problem and allowed it to get blown far out of proportion, more than would have happened with a male CEO. I can't think of any other debacles of this proportion. This is one whale of a debacle. And I think the gender of the CEO is a contributing factor.

That doesn't mean it wouldn't have been a debacle with a guy at the helm. But the essence of my argument is that it would not likely have run on for so very long and hit such crazy big numbers before the bubble burst if the CEO had not been a pretty, charming young woman.