Astronomer CEO's Coldplay moment is a textbook fiasco

Bosses behaving badly is not new but there are now fresh reasons for boards to pay more attention to the line between public and private lives.

- Beth Kowitt

With Coldplaygate on track to become one of the most viral moments of the year, you would think this is the first time in history that a CEO has been busted for having what certainly seems to be an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate.

Well, let me tell you—this is far from the truth. As someone who covers corporate America, CEOs doing inappropriate things with inappropriate people has turned into its own mini-beat. Over time, I've learned a lot—too much!—about the indiscretions of those in charge. In some ways, the Andy Byron/Astronomer fiasco is a textbook case.

But it also reveals the way our hyper-online world has transformed how CEOs and company boards need to think about the line between bosses' public and private lives.

There's a reason CEOs who are smart people do dumb things and end up in Mr. Byron's position. As I've written before, power can make people believe they will only ever reap the upsides of risk-taking behavior.

For example, people with a higher sense of power are more likely to believe they'll avoid hitting turbulence on an airplane, or run into a dangerous snake on vacation. One can see how they might also think they won't be spotted on the jumbotron at a Coldplay concert, despite the evidence to the contrary.