If you are a budding entrepreneur and future tycoon, you may be looking to successful business leaders for inspiration. Learning about and connecting with chief executives has never been easier thanks to social media. Consulting firm Brunswick Group examined the digital profiles of 790 CEOs in the U.S. and U.K. for their social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Additionally, Brunswick surveyed thousands of employees in both countries for its study. After crunching 100,000+ data points, the firm established a ranking of CEOs based not only on connectedness, that is, the presence of accounts, but also on their owners’ active engagement. The ranking extends from the lowest score of 536 for Flutter Entertainment CEO Peter Jackson, who placed 100th, to No.1-ranked Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and his score of 829. The study also confirmed that Twitter and LinkedIn are the CEOs’ preferred networking sites.

Social media are “an unfiltered forum for corporate leaders to listen to their communities and to connect by sharing their successes and challenges,” Nasdaq president and CEO Adena Friedman says. The fourth-ranked CEO believes that “Social media projects the human side of the corporate world.” The Brunswick study revealed that most workers check a CEO’s social media accounts before joining a company. The candidates also consult Glassdoor, a popular platform where current and former employees submit anonymous company reviews, including otherwise hard-to-come-by salary information. A top Glassdoor score means high job approval among employees. Highly connected CEOs on average scored better than their less connected peers on Glassdoor (+5 percent), as did their companies (+3 percent).

Your Task. 

Search for the Connected Leadership report by Brunswick on the Web. Peruse or download a PDF copy. You will find that the top five executives are Doug McMillon (Walmart), Brent Saunders (Allergan), Ramon Laguarda (PepsiCo), Adena Friedman (Nasdaq), and Dan Schulman (PayPal). Mary Barra (GM), Hans Vestberg (Verizon), and Ed Bastian (Delta Air Lines) are also among the top 10 CEOs. Individually or as a team, select a CEO who interests you. Analyze the executives’ presence and influence on their social media networks of choice. Find out how many followers they have, how often they post, what topics they discuss (strictly business or personal), how they come across to you (approachable and friendly or formidable and tough), and more. Correlate these observations with the executives’ Glassdoor scores. Does the approval score match your CEO’s Brunswick survey rating? Discuss your findings as a group or in class. If asked, summarize your research in a cogent e-mail or memo.