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Episode Description
It started with a kiss on the Jumbotron.
When the CEO and Chief People Officer of Astronomer showed up mid-embrace at a Coldplay concert—on screen, no less—they probably didn’t expect it to go viral. But those few seconds set off a firestorm: internal resignations, external backlash, and an urgent conversation about boundaries, bias, and what it means to lead in public.
In this episode of The E Word, Brittany and Karen break down the leadership fallout using the SPENT framework:
- Sophia (Philosophic Wisdom): Why proximity to power isn’t just a perk—it’s a responsibility.
- Phronesis (Practical Judgment): What clear boundaries (and clearer policies) could’ve changed.
- Episteme (Fact-Based Insight): What actually happened, and what people got wrong in the rush to react.
- Nous (Intuitive Understanding): Why the woman involved may have taken the bigger hit and what that says about who’s allowed to make mistakes.
- Techne (Making it Real): How Astronomer’s damage control (featuring actress Gwyneth Paltrow) rewrote the typical crisis PR playbook.
From office romances to public reckoning, some moments hit harder because they shine a light on everything we don’t want to talk about: power, gender, double standards, and the very human mess behind corporate polish.
🎧 Listen in and ask yourself: What would you have done if it were your team, your org, your face on that screen?
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- Follow Brittany on LinkedIn and learn more at BND Consulting Group.