Why Your CEO Sounds Like a Press Release (And How to Fix It)

Have a seat: Your CEO's LinkedIn posts make me want to take a nap.

And not the good kind of nap. The "I'm in a quarterly business review and someone just said 'synergy' for the 47th time" kind of nap.

Here's the thing—you're out here trying to build authentic client connections in medtech and health tech, preaching about human-to-human relationships, and your founder's content reads like it was written by a compliance committee having an existential crisis.

"We are pleased to announce our commitment to leveraging innovative solutions..."

STOP. Just... stop.

The CEO Content Problem Nobody Talks About

I just wrapped an episode with Brian Kurian, a ghostwriter who's seen some shaet. And by "shaet," I mean he's witnessed the slow, painful death of founder authenticity at the hands of legal teams, PR departments, and that one person in marketing who's really concerned about "brand voice guidelines."

Brian told me about working with a multi-millionaire in financial services who had ZERO social media presence. This guy survived poverty, built an empire, had three decades of war stories that would make your sales team cry tears of inspiration...

And nobody knew about it. Because he was too busy, you know, running a business.

Sound familiar?

The Time Problem Is Actually a Trust Problem

Here's what Brian said that made me physically point at my screen like that Leonardo DiCaprio meme: "Most salespeople lack a fundamental understanding of copywriting. Most copywriters don't know the fundamentals of selling."

But when those two worlds collide? Magic happens.

Because here's the brutal truth about scaling in today's market: Your audience can smell sanitized corporate bullshaet from a mile away. They're STARVING for realness. For someone at the top who actually gets them. For a founder who sounds like a human and not a quarterly earnings call.

But you're stuck in this impossible position: You need to tell your story. Build that relationship-driven revenue growth everyone keeps talking about. Create those authentic client connections that reduce churn and drive retention.

But when? Between the board meetings, the stakeholder engagement, the fires you're putting out, and that thing your kid has at school on Tuesday?

The Ghostwriter Paradox

Here's where it gets interesting (and slightly existential): Can you be authentic... through someone else's writing?

Brian's take? Hell yes. But only if you find the right person.

The best ghostwriters aren't just writers. They're relationship archaeologists. They dig through your stories, your mission, your midnight "oh shaet" moments, and they find the gold that makes people go, "Wait, this CEO actually GETS me."

They research your audience's pain points harder than your sales team researches before a demo. They understand what keeps your health tech buyers up at night. They know exactly how to bridge the gap between "here's what we do" and "here's why you should care."

And here's the kicker: The good ones don't just transcribe what you say. They listen for what you're NOT saying. They read between the lines like they're getting paid by the subtext.

(Which, technically, they are.)

Red Flags vs. Green Flags

Brian got real about what to look for:

Green Flags:

• They ask thoughtful questions that make you think, "Damn, I never considered that"

• They actually understand your mission WITHOUT you explaining it 47 times

• They're building a relationship, not completing a transaction

• They can hear what you mean, not just what you say

Red Flags:

• They treat you like invoice #4,327

• "That'll be $500. Due Friday. Next."

• They don't understand the destination, so how the hell are they gonna get you there?

• Everything feels like a press release that went through seven approval cycles

The Real Reason This Matters

You know what nobody talks about? The ROI of giving a shaet.

When your audience feels connected to the person at the top—when they read your founder's story and think "holy crap, they get it"—they stop shopping around. They stop being price-sensitive. They become your customer advocacy program without you even asking.

Because in B2B relationships, especially in health tech and medtech where trust is EVERYTHING, people don't just buy your product. They buy into YOU.

But only if they know who "you" actually is.

The Bottom Line

Your founder has incredible stories. Hard-won lessons. The kind of authentic human connection strategies that your competitors would kill for.

But those stories are trapped inside someone who has 47 other things to do today.

A great ghostwriter isn't someone who makes your CEO sound like someone else. They're someone who helps your CEO sound like themselves—just with better research, clearer messaging, and none of the 2am "I should really write that post" guilt.

Because here's the truth: In a world where everyone's trying to humanize business relationships and rebuild the human fabric in business (yes, I'm hitting my SEO targets, thank you very much), the founders who win aren't the ones with the biggest teams or the most funding.

They're the ones who sound like actual humans.

Watch the full episode with Brian Kurian where we dive deep into the intersection of sales and storytelling, why transactional relationships are killing your growth, and what it actually takes to build unshakeable business relationships in scaling companies.

Because the best relationship management for competitive markets? It starts with showing up as a real person.

P.S. If your CEO's last LinkedIn post included the phrase "pleased to announce" or "delighted to share," you don't have a content problem. You have a humanity problem. And yes, there's a ghostwriter for that. DM me if you want Brian's info—the man's a wizard, and unlike most wizards, he actually returns emails.

Karl Pontau hosts The Human Connection Podcast, where we talk about the stuff that actually matters in business: the humans running it. Because whether you're B2B or B2C, it's really H2H, human to human. Subscribe so you don't miss the next episode where we probably say something that'll make your HR department uncomfortable.