Note to CEO's: Social networking tools can help you

Despite their discomfort with new web tools—like YouTube, blogs and Facebook—some executives are finding value in them.

When James Schiro, chief executive of Zurich Financial Services, had to cancel a large midyear meeting to save money, he turned to YouTube.

Instead of speaking live to an audience of 400 people, he went on the road every week to visit Zurich's locations. Each time, after speaking with a team in person, he posted a video so everyone could watch.

His videos are short—only a minute and a half or so. But they're long enough to "articulate the strategy, tell them where we're going, what I want them to do, and what I'm hearing, good and bad, in the organization, Schiro says.

Not only is it a cheap way to communicate, it's where young people are, says Schiro. The Internet is where they're getting their information. So far, he says, "the response has been fantastic.

— Adapted from "The C.E.O., Now Appearing on YouTube, Adam Bryant, The New York Times.