Business Leaders May Be Wise to Just Clam Up

If you're in the business of being in business, maybe it's best just to keep your mouth shut. And that happens to be a statement coming from a rather staunch supporter of the 1st Amendment. Granted, everyone is entitled to have an opinion. Everyone is also entitled to share their opinion.

Businesses are not necessarily simply standalone entities. By themselves they are, of course. But at the same time, they're run by people. Regardless of what a business' aim is in terms of the business itself, the people who run them become an extension of their business.

What they say matters.

It's not a new thing, by the way. Business owners and leaders being vocal about their political views or other ideas. Henry Ford, for example, was quite vocal about his antisemitism. Did his opinions have an impact on his car making business?

No.

But we're living in highly charged political times. The country is more divided now than it has ever been. And opinions matter. On top of that, business leaders are also viewed a bit differently. They have always been the evil, greedy rich guy, mind you. 

At the same time, the way information is disseminated is also very different. Not only do you have the 24-hour news cycle, but the media is also considerably more biased in their approach to the news and about what they report on—and are much less objective than ever. And unabashedly so, by the way.

Many of the familiar faces we see on nightly "news" broadcasts aren't even reporters. Instead, they are commentators. And what they say is not driven necessarily by what's actually happening. But by what their political leanings happen to be.

The agenda, if you will, is not to report the news as it happens. It is to shape it into whatever you want it to be.

And to deliver a message, and often, to change minds—or, to form opinions in the minds of their viewers that become truth even if there is no basis in fact necessarily.

In the recent past we've seen a number of businesses falling victim to their opinions. And it happens along both sides, by the way. It does seem that lately conservatives are being hit a bit harder. But that's not necessarily the case altogether.

Mike Lindell, for example, the owner of the once very successful My Pillow business, has been reduced to rubble. He's as close to being bankrupt and broke as it gets. And it has nothing to do with his business or the products he sells.

It was his opinion that did it.

Anheuser-Busch got hit too. And their pain was for having a liberal viewpoint. The Bud Light controversy lives on to this day, and the company is still feeling ongoing pain for its Dylan Mulvaney can.

Another rather vocal guy, Elon Musk, has been suffering all sorts of pains for various opinions he's had, that he is quite vocal about, and unashamed of obviously. X, formerly known as Twitter, which he now owns, is reportedly going to lose $75 million as a result of advertiser exodus, a direct response to opinions he's spread.

And it has impacted his other business, Tesla, as well. Maybe not necessarily in terms of sales. But certainly, in terms of share value.

It's not to say that once you enter the CEO's office you should have to give up your inalienable rights offered to any other American citizen. At the same time, all decisions have consequences. Good or bad. And I think taking into account the potential impact of the things you say, is an important and worthwhile consideration.

A business should ultimately succeed or fail based on what it does. Not necessarily on how it thinks. And again, because the people who lead these businesses represent them, their minds become the mind of the business. Their opinions become intermingled.

It's not unlike so many other things we consume. Be it sports or music or theatrical entertainment. We want the product. We don't necessarily want to know what those people think about this thing, that thing, or the other.

We want athletes to win. We want actors to act. We want musicians to play music. And we want businesses to simply offer products we want and need.

When an actor spouts off and says something we find cringeworthy, it tarnishes the brand. It makes us feel uncomfortable about our support. Our support becomes attached to supporting an idea rather than the product.

If you pick up a Bud Light, you're not saying, "It's a good brand that I like to drink." It's now an extension of your own politics and what you support. Holding onto a Bud Light now says, "I support LGBTQ+ rights."

The products you use and the people you support behind them now become extensions of who you are. That's dangerous for any business. When you comingle a brand with a set of ideals, you compromise the brand's viability.

And this is what we happen to be seeing happening. 

Anne Lappe once famously was quoted as saying, "Every dollar you spend casts a vote for the kind of world you want to live in." It's better, when it comes to the brands we want to buy, to associate them with what the brand is selling on its own merits. Not on how we think the brand thinks or feels about something.

If you are in business and vocal about your opinions, it gives consumers a reason other than the product to make a decision about whether to buy it or not. 

The 1st Amendment is a very important right that we have as Americans. And the Constitution, nor the exercise of any of our rights should never be taken lightly or necessarily abandoned. No matter who you are. 

But at the same time, if you want to build a business and have it be successful, you also have to be aware of what you do and what impact it may have on the brand or business itself.

There is a flip side to this. Should we, as Americans, punish the businesses? Or should we be more attuned to understanding that sometimes someone will have an opinion that does not mesh with our own, and perhaps rather than telling business owners to shut their mouths, perhaps we should be more respectful of one's right to have an opinion that may not match the one we hold ourselves.

There was a time, I think, when one simply disagreed. Now, if you disagree, that person and everything he's worked for must be destroyed. Until some level of civility returns in society, it might be best to simply pipe up and leave your opinions to yourself.

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