Business and politics don’t often mix very calmly together, but these two spheres has coexisted for thousands of years and definitely coexist today.
The idea of corporate involvement in social issues can spark strong emotional responses from people on either side of the political spectrum. In today’s world, the relationship between business and politics is particularly hard to manage from the business’s point of view. Businesses rely on shareholders and consumers, who often come from many walks of life, and they have to manage this fact alongside their bottom line, as well as their own corporate mission. This can often work well and lead to great results, but there are also a great many stories of terrible failure on the part of companies to manage their brand and bottom line while also pushing for societal changes.
Don’t take it from us, but take it from Apple CEO Tim Cook. Cook believes that companies do have a responsibility to take part in social discourse when it comes to issues in which a company has a stake. In his own words, “the issues we weigh in on are issues we feel like we have standing, and by standing I mean that we have a legitimate, unique position or lens on the issue… that we’re not just a talking head…”
For some businesses, getting involved in social commentary may be less about values, and more about attention. For large brands, brand visibility usually takes precedent over direct-response marketing efforts, so it isn’t unreasonable to suspect that at least a few companies are throwing their boxing gloves on just for the attention. Stereotypes and suspicions aside, business can be an excellent or a terrible force when it comes to any number of different issues which exist outside of the business sphere. It is incumbent upon business professionals to map out the far-reaching effects that their social activism will have on their company’s bottom line and brand image as well as the state of societal affairs more broadly speaking. This isn’t an easy task, but in the information age, it is one that must be undertaken with serious professionalism and strength of character in order to make both a company and broader society better.
