In the context of CEOs increasingly taking an activist stance on controversial social and political issues in response to employee, customer, investor and other stakeholder expectations and other triggers, Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business Professor Dr. Aaron Chatterji and Harvard Business School (Sen. John Heinz Professor of Environmental Management) Dr. Michael Toffel offer tips to corporate leaders on when and how to step into the CEO activism ring in this WSJ article: "The Right and Wrong Way to Do ‘CEO Activism’."
"When" considerations include:
- Employee sentiment on the particular issue/cause at hand, with the understanding that - in all likelihood - some employees will back the CEO's position, and some won't
- Alignment/misalignment of the contemplated position with the company's and CEO's personal values and associated corporate practices
- Timing. Drs. Chatterji and Heinz advise CEOs to speak out "real-time" - when the issue is hot, commenting that silence is equated with backing the status quo. "If you are going to speak out, do so when the issue is at the top of your audience’s mind, when speaking out with moral clarity can actually make a difference…If you want to take a stand on an important issue, you should be willing to be first and to weather the potential backlash."
"How" considerations include:
- Prepare in advance by establishing a team of employees, directors and outside experts to develop a "rapid-response" plan.
- Anticipate and determine in advance how to monitor, measure, and react to potential expected and unexpected implications and consequences to the CEO's position. How might employees, customers and other stakeholders who are supportive of and opposed to the CEO's stance respond?
- Involve the corporate communications team. The CEO should ensure corporate communications personnel understand which issues are important to him/her and why, and should count on them for support, e.g., providing relevant data and guidance on a "speak out" strategy formulation.