181 CEOs Have Sworn Off Profit-Centric Leadership
By: Glenn Geffcken
Tags: Brand Strategy, Authenticity, Leadership, Change Management

181 CEOs Have Sworn Off Profit-Centric Leadership

What does it mean for the future of brand-building?

Photo by Lucas Davies on Unsplash

This past August, the Business Roundtable, a group of roughly 190 CEOs from some of the largest companies in the U.S. issued a landmark announcement on the purpose of a corporation — essentially proclaiming the death of Milton Friedman economics. The Business Roundtable is not a group of eco-conscious, granola-eating CEOs but rather the leaders of the most visible, revered, and at times reviled brands, and they’re saying they/we need to change.

Signed by 181 CEOs, the proclamation states that business needs to work for the benefit of all stakeholders, including “customers, employees, suppliers, community, and shareholders.” Much has been written about it since its release. Many have hailed it, and many have expressed deep skepticism, given the nature of these companies and their past business practices.

There is good cause to be skeptical, but we also have to ask ourselves why would they release such a proclamation. Could it be a mere PR strategy? I think not.

Let’s assume for a moment that there are a few signatories who are joining the group in the hopes of gaining some positive spin for their brands. Let’s also assume that maybe a large percentage of the group signed with a genuine desire to move their companies in the direction of working for the benefit of all stakeholders, while also entertaining a little voice in the back of the mind that promises some good vibes from the media as a fringe benefit. Maybe only a small percentage of these CEOs are 100% on board regardless of what it may mean for the strength of their brands, share price, or positive press.

We can’t say for sure, but wouldn’t it be better to give them the benefit of the doubt, that change has to start somewhere, and where better than with 181 of some of the largest and most powerful institutions in the country?

As a brand strategist with a focus on working with companies to hardwire authenticity into their companies, I believe there is always a point in the process where an awareness comes to light that goes something like this: “So, if we say we’re about these values (fill in the blank), then we have to truly be that kind of company?”

Yes, that’s the point. We proclaim what we stand for, we acknowledge that these values are aspirational (that we may not get it right all the time) but that we will strive individually and collectively to be that kind of company.

Authentic brand-building is not for the faint of heart. It requires that we go deep into the psyche of a company, to touch the soul of an organization, and then as a collective to put words to it, to define it, and then to take the scary step of proclaiming it to our stakeholders: customers, employees, suppliers, community, and shareholders.

This is the key point in the journey of transforming a brand from mediocre to exceptional. We announce it to the world so we’re on the hook. Our stakeholders can now hold us accountable because they have something definitive to hold us to.

Saying we’re customer-centric but not providing a way to reach an actual person on the phone is not living up to our values. Saying we care about equality, for example, requires leaders to look within to uncover deeply engrained ways of thinking, and being willing to question our most basic beliefs related to gender, ethnicity, culture, lifestyles, and so on.

The Business Roundtable’s announcement places them on the hook — 181 CEOs of some of our largest organizations are saying, “This is what we’re about.” Now it’s up to us and all of their stakeholders to hold them accountable.