The Choice for CEOs on Political Issues is Not “Yes or No”, It’s “Helps the Brand or Hurts the Brand”

The Michael Jordan reason for staying out of politics-”Republicans buy sneakers, too”-is no longer an option. There is no question whether corporations and their CEOs will take political positions; the only question is what those positions will be and how they are decided on and communicated.

Every public company makes asset allocations that include campaign contributions to candidates of both parties and lobbying expenditures, directly and through trade associations and other groups. Increasingly, however, the prevalent policy of hedging with contributions to every elected official is unacceptable. The Business Roundtable statement in 2019 about the vital importance of stakeholders as the best guarantee of long-term, sustainable growth and shareholder returns puts the burden on CEOs to be more specific about priorities and policies.

Most major companies, especially consumer-facing corporations, made statements on social media and in other outlets in support of #blacklivesmatter and #metoo and other social issues. It is no longer commercially credible for fossil fuel companies to pretend there is no such thing as human-caused climate change; their websites extol their commitments to biofuels and reduced carbon footprints. And yet, reports from…