Just days after the US presidential election, Matt Maloney, founder and CEO of Grubhub, sent out an internal memo letting his employees know that those who share in then president-elect Donald Trump's "hateful politics" don't have a place at his company.
"If you do not agree with this statement then please reply to this email with your resignation because you have no place here," he wrote. "We do not tolerate hateful attitudes on our team."
While Maloney later clarified that he meant his message to encourage tolerance, it was widely read as a warning that Trump supporters should resign. Twitter lit up with the hashtag #boycottgrubhub (which, to be fair, didn't seem to impact Grubhub's revenue, which was up this past quarter).
I better be pretty clear on what’s acceptable and what isn’t
However, just months after the election, President Donald Trump signed an executive order temporarily banning immigration for refugees as well as those from several Muslim-majority companies and it was more notable to point out which companies hadn't spoken out against the ban. Leaders from Twitter, Dropbox, Netflix, Salesforce, Reddit and more condemned the sudden policy. Google even announced a $4 million crisis fund for four immigration and human rights organizations.
So what's the difference between Maloney's email and Google's donation fund? When should business leaders speak out, and how should they do it? What is the place of business leaders in today's increasingly divisive politics?
"[People are] looking to these corporate leaders to make a statement in terms of: How are you as a company going to treat your employees, support your employees, and treat your customers in this kind of new world order?" said Ellen Rudnick, professor of entrepreneurship at University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
To begin, leaders should have their values clearly established even before they're tested, said Harry Kraemer, professor at Kellogg School of Management and former CEO of Baxter.
"If I’m the leader, one of the things I think is very important is that I establish the values for the organization," he said. "So I better be pretty clear on what’s acceptable and what isn’t."
This can range from banning swearing in the office to a stated tolerance for different religious backgrounds, Kraemer added. Once those are established, it's key to hold people accountable, internally and externally, and for business leaders, this could mean making a statement when one of these values is threatened. Rudnick also noted that leaders should assess the impact of a policy decision or political moment on employees, customers and shareholders. If it poses a risk to one of these groups, some sort of statement becomes increasingly important.
Even if you do an internal memo, it’s going to be public
Once a business leader has decided to make a statement, it doesn't mean a CEO should just start typing and hit "send" without a second thought. Both Rudnick and Kraemer emphasized that you have to assume that what you're writing will become public.
"Even if you do an internal memo, it’s going to be public," said Rudnick. "There’s no such thing, in our world of email and webcasts, that can be said privately."
"I would never, ever put something in an email or say something that I would feel bad about if it was on the front page of the paper," added Kraemer.
In an effort to not alienate an employee or customer with a certain political affiliation, a balanced approach is key. Steer clear of inflammatory language, Kraemer said. For example, don't call a political leader "nuts."
"I’m not going to say 'he’s a bad person,'" said Kraemer. Instead he suggested more reasoned language that gets at the policy decision that challenged a company's values. Here's Kraemer's take: "This is an area of a decision that I think is inappropriate and I’m going to do what I can to get this reversed."
A focus on action, over words that might ring hollow, is also effective, said Rudnick. Airbnb offered housing to those impacted by the immigration ban, Lyft committed to donating $1 million to the ACLU and Starbucks said it would employ 10,000 refugees. These gestures underscored the company's commitment to taking action if they believe someone is being unjustly impacted.
While the immigration ban inspired a flurry of social media posts from tech leaders (including several in Chicago) Rudnick also noted there's a difference between firing off a quick tweet condemning an executive order, writing an internal memo or pushing out a press release.
Spend a little time with how you’re going to craft your message
"If you tweet it out, you only have 140 [characters],” she said. "Are your shareholders on Twitter? Are all your customer on Twitter? Are all your employees on Twitter? You have to think of multiple ways to do this."
And if you're a leader who feels like all you have time for is a tweet, Rudnick suggests recruiting an internal public relations team or trusted communications professional, who can turn your thoughts into a meaningful memo or press release. They can also vet any communication, pointing out any unintended consequences a message may inspire, such as a boycott (even while Grubhub's boycott didn't seem to impact business, the campaign to #DeleteUber prompted Uber CEO Travis Kalanick to exit Trump's advisory council).
"You don’t have to be the first one out there," she said. "You want to be thoughtful and take into consideration all the different issues and potential impact and spend a little time with how you’re going to craft your message."
