Politics Is Risky Business for CEOs
It’s imprudent to weigh in on issues that don’t directly affect the company.
A few CEOs have expressed their point of view about the new Georgia voting law. They have issued statements indicating their opposition on the basis that the law will suppress voting. Other senior executives, retired and active, have joined them. I know most of them by reputation and some personally. They are people of goodwill, who sincerely care about the nation, their companies and their employees and customers. Most have done excellent work as leaders of their companies. All have my respect and I believe have earned the respect of the public. But I believe they are wrong to take public positions on this law.
I believe both that voting ought to be relatively simple for citizens and that verification of eligibility to vote should be strict as a matter of principle. It is clear that any verification of ballot integrity will increase difficulty. In my view, the Georgia law reaches a reasonable trade-off between those two objectives.But the reason
I think CEOs should be silent on this issue isn’t because I disagree with their judgment on the merits. It’s because I think it is wrong for executives to take a company position on public-policy questions that don’t directly affect their business, for four reasons.
First, while these CEOs have the right to their own opinions, they can never speak merely as individuals; they always speak for and represent the companies they head. As CEOs they have the right, and perhaps the obligation, to speak out on matters affecting their organizations, but unless they have asked their boards for approval before speaking, they don’t have that right on unrelated matters.
Second, inevitably their announcements on purely political issues will alienate many of their employees and customers. Those positions will always lead to unintended consequences. In the Georgia situation, it immediately prompted Major League Baseball to move the All-Star Game to Denver, which then brought on charges of hypocrisy because of baseball’s close ties to two dictatorships—Cuba and China. It also generated calls to boycott two major Atlanta-based companies. This won’t be the end of the backlash.
Third, these and other executives will be pressured in the future to comment, pro or con, on other states’ voting laws. That will lead to further charges of hypocrisy, more boycotts, more publicity, more ill will. At the end of the day corporations and the idea of capitalism will be in lower repute.
Fourth, and perhaps most important, there is no limiting principle to this problem. If business heads can be pressured to comment on issues unrelated to their businesses, they will be compelled to weigh in on more current events and issues and will have no basis for refusing to respond. What do you think of catch and release at the border, what do you think of no-bail laws in New York? It will go on and on.
Mr. Golub was CEO of American Express, 1993-2001.
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Patti Lauer
Excellent article Harvey. As someone who thinks everyone should have some type of ID and i do not know if anyone who does not, I believe in shoeing ID and checking it against voters records is not a hardship. You mist registered to vote before you cast a ballot. I wish more company CEOs had common sense like you do. As a 27 year Amex employee (retired) i am ashamed of how it is managed now.
Rick
Also drives employee, customer and shareholder discord….. well said Harvey … it’s a lose/lose/lose decision!
Kelli Kostick
Well said Mr. Golub…. glad you took the time
To write it
Donna Uliva
I couldn’t agree more. For companies to pull MyPillow and other conservative products off shelves s awful.
Leonard S. Feinman
We who worked for you remember Blue Box Values, and we wonder how much Amex changed. Many of us were very unhappy to see you go, and many never liked your replacement, who seemed to have different (heartless) business views.
As business leaders, their first obligation is to consumers, but a good business leader supports his employees and does not force ideas on them. Your ideas made sense, so nobody felt like they were forced.
There is a political pot being stirred, and one day somebody is going to lick the spoon. Virtue-Signaling will be recognized for what it is, and there will be more backlashes against the businesses that present these ideas. We must not denigrate the majority of this country by trying to convince them they are being a racist, just because in somebody’s opinion, you are.
By the way, you do have a right to hate. You don’t have a right to take any actions on your hate, and people will distance themselves from you, but you still have that prerogative.