3 Things Business Does All the Time that Protesters are Doing Very Well
Not going to frame this in a way you have not heard already. The 2020 protests are not like recent American moments of looking in the mirror. This is not going to totally re-invent America overnight either. But there is a deeper resonance that most people expected. There is something of a cliché to the way some people can condescend to activists and in this instance it is not only offensive - it is deeply misguided. I invite you to recognize three things the current protest efforts are doing that business people ought to understand better than anyone else.
1. "Defund the Police" seems to be very uncomfortable for the moderate crowd. But if you have P&L responsibility you already know it does not mean "let's have nothing". It means when something is beyond repair we "confront the brutal facts" as Jim Collins said and start from scratch with different assumptions, methods, people, etc. If you can hear it that way and still disagree - ok make another proposal and let's debate and discuss. But stop pretending people actually want no public safety system. You know that is not actually a thing and you know you have been the "defund" person in your own world before on something you understood really well. How well do you think you understand this police thing? How much personal impact is it having on your life? Maybe listen to the people for whom the answer is "lots."
2. "Follow the money" advocacy? If there is one thing every LinkedIn member knows it's follow the money. Find the customer's biggest pain point, define the addressable market...Good protests will do the exact. same. thing. Make sure you are up to speed on the money issues. The wealth gap in the US. The pay gap in the US. Are business people's taxes higher than ever? No. Not at all. How dismal is the rate of Black leadership presence in big companies? Dismal. Does Black talent and culture make white people rich? Yes. The best way not to be a target is to be informed and not to be an offender of the principles at issue. Time to make some changes? Yup.
3. Reform legislation? Targeting incumbents? Nobody does policy & politics like the business community. In 2019, US business spending on lobbying was $3.47B. How about in campaigns - say the 2018 midterms? Shaping the rules of the game and then winning. This is all coming to a head because of excess and indifference. Many can do law reform and support candidates. You don't have the arena to yourself. Time for a real debate of issues. And right now the protesters have the wind at their backs, with lots of public support.
If you are locked in the cliché of "I wish people would run the _____ like a business" you might want to check into your assumptions about how business actually works - and how the 2020 activists are actually operating.
Andy Tarsy is Principal and Founder of Emblem Strategic LLC.