Is the Corporate Discussion On Ukraine Important, Irrelevant, or Hypocritical?

Ukraine continues to dominate much of our news. The debate over how the world should respond evolves daily, with not much material change in anything except for people dying.

I recently asked, “What does the situation in Ukraine and Russia mean for us? And can we as a community play a role??

The comments and responses were, as I have come to expect from my readers, thoughtful, open, and honest. Everyone decried the violence and many pointed out the need for the equitable application of personal doctrine…meaning if you speak out for this and demand action, you should do the same elsewhere in the world, as uncomfortable or alien as it might seem to you.?

My bottom line was simple and rooted in my wanna-be hippy pathology:

“Suppose they gave a war and no one came.”?

My point being that it’s up to us to do something, think about People First, and lose complacency. It wasn’t about picking sides as much as it was about how business people can do something to make a difference.?

Now it's April. The war rages, some companies have shut down their operations in Russia, and others have sort of/kind of symbolically done the same (at least have benefitted from the PR of saying they did). The war has become a PR/AD meme (I’ll report on who has submitted cases to the Award Shows later)…And as much as it dominates the news, I’m not sure it dominates discussion in the same way.

All of this leads me to ask a much simpler question with a simple binary “Yes/No” answer and request for comment. Once again, my readers stepped up.

I asked:

“Do you think companies should take a stand on the war in Ukraine?”?

Before the answer, quick caveat emptor…I feel compelled to share my usual weasel warning about how this is not scientific or a balanced statistical audience…not pretending to be. That being said, I stand by this and would bet on it…read the comments and you’ll see why.

60% said businesses should take a stand, and 40% said they don’t need to take a stand (more or less).

To some, that’s an overwhelming majority...I’m not in politics, but for a business, that means I’ve left 40% on the table. That means 50/50 is just around the corner, and it's downhill from there.?

There seems to be a general opinion, even amongst the Yes vote, that:

• ?It should not be a selective stand, meaning that there is conflict elsewhere and you can’t ignore any for the one.
• Consumers are holding companies accountable.
• Companies are corporations. Corporations are people. Stand by your people!

The hypocrisy angle came up enough to pay attention, even from people who voted Yes. You can’t pay notice only because it's Russia.

To recap:

• Companies should take a stand when it comes to wars, senseless killing, and hate…but only when equally applied to all conflicts.
• Meaningless PR moves are just that…meaningless.??
• If your internal policies are not compassionate, how can you support Ukraine or anything else?

Thanks to all who answered and commented, and feel free to continue the discussion here.

I do believe that our corporate souls are at risk…

What’s your view?