Be Part of the Conversation

Have you thought about what the election means for your organization? And have you incorporated that thinking into any kind of strategy? The November midterm elections exposed an entirely new set of concerns as the possibility of a legislative agenda change put a number of issues on the table – tax changes, environmental issues, and a potential push against Big Oil.

Recent history shows that concerted efforts by corporate leaders have been conspicuously absent when it comes to public discourse. Most corporate leaders feel unfamiliar with issues and prefer to leave actual participation in these discussions to the legal and public affairs departments. Still, an overwhelming majority of respondents to a McKinsey survey agree that public issues today are a potential threat to the long-term creation of shareholder value.

In short, top execs tend to focus their attention narrowly on operational issues and short-term financial pressures. They are typically uncomfortable in the public arena where discussions require statesmanship and arguments are frequently emotional, anecdotal, and lacking in firm proof.

Still, forward-thinking corporate leaders can gain a real advantage by taking part in these discussions and by actually incorporating what they learn into a new market strategy. The future is likely to make participation even more necessary. Clearly, technology (Web sites, e-mail and Weblogs) have has altered the balance of power in these discussions to individuals and small groups, and corporations need to make their agendas known. The body politic needs to know early on of any trade-offs as they begin to examine new social issues such as climate change, energy security, low prices, and privacy issues. CEOs have a sufficient high level of credibility when it comes to articulating the other side of many arguments, but, to date, their voices have not been heard.

A real advantage exists in early participation in the discussions of what might be called “frontier expectations” – those issues that are just emerging, but could significantly alter the ways business is conducted and eventually lead to legislation or regulation.

Here’s what organizations should do: identify the forces that can affect your industry, decide which of those issues have a longer-term impact on your reputation, and develop detection systems to identify future risks and opportunities. Once you have pinpointed the issues, your organization can identify the major players and initiate discussions with them.

On the defensive side, that will allow the organization to better understand the dynamics of the issue and to counter potential damaging legislation down the road. Better yet, those discussions could lead to opportunities for thought leadership and even new products. Take the fast food industry and its product innovation on the emerging obesity issue, for instance, or the health insurance providers that are offering new ways for universal and more affordable coverage.

And, on the soft side, that thought leadership platform will provide additional benefits to corporations that are visible. For example, if the company experiences an event that might cast it in a negative light, the body politic may give it more of a pass than an obscure company that is not seen or heard with meaningful contributions to the public discourse.

Be part of the conversation. For ideas on how to identify and participate in the discussion, e-mail lkettleson@kettlesongroup.com or phone at 978-463-7952