The Politicization of Everything
We find ourselves today in a hyper-politicized environment that business leaders must recognize, understand and be prepared to address. Increasingly a business’ brand, mission statement, identified purpose, marketing themes, suppliers and the executive team’s social media activities are all being scrutinized to reveal political positions to either support or oppose. Whether intended or not, or true or not, claims made by pundits and popular social media influencers can quickly lead to market segmentation that may have a direct impact on a business. Prudent business leaders will think through these issues before they happen. They will want to discuss the most likely trouble spots and identify the most likely scenarios and impacts. The goal of these exercises is to create a playbook on how best to respond when it happens. When it happens, the speed at which it can impact your business necessitates foresight and planning. Earlier this year in Boise, Idaho, new owners of a pizza joi