Political in Business

Political bias in media is a big topic, especially in blogging, but what about political bias in business? We pretend to be objective and for business and government to be as seperate as church and state. Executives are people too (boo hoo) and have political views, but they rarely make it past the political filter. Basically because we are afraid of loosing customers.

But the two are inexorably tied. We often don't recongize business ties to government until special prosecutors and boycotts are invoked. Somehow I think that's starting to change. As more executives and employees blog publicly, their views are going to come out. And its time we start accepting it and even celebrating differences and debate.

Most successful people in business have a political bent that comes with thinking through decisions and leadership. They are also adept at working through differences. I'm left leaning, but I worked for a conservative foreign President and also a former Special Advisor to Reagan. My company has served companies from the left and the right and I have a fiduciary responsibility to act like a phone company (as in neutrality, not monopoly) for the benefit of shareholders. When we worked with Dean and now Kerry, I of course was enthused and passionate, I am for most customers, but to say that serving Bush would be more than doing the work would be a lie.

When David Weinberger says "Objectivity is a worthwhile objective, but it needs to be recognized that it can't be reached," this is true for more than the press.

When giving my little stump speech on Social Media, I drifted into politics. Saying something to the effect that its ironic that we are having a conference about tools to build relationships while our nation is dismantling them. What I meant to also say is that people are dying right now to protect another important part of Social Media -- freedom of speech. I care a great deal about what's right about politics and business. You can care about both and you can take stands.

What's more, if you don't act with this care, especially with the social goods and costs of your company, your corporation will be a bad citizen. And that's bad business.

Related: Joi's research topic, Socially Responsible Investing I and II, role of government (.pdf) in advancing corporate sustainability.