I saw a news story about a storage company in New York City that put up a billboard that read: “Your closet space is shrinking as fast as her right to choose” with the outline of a clothes hanger in the background.
I watched a couple of “experts” on both sides of the abortion issue (one pro-life, the other pro-choice) discuss some of the issues related to a company being so blatant about a moral and political position. The experts seemed to be more interested in debating abortion, and I thought they both missed the business consideration here.
The business consideration is: the better strategy (in my opinion) is for a business to not take a stand on any controversial, divisive issue. Business owners and their employees certainly have the right to their opinions and to support causes of their choice, but it’s best to keep those thoughts and activities private and personal.
No one is a stronger champion of free speech than I, but couple free speech with a little common sense. If you choose to have your company show support for a divisive issue, you need to be prepared for the consequences—which could include the fact that some people may choose not to do business with you because of your position on controversial social or political issues.
Jacquelyn Lynn
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