Thought about it some more and maybe I do agree with my boy Milton after all.
Problem is short termism vs long view.
Yes, company should make a profit first and foremost. But long-term profit is predicted upon social/political/economical/cultural environment. And there is no profit in certain kinds of environments - at all.
So a company should try to shape it in order to preserve/raise future profits.
Love Milton as a speaker, but don't agree with: The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits. If I as an investor value DEI - as reflected by my allocations - it's good business to saturate my need. And yes - it's political - cos what isn't?
I agree! Businesses should make their political stances clear, and investors might as well consider them. This is a bit problematic for large institutional investors in charge of pension funds, but, as you said, what isn't?
My beef is more with flip-flopping arguments that degrade logic… I'm fine with open political positions or tools that work regardless of political side. But when they get confused, even well-intended businesses start creating what Chris Argyris calls defensive routines and self-sealing behaviors. And let me tell you, it’s really bad working for an organization when such behaviors spread—it reminds me of the Severed TV series.
Thought about it some more and maybe I do agree with my boy Milton after all.
Problem is short termism vs long view.
Yes, company should make a profit first and foremost. But long-term profit is predicted upon social/political/economical/cultural environment. And there is no profit in certain kinds of environments - at all.
So a company should try to shape it in order to preserve/raise future profits.
Now we're getting deep into short-termism vs long-termism and finite vs infinite games 🙂
Exactly! Most people don't even know the game they play. Not a good starting point for any strategy.
Love Milton as a speaker, but don't agree with: The Social Responsibility of Business Is to Increase Its Profits. If I as an investor value DEI - as reflected by my allocations - it's good business to saturate my need. And yes - it's political - cos what isn't?
I agree! Businesses should make their political stances clear, and investors might as well consider them. This is a bit problematic for large institutional investors in charge of pension funds, but, as you said, what isn't?
My beef is more with flip-flopping arguments that degrade logic… I'm fine with open political positions or tools that work regardless of political side. But when they get confused, even well-intended businesses start creating what Chris Argyris calls defensive routines and self-sealing behaviors. And let me tell you, it’s really bad working for an organization when such behaviors spread—it reminds me of the Severed TV series.