Peppercomm has long had the pleasure of partnering with a superb firm known as BrandFoundations. In recent years, they’ve expanded their solution set to include assisting organizations create a purpose. The following blog is guest authored by one of BF’s principals Steve Goodwin (AKA “The Other Steve”). Enjoy….

I’m hopeful that at least some Repman readers will admit to being old enough to remember the classic E.F. Hutton TV ads from the 1970s and ‘80s that always closed with the investment giant reminding us: “When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen.”

Flash forward to this week, and you can bet people are listening after a current investment heavyweight had something to say.

In an open letter to the CEOs of the world’s largest public companies, BlackRock founder and chief executive Laurence Fink threw down the gauntlet, informing these leaders that profits alone will no longer be enough to merit the investment firm’s support. Going forward, a company must “show how it makes a positive contribution to society.”

This is, in and of itself, an absolutely head-spinning moment on Wall Street and beyond: the world’s largest institutional investor going all-in on giving back and putting purpose on a par with profits. Heavy stuff indeed.

But the bigger picture here is that BlackRock’s edict comes (not coincidentally) as executives worldwide are beginning to grapple with another alarming challenge: how to react and respond when your company finds itself swept up very publicly in any of the myriad issues swirling in the toxic brew that is today’s politically charged and divided environment. (Can you say Papa John’s?)

It’s becoming increasingly clear that this is the new normal. Companies need to thread the needle between doing well financially and doing good globally, all while worrying that a Sunday morning tweet from Mar-a-Lago could ignite a social media firestorm and bring 1,000 reporters to corporate HQ. In this era, companies need to be able to stay above the fray. They need not only to state a clear purpose, but also demonstrate that they’ve instituted the internal cultural programs to reinforce that purpose and drive it into corporate communications at all levels.

Preparation is Key When Prevention Isn’t an Option

You know how follow the leader works. Expect more investment firms to fall in line behind BlackRock. And expect more companies of every size and shape to start taking an unflinching look inward to evaluate everything from their mission, vision and value statements to their philanthropic and cultural initiatives.

Forget wondering whether or not your company will have a reputational issue. When your organization is caught in the crosshairs of a public relations spat, you need to have already evaluated and identified the best way to positively impact society. Your “North Star” of purpose – why your organization exists (beyond profits) and the big honking problem it was founded to solve – is the one place that everyone in the organization can look to for on-brand, on-message guidance and navigation.

To zero in on their purpose, most companies will be wise to avail themselves of the skills of a solid outside partner because proximity can often be distorting for internal teams who are fighting the daily battle…the forest-for-the-trees thing. And given the speed with which your organization and its leaders can find themselves called on the carpet or forced to take a stand on a thorny issue, failing to plan truly is planning to fail.

Steve Goodwin is a founding partner at BrandFoundations. steve@brandfoundations.us