Engage Critics

"Statistics suggest that when customers complain, business owners and managers ought to get excited about it. The complaining customer represents a huge opportunity for more business."

Zig Ziglar, Business and Motivational Speaker


If you don’t talk to your enemies; you’ll never reach a compromise. With all of the scrutiny on the actions of corporations and their leadership today, you are bound to have conflicts and critics. It is inevitable but not insurmountable.

A new approach has developed over the last few years wherein corporations are actively engaging their critics. Environmental activists, consumer advocates, and human rights groups, among others are finding corporations much more willing and available to meet and openly discuss their gripes. In the process, both the business and activist leaders are discovering they may have more in common than in conflict.

There is no right or wrong way to go about establishing dialogue. In today’s world, industry knows where the criticism is coming from and who the loudest voices are. A company can set up an informal process or it can formalize the dialogue by establishing a committee or council or group of some kind.

Whatever approach you take, it is important to have an ongoing mechanism for engaging dissident voices from outside. Many a corporate leader has been undone by refusing to “give in” to those on the outside throwing rocks. Talking is a sign of strength, not weakness.

(c) Adonis E. Hoffman, 2008

Uphold Human Rights

span style="font-weight:bold;">"We can ignore human rights violations in other countries, or we can take these things on as true leaders ought to and accept the inspiring challenge of America for the future. I am not here as a public official, but as a citizen of a troubled world who finds hope in a growing consensus that the generally accepted goals of society are peace, freedom, human rights, environmental quality, the alleviation of suffering, and the rule of law."

Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States


What CEO or company in its right mind could be against human rights, one might ask? Respecting fundamental rights of people throughout the world seems to be a no-brainer. And yet, transnational corporations today are under major scrutiny from corporate watchdogs for violations of human rights.

Activists have sought to bring legal action under the Alien Tort Claims Act, a law that allows citizens of any nationality to sue in US federal courts for violations of international rights or treaties against leading companies for environmental destruction, health violations, water privatization, union busting, aggressively marketing lethal products, and an expanded range of so-called economic and social rights.

In the global economy, companies face far greater challenges in being seen as good corporate citizens. By virtue of their size and dominant presence in many developing countries, a large corporation can be associated with just about any problem that exists in the society. A major oil company has recently come under attack for its investments in Myanmar, a notorious violator of human rights.

As your company develops and maintains its operations internationally, you will want to devote a special degree of care to how you engage these evolving definitions of human rights. The important point is to be aware and proactive.

(c) Adonis E. Hoffman, 2008