JC2 Ventures
- Former Cisco boss John Chambers thinks CEOs need to be selective about the issues they speak about.
- His comments come as companies and leaders face pressure to take a stance on highly-charged issues.
- Consumers are largely avoiding shopping with brands whose values don't align with their own.
CEOs are increasingly under pressure to take a stance on highly-charged social and political issues but Cisco's former boss says it's a "mistake" to comment on topics that don't relate to the company's mission and purpose.
John Chambers, CEO of Cisco from 1995 to 2015, who grew the company's annual sales from $1.2 billion to $47 billion, advises leaders to be selective about the issues they comment on.
"If they comment on everything, especially areas outside where you have expertise or where it's an issue for your company, yeah, it's a mistake," Chambers told Bloomberg in an interview.
"If I do not bring any unique voice and it divides my employees pretty much down the middle, that's not the job of a CEO."
Chambers explained that he won't hesitate to comment on issues that are very public and relate to the company even if employees disagree with him: "I do believe where you have key areas of alignment of interest, you ought to take stances."
He added: "The difference today is that CEOs cannot get to the point where their employees say what your values should be. The CEO's job is to run the company."
Chambers gave the example of the current Israel-Hamas war which he expressed strong opinions about.
In recent years, evidence has grown that companies which don't take a strong stance on world issues risk alienating their customers. A Google Cloud survey of 1,000 people in 2022 found that 82% of shoppers want brands' values to align with their own. If there's a mismatch in values, three quarters would part ways with the brands and 39% may even permanently boycott the brand.
Meanwhile, CEOs are also being held accountable when their companies don't speak up about social justice issues, Business Insider's Josée Rose reported.
Karen Eber, a global leadership consultant and keynote speaker told Rose: "Consumers want to know what your brand stands for, what it is that you choose to do, not just what your product is, so there's this expectation and a need for CEOs to be more clear."
Eber emphasized that company's don't need to talk about every issue or it will sound "formulaic and watered down."
Instead companies need to "get really clear on your values, because anytime you speak out, it should be aligned with that."