The George Floyd Effect

There is no doubt in my mind that the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder will impact how companies are perceived and how their reputations get set in the future. When leaders and companies responded, what they said, what they did, how they communicated with employees and their communities will all impact reputational considerations. As the protests and demonstrations erupted over the past May weekend, several companies spoke out quickly. The usual suspects were front and center (i.e. Apple, Salesforce, Nike, Starbucks, JPMorganChase and other financial institutions). However by Sunday night (May 31), internal memos being sent to employees for Monday morning’s start flooded the media. As I was trying to keep track of all the business responses and even spoke with the Washington Post, I found myself quickly falling behind. At around noon on Monday, I had about 60 business responses on the George Floyd killing and other racial-induced incidents and expected to end the day with nearly 100. The number only continues to grow exponentially. The onrush was extraordinary compared to previous similar incidents where the responses were slow-footed and more measured in tone. When we covered business’ response to the Charlottesville, Virginia incident where white supremacists marched in the city, most leaders held back until the CEO of Merck Ken Frazier spoke up loud and clear about the insidiousness of racism. It was the tipping point for others to speak up and activate their inner values and courage. With George Floyd, the crush of CEO voices has been anything but quiet. CEO or business leader responses have been emotionally charged and outrage has been evident.

Due to my work on CEO activism over the years, I have seen leaders talk about donations, internal forums, policy changes, commissions, commitments, greater diversity and inclusion on boards and senior teams, etc. And such humanitarian/altruistic responses are plentiful right now. The one that stood out to me last weekend when I first began my inventory of responses was from the CEO of WarnerMedia, Jason Kilmar. He recommended that staffers take some time to read the following below. I leave with you.

Our journey as a human race is to ultimately attain compassion, wisdom, justice, and love. I believe the below stories can help move us closer to these ideals.

  1. Maintaining Professionalism In The Age of Black Death Is…A Lot. An article by Shenequa Golding.

  2. Killer Mike’s Speech in Atlanta (Killer Mike has some choice words for CNN which I disagree with, yet I believe in the balance of his message).

  3. America Is A Tale of Two Cities. A video essay by CNN’s Chris Cuomo.

  4. Bobby Kennedy’s Speech the Night of Martin Luther King Jr.’s Assassination.

The issue is about taking action, not just words. I will share those in my next posts.