Home improvement retailer Lowe’s — a Fortune 50 company with roughly $90 billion in sales — caved to Starbuck last week.  And, just like Jack Daniels the week before, they did it before the guy even posted anything. All he did was say he would come after them.

That’s a lot of power over your brand (and values) to give one person with no stake in your company.

And who is this guy?

CNN reports that Starbuck is anti-vaccine, denies climate change, and promotes the vile trope that LGBTQ+ equals pedophilia.

If you want to “review” your DEI efforts, fine, that’s your prerogative. Every program should face solid questions and seek improvements. But taking your cues from this person seems like bad strategy.

What if companies just calmly said, “We don’t agree with his views and support the rights of all to exist and thrive…and we’re going to keep hiring the best talent across a wide range of people and backgrounds.”

I’m happy to be called naïve on this one.

[The discussion about this post in LinkedIn was extensive…join the fray here]

(Illustration: Bing AI)

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