The importance of doing the right thing. Believing in doing the right thing. Doing and being seen to do the right thing. This is different to doing what is legal. It is what consumers and society see as being the right thing to do. Something that they can admire and respect you for taking a stand on and sticking to, even if there are commercial consequences.
It may be environmental. It may be about supporting local communities. It may be about going the extra mile to help people (so not for example as the Paris train station staff did during the recent volcano ash problems, by simply closing the ticket office and station and going home when all tickets were sold, leaving hundreds and hundreds of confused and worried tourists more confused and lost). It may also be about taking a stand on something you believe about as being the right thing to do. Even if it is a social norm today.
One often feels that politicians say what they think you want them to say, so they win your vote and are guided by focus groups and research versus always having a clear stand. You need to have a view. You need be clear about what is right. Great leaders across time had a view about what was right, and even though some were a bit extreme, the fact is that those with a point of view were the ones who were able to convince and lead large groups of people to a different place and space.
So I found the recent buzz across blogs about Steve Jobs point of view about not allowing porn or porn related apps on the iPhone as refreshing and interesting. Not because I am against porn as such, but because he has a very clear view about what he feels is the right thing to do, has articulated it to his company and out to the world. If you are an employee, a consumer or an interested party you know where he, apple and you stand. You can then take your own stand, and reward him by buying or (as he even suggests) buy the android.
This is what he is reported to have said about the topic:
Early April 2010 in response to a question at a developer conference: “You know, there’s a porn store for Android. You can download nothing but porn. You can download porn, your kids can download porn. That’s a place we don’t want to go – so we’re not going to go there.”
Later in the month in an email he said “We do believe we have a moral responsibility to keep porn off the iPhone. Folks who want porn can buy an Android” (The Google iPhone competitor)
Yes, he believes so much he even is prepared to have a commercial impact. I respect and admire he is so clear. He has a view. He sticks to it.
The magic clues are usually when things start with “we believe that”...
Do you and your brand?
Companies like Johnson & Johnson have a credo that drives how people behave. Have a view. Live it. Communicate it.
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