Divided We Lead

CEO activism has entered the mainstream.

by

Aaron K. Chatterji

and

Michael W. Toffel

by

Aaron K. Chatterji

and

Michael W. Toffel

March 22, 2018 · Long read

01

Divided We Lead

02

The Cost of Taking a Stand

03

The Unequal Effects of Partisanship on Brands

04

A Different Kind of Corporate Activism

05

Managing Political Misfits

06

“Sidestepping Some of the Partisan Debate”

07

The New CEO Activism: What Leaders Must Know

Leaders in all sectors — from business to sports to education — are publicly engaging in controversial political and social debates that they would have shied away from just a few years ago. Weighing in on divisive issues can alienate stakeholders — customers, employees, and investors among them. Yet since we wrote “The New CEO Activists,” published in the January–February 2018 issue of HBR, we’ve seen a growing wave of leaders surging into activist roles.

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Aaron K. Chatterji is an Associate Professor at Duke University and a Visiting Associate Professor at Harvard Business School.
Michael W. Toffel is the Senator John Heinz Professor of Environmental Management at Harvard Business School. He is the faculty chair of the school’s Business and Environment Initiative.