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Donald Trump took office on Monday 20th January 2025 as the 47th President of the United States, having previously served as the 45th President. Many in business – not least those in leadership and ethics roles – are wondering how to respond to the new realities and asking what will be different this time. In anticipation of a change in power at the Federal level, we’ve already seen some well-publicised instances of company leaders apparently genuflecting to the court of the Donald.
On the face of it, some elements are evident: an emphasis on deregulation and a ‘small state’, prioritising economic growth over environmental protection, hostility to migration, discouraging imports and, most fraught, increased cultural polarisation. Three-letter acronyms like ESG and DE&I are in the firing line and words like ethics are not often used.
Is it possible to predict how all this will play out, and should businesses course-correct in response? My answer is a clear no and no.
Is it possible to predict? No. In fact, the very essence of the Trump approach is to be unpredictable, opportunistic and transactional. The MAGA mantra has in-built contradictions. For example, The Economist has identified at least three divergent strands among Trump’s economic advisers. The only predictable feature is that public policy will not follow a straight line.
Should you course-correct in response or anticipation? Again, no. Or at least, no if your fundamental approach is already sound. Bend to the prevailing wind and you risk sounding like Marx (Groucho, not Karl) - who famously quipped “Those are my principles, and if you don't like them... well, I have others”. Looked at through that lens, Meta’s recent announcements on fact-checking and DE&I now pose credibility concerns across all their issues.
In contrast, I’m rather a fan of the Johnson & Johnson credo. The US-based pharma and biotech company has had plenty of recent challenges; what hasn’t changed is its guiding purpose or, in its own words, its moral compass. Written in 1943, the last 80 years have seen just a handful of minor modifications. So committed are they to the credo that it’s been carved into a 6-tonne block of stone at the corporate HQ in New Jersey – quite the disincentive to making opportunistic changes.
Now is the time to double down on values-based decision-making, with clear and consistent ethical leadership, soundly rooted in long-standing culture. For sure, leaders will upset some groups when making difficult decisions. The issue is whether stakeholders – above all your own employee teams – can understand and appreciate the basis for that decision, even if they disagree, and so keep on performing. In crazy times, predictability at work is going to be even more prized.
Navigating these testing times is not going to be straightforward. However, organisations with a strong, ethics-centred culture will be better equipped to cope in volatile environments. As for the Trump White House: expect the unexpected, rely on no predictions.
Author
Mike Tuffrey
Trustee
Mike joined the Board of Trustees in July 2017.
A chartered accountant by profession, Mike’s career has covered all three sectors, private, public and voluntary.
In business, Mike is co-founder of Corporate Citizenship, an international management consultancy specialising in sustainability and corporate responsibility, where he advises clients on sustainable business strategies. He began his career as a trainee at KPMG, having graduated from Durham University with an economics degree.
In public service, Mike has been local councillor and council leader, and served for a decade on the London Assembly where he was appointed by Mayors Livingstone and Johnson to the London Sustainable Development Commission. Currently he is treasurer of the New Economic Foundation and chair of The Restart Project, a social enterprise helping people take action to reduce electronic waste.
Previously he worked as director of a national charity, Action Resource Centre, now part of Business in the Community. Married with a family, Mike lives in south London and blogs regularly at miketuffrey.com