This commentary originally appeared in Time.
The American democratic system worked even though the American Democratic party failed. Donald Trump was decisively reelected president by the largest popular vote and the most demographically diverse voting base in history without allegations of foreign election interference or domestic voting fraud. Kamala Harris performed worse than Joe Biden with Black voters, Hispanic voters, young voters, and women voters. There is hardly a major population segment where Harris did not slip.
Business leaders stand among the few constituencies who openly condemned Trump’s leadership character and economic policies. Now CEOs have to pilot their enterprises in uncertain waters by addressing key priorities.
First, they cannot look backwards. There is no value in CEOs joining the finger-pointing to explain the Harris campaign failure.
It may be true that the Biden and Harris Administration’s missteps in global affairs damaged credibility badly with the confused collapse of the Afghanistan military exit, insufficient weapons support for Ukraine, limited influence in the Middle East, and continued reliance on China for production in key domains. It is similarly true that the administration’s failure to make a clear case for one of the strongest economies in U.S. history as well as the strongest economy in the world fed negative misleading Trump campaign narratives, despite falling inflation, full employment, strong GDP growth, reduced deficits, and the greatest energy production on earth. None of this analysis, regardless of the legitimacy of any of the issues raised, is relevant to the duties and priorities of business leaders who are hired to represent the interests of diverse shareholders and other stakeholders.
Second, business leaders should congratulate President Trump for his resilience. As Trump said Wednesday morning, “We overcame obstacles that nobody thought possible and it is now clear that we’ve achieved the most incredible political thing, look what happened, is this crazy?” This unprecedented return to power included coming back from such setbacks as his failed re-election, the denunciation of scores of his top lieutenants, two bipartisan impeachments by Congress, six legal prosecutions with two convictions, and at least two assassination attempts. His stamina as well as success in getting more than half the nation to rally behind him are remarkable qualities which must be acknowledged. Also, consistent with Trump’s own calls for healing and collaboration, election differences are best put behind us by recognizing the efforts and contributions of President Biden and Vice President Harris.
Third, CEOs must remember their shared fate and be prepared to fortify each other even as they return to join President Trump’s economic development mission of national unity — especially on issues with shared concerns, such as the dangers of widespread tariffs versus selective trade protection of strategic sectors, potential mass deportations of key workers, threats from foreign powers, or political intrusion into the independence of the Federal Reserve. They should remember their lessons from 2017 when they enthusiastically joined President Trump’s business advisory councils only to find themselves splintered by divide-and-conquer maneuvers — attempting to pit drug companies, airlines, beverage companies, auto makers, defense contractors, against each other driven by political vindictiveness.
As Benjamin Franklin warned, “Unless we hang together, we shall surely hang separately.”
“The Yale School of Management is the graduate business school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut.”
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