The purpose unmasking: How much are your values worth?

If you do not uphold your purpose and/or values in the face of adversity, how much are they really worth? It is a rhetorical question for most people. Yet, over the last year or so, the changing political winds have put many brands and people to the test. The results aren’t pretty.

Take for example Ford, Target, Meta, Amazon, McDonalds among others that rolled back inclusivity programs in the last year(s). But also the biggest asset manager in the world, Blackrock, who pulled out of a climate group last month. 

Or how about tech moguls like Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Sam Altman (OpenAI CEO) performing 180 degree turns to ‘kiss the ring’ of Trump in 2024. In order to protect their individual and business interests they have maneuvered themselves in spectacular ideological twists to change their attitudes (in case you want to see a cringeworthy example of what that looks like in two screenshots, click here and then here).

Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with above mentioned values, people or political beliefs, one take-away that most would agree on is how…fluid their values ended up being when tested. Instead of staying rigid in their convictions because they’re convinced it’s the right thing to do – much like a chameleon – they adjusted their colours to match a changed environment.

And in a somewhat ironic way, they are actually listening to people, as a 2023 survey found that 72% of people are tired of brands pretending they want to help society when they just want to make money. People intuitively already felt that most brands were not genuine. Above mentioned examples only serve as further confirmation. 

It plays into a general feeling of cynicism and pessimism in the (Western) world, where talk proves increasingly empty. Brands position themselves as benevolent forces of change, but when push comes to shove, most of them (or their CEO’s) are not willing to suffer negative consequences and would rather discard the thin veil of integrity. 

One benefit of such trying times however, is it separates the wheat from the chaff, so to say. It’s easy to echo the sentiment of the times when all is well and good. But when your values and purpose clash with political or societal adversity, it provides you with the opportunity to differentiate yourself as a company that is willing to ‘bleed’ for what you think is right. Especially since most won’t. So in case you were not forced to ask yourself this question yet as a brand, it might be smart to anticipate: 

how much are your values worth?