Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Trader Joe's and the Call for an Israeli Boycott: How a Company Communicates Value
A boycott has been called for all Israeli Products carried by Trader Joe's across the country. Organizers of the boycott have called for product to be taken off the shelves, put in carts, and abandoned in the aisles. This act constitutes vandalism in the legal sense of the word. The boycott has been scheduled to take place on the Jewish Sabbath.
This boycott is tied to how a company communicates value. Companies can talk about value. What company would volunteer that it chooses to act with dishonor?
Yet not all companies or individuals running companies act with value. It is of course, one thing to talk about value, and another to communicate with value and carry on business in a way that demonstrates value.
A spokesperson for Trader Joe's said that it was business as usual, with the company carrying the same products. Adding security was their only response to the threat.
As individuals and companies we all are met with defining moments at different times in our lives. Futures are often decided by how we meet specific moments. The challenge is how we communicate value. Sometimes it is as easy as continuing to do business as usual. It may not look like a big decision. Making a decision to do the same thing while under fire, is making a decision.