What happens when the people feel that the government's Cause is not Just?
They start a revolution, civil servants and soldiers quit their jobs, cause targeted destruction and finally overthrow the government and the king. This is why governments and kings spend a lot of effort to ensure their population perceive their cause to be just - either positively through personal development or negatively through propaganda and the dumbing down of education levels.
Governments are organisations, just like businesses are organizations. They are both are made up of organized people with a particular purpose. As the leader of your business you must ensure that you have a strong Cause, and your Cause is Just.
Here is a quick rundown of the effects of Just and Unjust Cause on your business.
How to find your Just Cause?
A Just Cause is an objective that is morally right in the eyes of the stakeholders. The key words here are "Objective" and "Morally Right".
These can be seen from a business' vision statement.
Let's look at good examples of Just Causes:
1. Unilever - To make sustainable living commonplace
2. Microsoft - Empowering others
3. Disney - To entertain, inform and inspire people around the globe
4. Sunway Group - Building a sustainable future
Sustainability, Empowerment, Inspiration, and a message tone about serving - all these are morally right in the eyes of the stakeholders.
If your business' vision statement is to be "The No. 1 lifestyle brand in Malaysia" - that is your personal cause that is not relevant to the stakeholders. Since stakeholders will not be able to relate to that personal cause, and hence they will view it as a selfish cause. "Selfish" tends to be treated is not "Morally Right" - making your cause an Unjust Cause.
However, setting the Just Cause for the business is just an illusionary start.
We have to convert that illusion into something real and tangible through company policies, business models and actions. Your Just Cause has to be consistently reinforced on a regular basis, and must be felt in your every word, decision and action. Failure to do so will result in being seen as a hypocrite, which destroys trust and can result in the forfeiture of the business or youself (see ex-Uber CEO Travis Kalanick).
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