What do your employees, Rush Limbaugh and the Dixie Chicks have in common? Easy - these two things:
1. It's America baby, so they can say whatever they want about anything, and;
2. The market, framed in various ways, can embrace what they say or turn from it.
It's one of the cool things about living in our country. Free Speech is alive and well, but at times, people confuse free speech with the right to say anything without ramifications from others, who by the way, are free to frame your thoughts and statements via their own reality.
So say anything you want. Just don't think that gives you the right to be immune from you losing various opportunities because you chose to exert your right to free speech. It happens with employees all the time across America (whose statements run afoul of harassment and anti-discrimination policies, as well as general good judgment). It happened with the Dixie Chicks when they dared to question the post-9/11 American response (they got pulled from the airwaves as a result of their rants).
Free speech - yes! Free speech with no potential ramifications - no!
Now Rush Limbaugh is feeling that reality. Regardless of your feelings about Rush, his recent failed bid for partial ownership of an NFL team is a perfect example of free speech at work in a capitalist marketplace. More on why Rush couldn't be a NFL owner from a fellow renegade owner in the NBA, Mark Cuban. From Cuban's blog, Blog Maverick:
"The problem with Rush is that its his job to take on all of life’s partisan issues and problems. Not only is it his job to take on these issues and problems, its key to his success that he be very opinionated about whichever issues he feels are important to him and/or will cause his very large audience to tune in. Given that we will never know what the “next big issue ” in this world that Rush will be discussing on his show is, its impossible for the NFL to even try to predict or gauge the impact on the NFL’s business if something controversial, or even worse yet, something nationally polarizing happens. There is an unquantifiable risk that comes with the size of Rush’s audience. The wrong thing said on the show, even if its not spoken by Rush himself, about a sensitive national or world issue could turn into a Black Swan event for the NFL.
Thats a huge risk that is not commensurate with the value a minority investment in a franchise brings.
This isnt about Free Speech. Its about the NFL protecting their business. There is no reason to put it at risk. If Rush were to retire from his show, or become a local DJ in Sacramento, or just about anything else he may want as a vocation, then I dont think they would have any problem with him being an investor in a team."
The Rush thing is a perfect learning opportunity for your employees. Let them know they've got the right to say anything they want as an America. Then tell them since they live in America, the market may vote "thumbs down" as a result, which could mean a lost promotion, being froze out by co-workers at work, or getting terminated because you might have to thin the herd as a result of what they say.
The market is the great equalizer to the right of free speech.
"Closing Time...You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here"...
