Sorry, not good enough
bogie said:
Damn fine questions - I'd couch it as a public relations opportunity for the exec/team, getting to gain significantly more understanding of a large segment of their marketplace, while at the same time gaining the chance to do some bridge-mending...
Uh-uh. That dog won't never hunt.
First, let me qualify myself to make that statement. Both my wife and I are retired, upper-level executives of the managing-director rank. We both retired from Fortune 50 companies and we both had much sway as to the direction of the companies we were employed by.
Let me throw just enough cold water on this fire so that we can look at strong, viable alternatives. The idea of a mass publicity campaign is decent, but what will be double effective will be to double our pro-gun numbers at the grass roots level. In other words, at
our level.
My wife's company, headquartered in Legacy Park, Plano, Texas, is a Fortune 50 company. Frankly, the CEO's (whom my wife and I both know and are first name basis with) position on guns isn't known nor relevant to the company's product or consumer's perception of the product. Another CEO down the raod in Legacy Park that I know keeps his politics very close to his vest--that's just good, smart business.
Let's say that the CEO of JC Penneys (who we also know) comes out and does this thing. Gets his face all over TV and the internet.
Now what happens? We already see the apathetic nature of gun owners--only five million out of an estimated 75 million even care enough to drop $35 dollars once a year to the NRA. Others look for ANY excuse not to join or support ANY pro-gun organization. Think this little party is going to make them loyal to JC Penney and spend money there when they won't even drop a pittance to NRA?
Next question is, just how loyal are gun-owners as a whole (not just NRA members)? I try my damndest not to shop with anti-gun businesses, but often times it is damn near impossibe to either know or NOT to do business with. What is JC Penney's CEO turns out to be anti-gun--how many gun owners do you realistically expect will cut up their JC Penney credit cards?
Next question: Tagging JC Penney, as an example, as a pro-gun business simply based upon one shooting scenario/outing with their CEO does not make JC Penny a pro-gun business. Secondly, if an attempt is made to portray it that way, how many anti-gunners will rally to boycott? Smart businesses try very hard to remain apolitical. That's just good business. In business, politics are optional, cash flow is mandatory.
And once again, you're asking a chief executive officer to give up a good half day or more to spend at an unknown location with an unknown person who has a gun. Good luck, 'cause I don't think it's gonna happen. I honestly don't.
Now, if we have people who KNOW, and I mean truly know some of these biz types, then they might get them to a range. But in the instances of the two CEO's that my wife and I know well and are occasionally social with, they already know our stance on firearms and the Second Amendment.
Bogie, I am simply asking the questions that my wife and I both got paid a lot of money to first devise then answer.
These issues need to be addressed honestly and completely before getting a whole lot of people on board to volunteer their time, resources and efforts.
Jeff