The industry likes to talk a lot about purpose.
The supposedly unwavering commitment to its higher purpose, even if it only turns up in marketing.
It likes to talk about agility.
The ability for a company to change focus to maximise opportunities even, if often it’s done to hide a lack of strategy.
And let’s not forget pivoting.
The ability to shift from one area of expertise to another, even if the reality is its because you need to survive rather than you are forward thinking.
Now of course, there are some companies who have purpose, agility and an ability to pivot without using it as an excuse to hide their shortcomings. Companies who have embodied and expressed all these traits, often before it became another marketing or business buzzword.
Or – in the case of pivoting – there are some companies who openly admit why they did it. That if they didn’t, they wouldn’t exist any longer. Netflix for example.
But there’s some organisations who see the writing on the wall, but ‘pivot’ to such an extent that they literally show themselves for the lying, cheating, manipulative organization they have always been.
The best example of this I’ve possibly ever seen is cancer champion – Philip Morris.
You see the tobacco company has decided that their core cash cow doesn’t have the same profitable future as it once did so have decided – to loud fanfare – to pivot.
“What to?” I hear you ask?
Hold on to your hats, because it’s a Health and Wellness company.
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
No, that’s not a joke … well, it is, but they don’t mean it to be.
Yep, Phillip Morris – owners of brands including Marlboro are supposedly pivoting to a health and wellness company.
It’s the equivalent of the Trump Organisation becoming an international aid charity.
Or kids TV show, Playschool pivoting to a rival of Pornhub.
How can they say this with a straight face?
They’re even lobbying for a ban on cigarettes within 10 years.
This is worse than poacher turned keeper.
This is an attempt for death to turn doctor … conveniently ignoring all the shameful acts they undertook – and still undertake – to keep their tobacco business killing its customers.
Look I get they have to continue making money.
I get a lot of ‘health and wellness’ companies are as questionable as a cigarette company.
But come on …
Apart from their bullshit being utterly transparent and sickening … what about all the scientists and doctors they paid off, bullied and sued to keep their kill sticks in market.
Do they think they’re just going to nod and think, “hey, we won?”
Will there be a follow up to the Michael Mann movie, The Insider … where Russell Crowe spends 2 hours saying, “I was wrong, Philip Morris are lovely guys really and I forgive them for trying to crush and threaten my life.”
And that’s before we get to the scientists and doctors who work for Philip Morris who must be wondering how a company committed to tobacco can just expect them to change their focus to fixing the illnesses they helped cause in the first place.
But do you know what the sickest part of it all is?
The markets won’t care.
They won’t cast doubt or suspicion.
As long as they make money they will support them.
They’ll call them a poster child for ‘purpose’ and ‘wellbeing’.
It will see the CEO, Jacek Olczak, celebrated and revered by the business press.
It will see him earn millions from bonuses, consultancy and speaker engagements.
We’ll watch holding company CEO’s jostle for position.
We’ll see even more agencies pitching for their business.
We’ll read fawning editorial about their shift in industry magazines.
We’ll hear strategists talk about them as proof of the power of pivoting.
And it will make me hate even more people for the willingness to support hypocrisy for profit.
Philip Morris. You can say you are a health and wellness company, but we all know the only health and wellness you have ever cared about is your own bank balance.