Increasingly, companies are being pressured to decouple from regions that customers, employees, politicians, advocacy groups, and even leaders deem politically fraught. This can pose a dilemma for executives, as research both shows that fast decision-making is vital, but some circumstances require deliberation and care. Interviews with 16 leaders from 10 companies who faced pressure to exit Russia after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine offer six lessons for organizations facing similar situations: 1. Public opinion expects immediate and binary decisions. 2. For consumer brands, speed may trump deliberation. 3. B2B firms may have more time to calculate. 4. Even 1% of sales can be 100% of a company’s reputation with employees. 5. Business and brand value initially took a hit, but CEOs still feel good about having done the right thing. 6. Crisis offers an opportunity to rethink and restructure.
