Dear Sean,

Politics have gotten even more polarized. How should I navigate this environment with my firm? For example, is it OK to stay silent on social media? Is it a mistake to post when I know my clients or employees might disagree? In short, do I have a moral imperative to state my beliefs, even if I know there could be fallout for my business?

Sincerely,
Morally Ambiguous

Dear Morally Ambiguous,

Without the Medici family we would not have some of the greatest art the world has ever known. If you were Botticelli, what would you do: Speak your mind about their evils, or receive the commission to paint The Birth of Venus?

Back in the early 2000s, I ran the renowned events business Preston Bailey and saw firsthand what making those choices means for a principal. The firm’s namesake founder is a Black Panamanian-born man and proudly gay. Yet among the biggest weddings he designed while I was there was in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia—where discrimination is pervasive and his sexual identity is a crime.

Over many conversations, we wondered if by staging a beautiful event in Saudi Arabia, we were in some way tacitly endorsing the worst of what its government had done. But Preston ultimately decided that putting his beauty in the world was more important than forsaking that beauty because of who it was being created for.

Would some judge Preston (and me) for the decision? Sure. Can I live with myself because of that decision and the many that followed? Yes, because I believe that no one who can afford to fund an exquisite event like the one Preston created (or an interior design project at the highest level) has completely clean hands. Amassing great wealth often includes exploitation at some level. You will need to consult your own compass to discern where you are willing to fall in the “reality of your client versus the power of your art” conundrum.

However, let me be very clear. Unless you refuse to work with anyone who doesn’t completely align with your beliefs, know that whatever you do (or don’t do) is closer to marketing than an actual moral imperative.

So we can fully go there, consider this: You may have strong feelings about the state of affairs in the United States. However, no matter which side you land on, millions upon millions of people disagree with you—and feel just as strongly as you do.

You have every right to voice your objection as a citizen and person of conscience. And I hope you will! But know that if you insert your personal worldview in your business—even something as simple as intermingling your opinions and your projects on social media—then you’re making a choice. If you express strong political opinions but will work with anyone, then I believe what you’re doing is more about marketing than morals. If that sits well with you, then let it be what it is.

And if you choose to take your principles to the absolute, that’s another choice. If you sleep better at night knowing that you are only doing business with those on your side of the fence, don’t discount that—but you will have to let that be enough and accept the consequences for your business. Me, personally? I believe that it is entirely possible to have my voice as a citizen and person of conscience and still do business with those who do not believe as I do.

Obviously, there are some lines not to be crossed: Would I ever do business with a known criminal, or someone directly involved in human rights violations? Never. Yet as the headlines have shown us, there are clearly many who don’t share that red line. (The parade of individuals who engaged with Jeffrey Epstein long after he was convicted for soliciting prostitution from a minor and registered as a sex offender offers an extreme example of those who had completely tuned out their moral compass.)

But in most cases, I believe that the power of art is what changes the world, and robbing the world of both the art and the financial means that you, the artist, will have as a result, in order to support the change you seek, is a compromise not worth making. On balance, I find it more an act of biting your nose to spite your face than an example of operating from a true place of morality.

Last, you cannot know who believes in your art, ever. If you have done the work to know who you are and how you create, then my strongest advice would be to embrace those who would give you that power willingly and even excitedly. We are all a kaleidoscope, capable of holding contradictions within ourselves. Protect your integrity, sure, but just as important, let your creativity and your business have a voice too. And keep the ideological and the pragmatic separate. They do not have to agree, and that is more than OK.

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Sean Low is the go-to business coach for interior designers. His clients have included Nate Berkus, Sawyer Berson, Vicente Wolf, Barry Dixon, Kevin Isbell and McGrath II. Low earned his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and as founder-president of The Business of Being Creative, he has long consulted for design businesses. In his Business Advice column for BOH, he answers designers’ most pressing questions. Have a dilemma? Send us an email—and don’t worry, we can keep your details anonymous.