Carol Cone
I’m Carol Cone and welcome to Purpose 360, the podcast that unlocks the power of purpose to ignite business and social impact.
In today’s episode, we feature a returning guest and a longtime friend, Chris Marquis, the Sinyi professor at the University of Cambridge, Judge Business School and the author of several influential books on responsible business, including The Profiteers and Better Business. In our conversation, we explore a concept Chris recently introduced in a Harvard Business Review article called Strategic Hibernation. In a time of political volatility, social tension, and shifting expectations around issues like climate and diversity, many companies are grappling with the critical question “When should we speak out? When should we be quiet? Yet how do we continue the work behind the scenes and not lose our capabilities and key strategic assets?” Chris shares what strategic hibernation really means, how it differs from ideas like green hushing, and how organizations can protect their long-term purpose and overall capabilities. Even in these highly uncertain times. It’s a thoughtful and timely discussion about leadership, resilience, and how businesses can stay true to their values while navigating today’s highly complex operating landscape. So let’s begin.
Chris Marquis
Exactly, exactly.
Carol Cone
But Chris, welcome back to the show.
Chris Marquis
Yeah, thanks. Thanks so much, Carol. Really exciting to catch up and to chat a bit. Looking forward to our conversation.
Carol Cone
Well, we need to do it more often. So before we get into it, Chris, for those who don’t know you, can you share a little bit about yourself?
Chris Marquis
I’m an academic. I’m teaching at Cambridge now. But I think over the last number of years, and very much inspired by some of my early times at Harvard Business School where I was working with you and a number of other folks, you know, really trying to get out in the business community and actually engage a lot with businesses that are doing some of the most innovative work, I think, on the topics I am most passionate about around sustainability, you know, trying to address things like climate change, inequality. And I think that a lot of times — as you mentioned, you know, business school professors or any professor that loves their research are sitting in their office or sitting in a great place like Cambridge, which I certainly love as well. But the thing that I’m really passionate about is getting out in the field and talking with and learning about active companies.
Carol Cone
So that’s great. So why do you do the work that you do?
Chris Marquis
And I do think that a lot of my interest in this stems from my early experience. And when I was growing up in Pittsburgh, you know, it was right at the time when the steel industry was collapsing. And I still remember, you know, I still remember actually times when you would be driving into town. I lived in the suburbs, and you would see these old mills, you know, sort of decaying, you know, rusty looking. And there’d be fire coming out of the smokestacks. As a young child, this was something that was really, you know, sort of exciting to me — to see fire coming out of the smokestacks. And my grandparents used to talk about how in their day, they used to have to change their shirts like halfway through the day because the pollution was so bad.
Carol Cone
Really?
Chris Marquis
Uh, yeah.
Carol Cone
Mm.
Chris Marquis
Um, and then there was a collapse and a lot of challenges with, you know, labor, and, you know, sort of this growing inequality that I think the rust belt cities like Pittsburgh experience. And I think that, you know, the pollution, the environmental issues, the challenges of revitalizing a city, are some of the things that have stuck with me. And, you know, clearly in that case, you had a situation where maybe businesses, you know, they didn’t invest, like they perhaps should have, for the long term. And so a lot of times I think business gets blamed for a lot of the issues we have, and certainly I think there’s reason to sort of focus on, you know, what they could have done better. But I also really truly believe that business provides an incredible lever to address many of these social and environmental issues. Business can work with purpose. Business can work on sustainability in a real, authentic way to actually resolve many of these issues that we face in the world.
Carol Cone
So today we’re living in volatile times, VUCA times, chaotic times, and especially by the time this airs, we have no idea what’s happening with the war in the Middle East. Hopefully it’s stopped, but it could still be going on. And companies are really struck with what do I do regarding the communications of our work? And so I was really struck by — I’m an avid reader of the Harvard Business Review, and there was an article by you, Chris Marquis, about strategic hibernation. And I just — it stopped me in my tracks and I said, wow, that’s a great term. Because we know a lot about green hushing, but that’s more than this. So let’s get right into this, which is what does strategic hibernation mean and why did you write this article?
Chris Marquis
Yeah, so I think it — for many of the reasons why you were talking about it, you know, just how challenging the times are today around communication. Like you mentioned, there’s a lot of volatility, a lot of, you know, sort of political contention, you know, on all kinds of sides that companies are facing. And when I spent — you know, I spent a number of years in China between 2010 and 2020. And the companies there, you know, sort of observing the way that they were very thoughtful and strategic about the markets they entered, the communication they did, you know, really stuck with me. There was a famous example, of course, of Jack Ma, who — this was the founder of Alibaba. And when Ant Financial was going to go public, he had a lot of very outspoken things to say about the regulation of, you know, financial — being, um, you know, sort of online payments processing. It’s sort of a super app where people could use, um, to manage their financial lives. And the government ended up sort of canceling that, and he himself went into sort of, you know, hibernation, I guess. He disappeared for a while. And, you know, I think that a lot of businesses in the recent times in the United States have also been facing a lot of, you know, sort of uncertainty about the way that they should engage with some of their businesses that might not actually be in political favor — things around, you know, maybe climate or diversity, etc.
And so this was sort of the impetus of that. But I wanted to say something more than green hushing. I mean, you mentioned green hushing and I think that’s an important contrast. Because, you know, I do think that being thoughtful in communications and maybe not being as outspoken on issues as a company may want to be — you know, might be the right thing to do. However, I think it’s really important to think long term and try to maintain the assets that might actually lead to, you know, future success.
Carol Cone
So where did the term come from?
Chris Marquis
Good question. So, you know, the typical types of responses that companies are seen to have — there’s a very elegant sort of three-part set of strategies called, you know, exit, loyalty, and voice. This is a scholar in the 1970s — Albert Hirschman put this forward. So exit, you know, sort of leaving the market; voice, saying you’re against it; or loyalty, you know, where you’re really just sort of buckling under in some ways and doing what maybe the government or, you know, whatever sort of constraints you’re facing has.
A former doctoral student of mine wrote about the concept of dormancy, and I talk about this in the HBR piece. And he really looked at dormancy — he studied Indian banks, and there was a big policy change in the 1980s and ’90s for Indian banks. And he found the ones that ended up being the most successful when the policy was reversed were the ones that went dormant. They actually, you know, stopped certain activities that the government didn’t like, but actually very sort of quietly and behind the scenes ended up, you know, expanding into other activities that were, you know, working in rural areas and other aspects that the government sort of favored. This idea — you know, the dormancy study of my former student was part of it, and also witnessing some of the challenges companies are facing vis-à-vis the current political climate.
Carol Cone
So this light bulb went boom and then you went, ah, strategic hibernation. So in your article, you talk about three different ways to strategically hibernate. So can you talk about each one of those? And then we will take this further.
Chris Marquis
Great. So the one that we’ve been talking about the most is around external communication. And I think these are companies that are businesses and, you know, I think they should maybe focus mainly on their business. So the first one is around discipline in communication. I think the core one, and this is where, you know, I really hope that the US automakers are thinking about this, is being thoughtful in maintaining the core assets. So one of the cases that I use in the piece that resonates a bit with the recent pharma topic is around stem cell research. Actually, in the Bush administration, there was, you know, basically — I don’t know, I think it must have been an executive order, perhaps, from President George W. Bush on — you know, can’t use any federal funds for stem cell research. Well, a lot of biotech companies thought this doesn’t make any sense. The world research community finds these incredibly useful and valuable. They’re really important to the future of a variety of different treatments. And so those companies — we can look now over, you know, 20 years, and see how they ended up actually thinking about doing foreign partnerships. So, you know, Singapore, the UK — a number of companies actually ended up establishing in-depth research areas. So I think that’s, you know, thinking about your human capital, your capabilities, as far as the core assets of your business that are really important.
So I think a second point, in addition to being disciplined in communication, is maintaining the core assets. And then finally, it’s a relatively nuanced point around political risk analysis. Because, you know, part of the idea of hibernation is that actually you wake up at some point. The idea is not to — so, as a company, you want to be thinking about testing the political winds and sort of really understanding, you know, when is the right time to reverse course.
Carol Cone
And are there any regional or geographic differences in the manner in which companies strategically hibernate? Different in Europe, different in Asia, different in the Americas?
Chris Marquis
Yeah, good question. I do think that, you know, some of this research ended up sort of being inspired by my time in China. My former student had done his work, his dissertation, in India. I mean, I think in the past, you know, more sort of authoritarian — that’s might be a strong word, but I think countries where there was a strong sort of ideology about how things should be done from the government’s part that might actually differ from the, I guess, sort of market and science reality, I think is where this is the most important. And traditionally that has been countries like, you know, China or India, where the government had a little heavier hand.
Carol Cone
What’s the risk of poorly executing hibernation strategies?
Chris Marquis
One of the big challenges is — you know, the company is maintaining its investments in these assets, and there’s uncertainty as to when the sort of wake-up time might be. So, and this is the thing about — if you aren’t thoughtful in the political risk analysis part and don’t have a good idea of when the tide might turn, or ways to, you know, maybe, like in the biotech case, find partners in Singapore or the UK — I think that’s where the challenge is.
Carol Cone
Okay. So I’m sure you give a lot of advice to CEOs and boards. So you’re talking about strategic hibernation and they’re hibernating. We know they’re hibernating. But I’m just curious about what kind of advice you’re being asked about or are giving to CEOs and boards regarding this very delicate balance of retreating strategically but then coming back?
Chris Marquis
I mean, I think there’s still a lot of uncertainty, and, you know, I think that people — after the 2026 midterm elections — might actually be thinking a little bit more about, you know, that’s the kind of thinking that signals that companies should be looking forward to think about what the next phase might be. You know, it’s more around the communication aspect, and I do, you know — a number of people have said to me, you know, that they want businesses to be out there and very, very vocal in opposition to, you know, some of the Trump administration policies on climate and diversity. And I think it’s, you know, businesses obviously need their values. They have to live their purpose. And for some companies that might be, you know, non-negotiable. And so I think, you know, you need to stick to your guns, so to speak, but you don’t all need to be firing the guns all the time all over the place.
Carol Cone
And it’s — do you — you’re not a comms person, but you do a lot of comms. So I’m curious about internally, because — we’ve had Alan Murray on the podcast a number of times and I’ve asked him, what does someone need to do? And he said, employees. He said, you’ve got a huge employee base. They are looking at you with great scrutiny. You’ve got your ERGs. So I’m just curious about what you’re recommending regarding — don’t go totally dormant, but here’s what you might want to do.
Chris Marquis
Yeah, I mean, around internal comms — that’s an excellent point. And I think in many cases, when you think about maintaining the core assets, I mean, the employees and human capital is a huge part of that. But actually, you know, the culture and communication around the values of the company. I don’t want to say for some companies it’s too late at times, but I think that so much of this is about how the company’s communications match its values. I know some universities — and that’s a sector that I know probably the best, although I’m not very involved in actually advising universities — but, you know, universities, I think, are institutions that have really put diversity at the forefront of their missions. And there’s been a lot of pressure on them to change that. And I think there’s been some changing of offices and titles, but also paired with that is still communication to the employees about the importance of those topics in the mission of the overall university. So that’s how I think about communication. And it’s really important that companies — and I know a lot of the guests that you have are really much deeper in this than I am — you know, the purpose and values of the organization is the lodestar that needs to guide these topics.
Carol Cone
Is there a role for AI in the calibration for strategic hibernation? I mean, are you asking it?
Chris Marquis
That’s a great — I have not, to be honest, I have not thought about that, but that is a great idea.
Carol Cone
Oh, you should do it.
Chris Marquis
Yeah, totally. I have not — I mean, I do think, you know, that’s something where AI is, you know, so generative at making connections that, you know, as people, we may not be able to do. And so, you know, I think that there’s a huge potential role for AI, because a lot of this — you think about it — in some ways it’s like a scenario planning situation where you’re thinking about, okay, five years from now, what are the potential situations we might face? And I think that’s something where AI could be very useful in thinking about ways of looking ahead.
And one of the examples I use in the article — it’s the example that I use to open it — is around prohibition. And the companies that ended up surviving through prohibition are the ones that, you know, ended up finding useful ways to sort of maintain their assets. You know, there’s a famous article — I just love the title — it’s called “From Pabst to Pepsi.” And you know, the Pabst Brewing Company — I don’t know if they actually did that, you know, went to Pepsi, but you know, companies that pivoted to things like soft drinks ended up being the ones that survived because they maintained those core assets of bottling, as opposed to, I don’t know, sort of going out of business or whatever some of the other ones did.
Carol Cone
Yeah. Now I want to pivot to a question about — no matter the turmoil — I keep getting two, three, four calls a week from somebody who says, I really want to work in socially responsible business, or however you want to call it. Do you have any advice, especially today?
Chris Marquis
Yeah, I think that’s a great point. Because I do think that, as we talked about earlier, you know, these issues are only going to be bigger and bigger in the future. I think that at the university there’s Net Impact, which is very, very active. Within their cities, probably there are groups that people can get engaged with on the topic. And so I think, you know — the students I have, I teach on sustainability myself. And I think that, you know, my pitch to them about why the class they’re taking — we all as professors think our classes are the most important classes the students are taking. But I do make the pitch that this is an area that you’re gonna be dealing with your entire career, and in life, exactly.
Carol Cone
Great, super. So now we’re gonna go to this new kind of feature of the show, and it’s kind of a speed answers. Okay. All right, so what’s one word that best describes this moment for purpose-driven business? One word.
Chris Marquis
Challenging.
Carol Cone
Oh, that’s a good one. Challenging. Okay. What keeps you hopeful on the days this work is really heavy?
Chris Marquis
My students. Young people, yeah.
Carol Cone
Excellent. Okay. What’s one lesson you’ve learned through this work that you wouldn’t have learned otherwise?
Chris Marquis
I think persistence is one of the things — you know, I think, one after the other, you can actually succeed at something.
Carol Cone
Great, okay. What’s one small action people can take this year to advance purpose even in a period of strategic hibernation?
Chris Marquis
Be thoughtful about their purchases.
Carol Cone
Oh, you’re doing great. Okay. And if you could leave listeners with one idea or feeling today, what would it be?
Chris Marquis
I think hope. I mean, I’m someone who — I do think that for the young people that I see, and also, I think there’s so much energy around sustainability and purpose that even in sort of dark times, you know, there is actually a light at the end of the tunnel.
Carol Cone
Great. So Chris, as you know, you’ve been on the show. I always give the last word to my guest so that you can complete another idea or something new. So the last word goes over to you, Professor Marquis.
Chris Marquis
Great. Well, thank you. Just thank you so much for having me on the show, Carol. And I hope to be on it another time in a number of years.
Carol Cone
Next book, we’ll have you back.
Chris Marquis
Yeah, next book — I’m working on a book that really is trying to understand — it’s along the lines of net positive, although really trying to understand how companies can think about their mission and purpose in a way that actually is very generative in addressing broad societal and environmental grand challenges. So I hope to be on again before too long to talk about that.
Carol Cone
Well, we’ll definitely have you back. So thank you so much, Chris. You are just a joy to have. You’re just so provocative and you get us to think. I’m sure your students adore you. And thank you for all the contributions that you’re doing for the purpose movement and for socially responsible business. They need all of our voices, all of our thinking. So thank you very much, Chris Marquis.
Chris Marquis
Great, thank you so much, Carol.
Carol Cone
This podcast was brought to you by some amazing people, and I’d love to thank them. Ann Hundertmark and Kristen Kenny at Carol Cone On Purpose. Pete Wright and Andy Nelson, our crack production team at TruStory FM. And you, the listener. Please rate and rank us, because we really want to be as high as possible as one of the top business podcasts available, so that we can continue exploring together the importance and the activation of authentic purpose. Thanks so much for listening.
