Employees helped drive decision-making surrounding Imus controversy

Coming off a busy week in which I didn't have a chance to blog, so I missed an opportunity to comment on the Don Imus controversy while it was raging.

But in retrospect, that's okay ... because I think the most important lesson was one that surfaced after he was already fired from his radio and television shows.

That is, the employees of NBC, CBS and the shows' various sponsors apparently had a tremendous impact on the decisions to pull advertising and ultimately, fire Imus.

That companies would take the time to seek out and/or listen to employees -- in this case, women and African-Americans who were offended by Imus' comments -- is groundbreaking. That they would then act on that input is astonishing.

Here's a snippet from the Baltimore Sun:

"What's different about this firing compared to that of other insult jocks is that people internal to the organizations - women and African-Americans at NBC and CBS - came forward and said, 'I am in this organization, and I do not want to be associated with this kind of man,'" said Sheri Parks, a University of Maryland professor who teaches courses on race and gender.

In fact, the same kinds of discussions were taking place at companies that paid to sponsor Imus, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Many pundits who called for Imus' firing early in the week were less than satisfied when it actually took place, saying it was "just about money."

But I think there was a deeper motive at work here, and it involved the relationship between employer/employee at the various organizations entangled in the controversy. Anyone who's ever worked for a big company has to be surprised at the power and influence that these employees brought to bear on an issue that was important to them.

In my humble opinion, the balance of power between the rank and file and the executive suite might have shifted forever on this issue, at least in terms of dealing with very public issues.

What do you think?