The "everything election" is a lesson in corporate focus

State of play: "Voters are furious about what everything costs and convinced the system is rigged for insiders," said Stephanie Cutter, managing partner at Precision Strategies.

• "Smart CEOs should read this election as a warning. Any company that touches the price of everyday life is now part of the political conversation."

By the numbers: National exit polling conducted by SSRS for several news organizations underscores the breadth of frustration.

• Roughly three-quarters of voters were dissatisfied or angry with the country's direction, and 75% rated the economy as "not so good" or "poor."

• Government corruption (90%) and the cost of living (89%) were crucial or major factors in voters' decisions. So were the war in Iran (74%), immigration enforcement (73%) and AI and data centers (56%).

Zoom in: The economic frustration runs deeper than prices. An October Pew Research Center report found that 61% of Americans believe there's too much economic inequality.

• Among that group, 57% say large corporations have a lot of responsibility for reducing it, though that's down from 62% in 2019.

Zoom out: For some companies, those concerns have just become real political and reputational risks.

• Nearly every measure (43-1) restricting data centers passed in communities across the country.
• Corporate executives who cultivated close ties with President Trump could face congressional investigations into political contributions, government contracts and other arrangements.
• "The subpoenas are coming," said Jim O'Leary, CEO of Penta. "Voters are frustrated about the cost living, the war in Iran and a lack of accountability. CCOs are already preparing."

What they're saying: "There will be much more scrutiny of decisions companies made to gain favor with this administration," said Alexandra LaManna, a former Biden White House spokesperson.

• "With voters this angry about corruption, some of those decisions could become serious reputational liabilities." She urged companies to review their political contributions, promises and government arrangements, and determine whether changes are needed.

Reality check: Corporate advisers' pre-election warning against overcorrecting to political swings still rings true.

• Kelly Stepno, deputy president of North America and chair of corporate reputation at APCO, urged leaders to separate "Washington rhetoric from what is actually likely to change and what is simply noise."
• Instead, she said, companies should focus on developments that materially affect their investment decisions, workforce, supply chains and costs.

That focus also means building partnerships. "Corporate leaders should build a strategy to work with incoming Democratic leaders to directly explain where the private sector can be a useful partner on cost-of-living priorities," said Paige Willey, a principal at Invariant and former deputy director of Trump's National Economic Council.

• "Strengthening relationships also enables corporate leaders to help lawmakers better understand that some well-intentioned policies can create challenging conditions for companies to grow and hire, which has second-order effects on voter concerns such as jobs, wages, and affordability."

Between the lines: Communicators need to help shape decisions before they're announced. We can't beat this drum loud enough.

• "The mood of the country is about economic security and accountability," said LaManna. "For CCOs, that means asking harder questions before the company raises prices, cuts jobs or rolls out AI — and making sure employees and customers get a straight answer about why."

What we're watching: This election could be an important test of the increasingly integrated corporate affairs model, which brings communications, government relations, policy and other functions together in one org.