The first article showed us what happened in Target’s saga. The second covers the lessons learned from the story.

Target pulled back on equity efforts and mismanaged how that decision landed with customers, employees, suppliers, and investors. Days later, the backlash came in. Sales dropped. Lawsuits piled up. Loyalty eroded.

Although the dust hasn’t fully settled, there’s plenty for companies to take away. These four lessons are for every organization navigating the complicated terrain of equity, trust, and culture in 2025. Let’s get started.

Lesson #1: Communicate Clearly When Changing Course

Change is inevitable. Everybody knows. Confusion, however, is optional. When Target rolled back its racial equity goals and DEI council, it didn’t explain clearly what was changing, why, or what would replace it. The announcement came with new language, “Belonging at the Bullseye,” but lacked substance. There were no clear metrics. No roadmap. No conversation with employees or the public.

That kind of opacity opens the door to fear and backlash. People notice what is changing. They also pay attention to how it’s communicated. If the communication feels vague, rushed, or defensive, people fill in the blanks with doubt and mistrust.

Gist: When DEI-related programs change, don’t hide behind buzzwords. Spell out clearly:

What’s going away
What’s staying
What’s coming next
Why it still matters and how it benefits everyone

People can accept hard changes if they understand the story behind them. If they feel tricked, it backfires.

Lesson #2: Bring Your People Along for the Ride

Equity work doesn’t survive when it’s handed down from the top. It thrives when it’s co-created with the people it affects most. In Target’s case, DEI changes were made behind closed doors. Employees weren’t consulted. Community voices weren’t part of the process. High-stakes decisions were made in the boardroom, which ultimately impacted vendors—many of them small Black-owned businesses—left scrambling when foot traffic vanished.

Gist: Don’t hand down high-stakes decisions. When you bring employees, partners, and customers into the conversation, even messy transitions can feel respectful and shared.

Lesson #3: Keep Your “Why” Front and Center

One of the most jarring parts of Target’s reversal was the absence of a consistent why. When Target launched its $2 billion pledge to support Black-owned businesses in 2021, it positioned equity as a moral and strategic imperative. When it scaled back, the rationale shifted to external political pressure and risk mitigation.

That kind of whiplash undermines trust. Was equity core to Target’s purpose, or was it just a branding strategy? When companies can’t articulate a steady why, every shift feels like a retreat.

Gist: Your strategy can evolve. Your “why” should remain steady. Keep the purpose of your equity work front and center, especially when critics get loud. Consistency signals conviction.

Lesson #4: Remember: Trust Is Hard Won, Easily Lost

Trust is Target’s biggest casualty. Not the lawsuits. Not the headlines. Trust is hardest to earn and easiest to lose.

More than what you say, trust rests on what you do consistently. Target had spent years building equity credibility. It partnered with Black-owned brands, supported LGBTQ+ rights, and stood tall during tense cultural moments. In 2025, that track record didn’t stop a crisis of confidence. The company’s CEO, Brian Cornell, stepped down on August 20 in the midst of the fallout, a move many saw as tied to the DEI controversy and loss in revenue.

That’s living proof that when you walk back your values without walking your people and stakeholders through the why, trust frays. And once trust slips, your organization’s greatest asset moves out of reach.

Gist: You don’t get trust once. You earn it every day. People remember how they were treated during hard decisions. If they feel blindsided or excluded, the damage cuts deep.

Closing Thoughts

This story stretches far beyond Target. It reflects the fragile, often uncomfortable space equity work—or the choice to pull back—occupies today. At present, DEI stands on more than just policy documents or mission statements. It survives because people commit to it every day, with clarity, strategy, and consistency.

This is a shared journey. What happened to Target could happen to any organization that fails to communicate its ideas and transitions clearly.

So, if you’re reading this as a recruiter, executive, or team leader, ask yourself:

Do your employees know the “why” behind your equity programs?
Are you bringing them along when strategies evolve?
Are you building trust, or letting it fade, through how you lead change?
Is equity a strategic, lived practice or just a line in a playbook?

Equity reaches farther than a checklist. It’s a relationship. It asks for attention, honesty, and a steady hand when the pressure climbs. The future of DEI doesn’t rest on what Target decides. It rests on what each of us does, whether in a classroom, a conference room, or a boardroom.

If this conversation matters to you and you’re ready to lead through complexity with clarity, our CEO’s book The Equity Edge can help. It’s a blueprint for building teams that last, workplaces that work for everyone, and leadership that holds steady when the stakes rise. Grab your copy here, and let’s build equitable workplaces with intention.