The case for being exclusive at work

Most leaders understand their message needs to define exactly who their work is for. Fewer realize that it should also define who it’s not for. Fewer still realize that their message is unintentionally excluding some of the very people they want to attract.

Effective messaging repels on purpose. Careless messaging excludes by accident. And for leaders, knowing the difference can make or break your organization’s credibility. 

REPEL TO ATTRACT

The idea of intentionally turning away potential customers can make leaders uncomfortable. It seems counterintuitive, even reckless, to deliberately shrink your total addressable market when you’re trying to grow. But trying to message to everyone can come at a high cost, resulting in:

• Misaligned employees. People who don’t share your organization’s values may become unhappy and disengaged, ultimately eroding your culture and reputation.
• Wrong-fit customers. They’ll never be satisfied with what wasn’t designed for them, leading to negative reviews, returns, and reputation damage.
• Wasted resources. Messaging too broadly can result in additional expenses, from advertising to (and trying to convert) a larger pool of prospects, all the way through to customer service.

The costs of attracting the wrong audience compound over time, while organizations with the deepest loyalty are often the ones explicitly saying “this wasn’t created for you.” Two particularly effective ways to do this are through values-based declarations and explicit audience definition. 

Values-based repelling involves taking a strong public stance on the ideas that matter most to your brand, effectively filtering out those who don’t share those values. When Patagonia launched their edgy “Don’t Buy This Jacket” campaign with a full-page ad in the New York Times on Black Friday, they weren’t just making a statement about overconsumption; they were signaling to impulse buyers and fast-fashion hunters that Patagonia isn’t for them. It was a bold expression of “this is what we stand for, and this is what we don’t.”

Meanwhile, explicit audience definition expresses who an organization stands for. Basecamp takes this approach by saying: We are for this group. We are not for that group. This builds community and loyalty by creating a “small business” Us (“We stand with the underdogs. Freelancer? Underfunded non-profit? Small team feeling stuck in a large enterprise? Start-up battling established competitors? You’re our people.”) versus a “big business” Them (“They’re slow. They’re conservative. They talk too much. They’ve stopped taking risks. They’re resting on their laurels, gliding on their reputation.”) dynamic that makes their ideal customers feel seen and understood.

So when does repelling cross over from “good” to “bad”—and is it possible to repel too much? 

In many cases, it’s not a matter of degree (turning the repelling dial up or down), but of intentionality. Often, the smallest details create unexpected barriers. Seemingly minor messaging decisions, invisible to internal teams who know what they meant to say, can alienate the very people you’d like to attract.

BARRIERS YOU DIDN’T MEAN TO BUILD

Every message draws a line: inviting some in, leaving others out. The risk is when that line is invisible to you but glaringly obvious to your audience.

Strategic narrowing is, by definition, intentional. You decide who—and only who—you’re speaking to and why, shaping your message around what will resonate most. Careless narrowing happens when you filter people out by default through assumptions, jargon, stereotypes, unconscious bias, or unclear values.

This type of exclusion isn’t deliberate. It’s built into the words we use, the assumptions we make, and the systems we design. It often feels harmless in the moment; after all, you didn’t mean to exclude anyone. But messaging missteps stack up, often in ways we don’t see until it’s too late.

And when a message ends up alienating the very people you’re trying to reach, it can undermine everything you’re building: your team, your customers, and your reputation.

Unintentional exclusion carries real costs:

1. Talent loss

Talented candidates self-select out because they don’t see themselves reflected in your language, imagery, or values, leaving roles harder to fill. Current employees who feel overlooked or alienated disengage, and that disengagement can wreak havoc on your culture.

This shows up in a number of quiet ways, for example: A company says it values a diverse workforce but schedules events on days that are major holidays for some employees. A strong candidate doesn’t apply because the job description uses jargon or must-haves that don’t actually matter. Company headquarters are accessible by public transport but the company offsite is not. Leadership talks a big game when it comes to its global perspective, but every quarter the big all-hands meeting is only live in US time zones.

2. Missed growth

Customers who don’t see themselves in your story won’t buy in. People who could have been strong advocates never consider your product because the way you described it suggested it wasn’t for them. This shows up in many ways:

• Product positioning that assumes sameness. Parenting apps marketed “for busy moms” can unintentionally exclude dads, grandparents, or other caregivers who share the same challenges.
• Language that creates barriers. A landing page filled with jargon can leave first-time buyers feeling shut out rather than invited in. 
• Product design with hidden friction. An app that assumes constant high-speed internet excludes rural users. Low-contrast color palettes exclude those with low vision.
• Visuals that signal who belongs. When websites or ads feature only one demographic, they subtly suggest others aren’t welcome, even if they are part of the intended audience. Peloton learned this the hard way. An early campaign centered on ultra-fit people in luxury apartments projected an elite, upper-class image that excluded people who weren’t wealthy and who represented a wider range of body types. The campaign also came under fire for portraying a sexist dynamic. While the intent was to be inspirational and aspirational, it didn’t take into account where many of its potential customers were starting out, and it wasn’t aligned with Peloton’s founding goal of democratizing fitness. The brand smartly course-corrected in 2023 with new messaging and ethos, emphasizing “fitness offerings for all ages, levels, and walks of life.”

3. Damaged credibility

Beyond costing you potential customers and engaged employees, accidental exclusion damages how the broader market perceives your brand. When your company’s behavior contradicts your stated mission or core values, stakeholders notice the gap between what you claim to stand for and what your words and actions actually signal. The resulting erosion of trust can be imperceptible until it turns into a full-blown reputation crisis. Once trust is lost, it’s difficult to win it back.

The difference between strategic and careless narrowing is intention and awareness: one sharpens your message, the other shrinks your reach. The result is always the same: qualified candidates opt out, customers conclude “not for me,” and stakeholders lose trust. 

You didn’t choose a niche—you just made yours significantly smaller.

HOW TO REPEL, NOT EXCLUDE

People are highly attuned to language. They notice who’s acknowledged and who’s overlooked, especially when it’s them. In a crowded market, intentional communication determines whether you expand opportunity or reinforce barriers.

Inclusive messaging doesn’t mean trying to be everything to everyone. It means being deliberate about the language you use and the lines you draw so the right people feel welcomed in, not left out.

To avoid missteps, regularly pause to ask:

• Who might this message unintentionally exclude?
• Are we relying on assumptions that not everyone shares?
• Does our language and imagery draw people in or push them away?

Build guardrails into your processes throughout your organization:

• Choose words and imagery carefully. Intentionally repel those who are not ideal customers or employees, but incorporate safeguards and checks to make sure you’re not using language or visuals that unintentionally exclude.
• When creating a customer avatar, consider relying less on demographics and more on psychographics. What are their attitudes, values, and interests? Consider how your message might land differently based on someone’s lived experience, perspective, and motivations.
• Run language and formatting through an inclusivity check, test job posts with employees from different backgrounds, and test brand copy with focus groups who have different points of view and lived experience.

When diverse perspectives are considered, accidental exclusion decreases. The business case is clear: employees are attracted and retained, brand messages land with the right audience, and teams better identify products and services for a broader customer base. According to a BCG study, companies with more diverse leadership boast 19% higher innovation revenue. And McKinsey finds that companies with diverse leadership teams are 39% more likely to outperform their peers financially.

Make checking for accidental exclusion and unintended barriers a regular practice. Invite perspectives from people who don’t look, think, or work like you. Brands that do this consistently don’t just avoid costly mistakes—they build stronger cultures, retain better talent, attract the right customers, and gain credibility that lasts.