Billboard paradox: When corporate principles meet regulatory reality

IN the corporate world, principles and values are often touted as the foundation of organisational identity. But what happens when these principles collide with inconsistent regulation enforcement? A personal experience from my tenure as President of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management offers a revealing glimpse into this challenge.

- By Rohitha Amarapala

A stand on principle

In 2015, I was returning to Colombo after serving on the “Best Entrepreneur of the Year” selection panel. My fellow panellist was one of our nation’s most respected business leaders, and we had just completed an assessment visit to a promising company in the Galle region.

As we passed Galle on the Southern Expressway, my colleague pointed toward his ancestral home visible from the highway.

"I invested over Rs. 3 million there," he told me, indicating a spot on his property. The substantial investment had gone towards constructing a foundation for a billboard to promote his company’s flagship product—a marketing strategy designed to capitalise on the newly built highway’s traffic.

His plans were abruptly halted when authorities delivered an official letter: no billboards would be permitted along either side of the expressway. Despite appeals to various officials, including the Minister in charge, his requests were denied.

What happened next revealed the forceful enforcement sometimes applied to our regulations. Just two days before the highway’s official opening, unidentified individuals entered his property and demolished the concrete structure using power saws—a clear message about the consequences of challenging the system.

What impressed me most was not the businessman’s resources or influence, but rather his response to this setback. Instead of bitterness, he expressed acceptance: "If the law applies equally to everyone, then I must respect it," he told me. He even pledged to report any violations he might observe in the future, committed to the principle of regulatory fairness.

Safety first: The rationale behind billboard bans