It’s a much-overused word - but it has been an unprecedented start to the year.

Ahead of the US presidential inauguration, this week has seen a constant stream of headlines about Elon Musk’s pot-shots over UK politics, about U.S. intentions versus Greenland and Panama, and about how the business world will adapt to such major political shifts.

At times, it has been ugly. And conventional wisdom for a lot of companies, particularly given Donald Trump’s leadership track record of the world having to second-guess what he might do or say next, may be to keep heads down and react quickly to what happens, rather than be proactive in engaging and communicating.

Which is why this blog post from former Siemens UK CEO, and now GB energy boss, Juergen Maier caught my eye. Rather than a wait-and-see approach or avoiding becoming a target for new levels of political sniping, he advocates for businesses to seize the opportunity to tell positive stories of the value they bring to communities.

“We must stick to our values, take the high ground, and improve our ability to demonstrate and communicate the worth of those values that we deliver as the business community,” he says. “This, in my view, is where we’ve failed the most. Increasingly, I speak to progressive senior business leaders who admit they’re “keeping their heads down” or have no more “energy to keep up the fight.””

Bold words, particularly given the current climate.

The post is essentially a rallying cry now only for company leaders to stick to their guns over ESG progress achieved, but to shout about it - at a time when some businesses are reining in their ambitions and policies, and investors are trying to work out how to navigate a changed political environment.

Understandably, many firms are watching the current war of words very closely, wanting to understand what the new presidency will bring, and the strategic and operational considerations that will need to be tackled. Communicating their commitments to a more sustainable future may be influenced by both that and the investment landscape, but again the wait-and-see approach is likely to be a common one.

But the question will then be how do companies respond over the longer term, particularly as the annual financial reporting season takes hold. Companies that have taken to reporting ESG progress each year will have already considered how best to do that and how proactively to communicate it, but after that, then what?

The cautious approach is doubtless a sensible one in the near term. Yet in time, for some companies having a clear point-of-view on external matters and talking openly about the positive changes they are making may become inescapable.

It has been impossible for the UK Government not to get drawn in this week given it has been directly in the line of fire, but given the comments have ventured into topics like whether there is any appetite for businesses to invest in the UK any more, it is surely a matter of time before companies as well as politicians find their voice.