In the old days, before quarterly earnings meant everything and corporate CEOs didn’t make 300 times the average worker’s pay, companies were led by men (and they were all “men”) who were real “leaders.”

They gave speeches. They met with the press. They stood up for what they stood for.

Bankers like David Rockefeller, Walter Wriston and Tom Clausen; car company chiefs like Henry Ford, Roger Smith and Lee Iacocca; and manufacturing heads like Irving Shapiro, Fletcher Byrom and Jack Welch were well-known, even outside of their own industries.

Today, of course, corporations and the people who lead them generally keep their heads down. For one thing, corporate executives make a lot more money than their predecessors.

For another, the traditional business media that kept companies honest – Forbes, Fortune, Business Week, etc. al. – have seen better days. And then, too, as long as shareholders are happy, no other constituent public seems to make much difference.

That’s why it was refreshing over the past month to see several big companies and the people who lead them stepping up to join the public dialogue.

  • First, Walmart.

The world’s largest – and often most reviled retailer -- has made efforts of late to begin to change its image.

It settled longstanding discrimination suits and then decided to raise worker salaries, in the face of a national movement. And a week ago, in its boldest move yet, Walmart was the first to announce it would remove all Confederate flag merchandise from its 11,000 stores.

In so doing, Walmart was the first company to react to the outrage following the murders at a historic African-American church in Charleston, SC. Said the Walmart spokesman, “We never want to offend anyone with the products that we offer.”

Other less gutsy retailers quickly followed Walmart’s leadership.

  • Second, JP Morgan Chase.

And, in particular, its CEO Jamie Dimon.

Of all the world’s bankers, CEO Dimon, following in the Rockefeller public citizen role, is the most well known and the only leader. Does anyone have any idea who runs Citigroup or Bank of America or HSBC? Answer: No way.

Even after suffering a huge and embarrassing loss from a London trading account in 2012 that cost the bank billions, Dimon has not backed down from his public responsibilities.

Most recently, he’s taken on Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the liberal Massachusetts Democrat whose made no secret of her antipathy to big bankers. While his CEO counterparts cower in fear at the take-no-prisoners Warren, Dimon has publicly expressed the view that she may “not fully understand the global banking system.”

While Dimon’s lawyers may have cringed at the comment, the JP Morgan chief proved himself the one bank CEO willing to take on the self-righteous, constantly carping bureaucrats.

  • Third, Apple

In five years at the helm of the world’s leading high tech company, Tim Cook has made believers out of all of his critics.

Not only has the Apple CEO presided over breakthrough product announcement s, steadily-increasing earnings and a rising stock price, he has also accomplished the impossible feat of replacing the legendary Steve Jobs.

In addition to his professional leadership, Cook has also shown a quiet willingness to lead on a personal level. Last year, he came out as gay. Last week, after the Supreme Court’s same sex marriage verdict, he tweeted, "Today marks a victory for equality, perseverance and love."

Apple, too, under Cook has continued to be a leader. Last week, when the world’s most powerful entertainer, Taylor Swift, rebuked Apple for not paying artists during the three-month free trial period for its new Apple Music streaming service – the company immediately changed its tune and reversed the decision.

Apple looked magnanimous and like a leader. And speaking about “leadership,” how ‘bout that Taylor Swift!

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Fraser P. Seitel has been a communications consultant, author and teacher for 40 years. He may be reached directly at [email protected].