What a great read. I wish I knew what the answer was. Time and time again, what you talked about at the end bears out. Inclusivity makes us all better. It provides us different viewpoints from which to address issues. But time and time again leadership finds ways to make it impossible. Because it also makes leadership uncomfortable. Whether it be in the corporate world or the military world.
I had hoped in my lifetime I would see a change. I know that probably won’t happen. Maybe in my daughter’s or granddaughter’s it will.
This was incredibly well-written. Not only that, but it describes the climate at Amazon better than I've ever seen before. DEI as a formal program is falling down. It's only a matter of time before it crumbles and we build it back up with something timeless... leadership. Well done, Tony.
During WWII the U.S. had the best workforce on the planet. And it was a truly diverse workforce meaning - women, men, minorities, disabled and the old. It was inclusive. Everyone could work. Just as one example... this workforce produced 300,000 aircraft in under five years.
Since the end of WWII (and the beginning of America's golden era of production) we have mutilated the workforce under the ironical guise of improving organizational performance.
By the beginning of the 1980s the U.S. had lost almost all of its electronics industry, steel industry, textile industry and a significant portion of its automobile industry to Japan and other foreign. Because we could not compete operationally. Meaning the workforce couldn't compete operationally.
One workforce improvement program followed by another brought the U.S. to this sad place.
In 1981 people were asking..."If Japan can, why can't we?" And seriously the answer was... it's the workforce. The workforce had been so... bent, folded, spindled and mutilated that it could no longer produce. And many companies failed.
Then throughout the 80s, 90s, and 2000s we learned how to work again. And once we learned how to work again we competed... again.
And now comes DEI with the promise to improve the workforce. Particularly to improve workforce diversity, equity and inclusion. Like the U.S. workforce during WWII, 1942-1945. But DEI is already proving to be a quagmire of corporate/organizational politics. With DEI taking center stage in the workforce. With DEI being the... goal, the U.S. will certainly forget how to work... again.
What a great read. I wish I knew what the answer was. Time and time again, what you talked about at the end bears out. Inclusivity makes us all better. It provides us different viewpoints from which to address issues. But time and time again leadership finds ways to make it impossible. Because it also makes leadership uncomfortable. Whether it be in the corporate world or the military world.
I had hoped in my lifetime I would see a change. I know that probably won’t happen. Maybe in my daughter’s or granddaughter’s it will.
This was incredibly well-written. Not only that, but it describes the climate at Amazon better than I've ever seen before. DEI as a formal program is falling down. It's only a matter of time before it crumbles and we build it back up with something timeless... leadership. Well done, Tony.
During WWII the U.S. had the best workforce on the planet. And it was a truly diverse workforce meaning - women, men, minorities, disabled and the old. It was inclusive. Everyone could work. Just as one example... this workforce produced 300,000 aircraft in under five years.
Since the end of WWII (and the beginning of America's golden era of production) we have mutilated the workforce under the ironical guise of improving organizational performance.
By the beginning of the 1980s the U.S. had lost almost all of its electronics industry, steel industry, textile industry and a significant portion of its automobile industry to Japan and other foreign. Because we could not compete operationally. Meaning the workforce couldn't compete operationally.
One workforce improvement program followed by another brought the U.S. to this sad place.
In 1981 people were asking..."If Japan can, why can't we?" And seriously the answer was... it's the workforce. The workforce had been so... bent, folded, spindled and mutilated that it could no longer produce. And many companies failed.
Then throughout the 80s, 90s, and 2000s we learned how to work again. And once we learned how to work again we competed... again.
And now comes DEI with the promise to improve the workforce. Particularly to improve workforce diversity, equity and inclusion. Like the U.S. workforce during WWII, 1942-1945. But DEI is already proving to be a quagmire of corporate/organizational politics. With DEI taking center stage in the workforce. With DEI being the... goal, the U.S. will certainly forget how to work... again.
We're repeating the cycle.