{"id":198,"date":"2025-01-23T03:56:06","date_gmt":"2025-01-23T03:56:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.operamode.com\/?p=198"},"modified":"2025-05-08T21:13:41","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T21:13:41","slug":"from-dei-to-dictatorship-redux","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.operamode.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/23\/from-dei-to-dictatorship-redux\/","title":{"rendered":"From DEI to Dictatorship (Redux)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n

At Issue:<\/strong> Trump\u2019s re-ascendency is giving a renewed permission structure to return back to a time before DEI and ESG programs were put in place. Trump through an executive order has dismantled DEI programs across the US civil service and sent the DEI consultant class packing. No tears shed there. Private industry is looking at this in the wake of a few top companies also dismantling their DEI programs and now the table is set for the force of MAGA to wash over the internal culture of corporate America. Trump\u2019s return creates a permission structure that simply says this: Make American Companies Dictatorships Again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once upon a time\u2014not all that long ago\u2014the tech industry birthed a new way of working. It wasn\u2019t some grand social experiment or a utopian dream of equity. It was born of necessity. In the late 1990s, the race to create the next killer app or SaaS product led to something revolutionary: workplaces flattened their hierarchies. The goal was to move faster, foster creativity, and encourage lateral thinking. Bad ideas were not only tolerated; they were encouraged<\/em>\u2014because bad ideas were stepping stones to better ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what fuels lateral thinking? Bringing together people from different walks of life, with different perspectives and experiences. Diversity wasn\u2019t an HR checkbox\u2014it was the secret sauce to building better products, disrupting markets, and, frankly, winning. This wasn\u2019t charity, and it wasn\u2019t DEI. It was organic, and it worked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fast forward to today, and that once-promising structure is collapsing. Hierarchies are reasserting themselves. The backlash against so-called \u201cwoke\u201d ideology has given executives an excuse to reclaim their thrones, dismantling anything that smells like collaboration, democracy, or inclusivity. DEI programs, which sought to institutionalize the organic diversity of the early tech industry, became an easy scapegoat. But this story isn\u2019t just about DEI\u2014it\u2019s about power, profit, and a fundamental shift in how executives view their companies and themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Executive “Id” Unleashed<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s face it: companies were never democracies. But in the early days of the tech boom, they were at least pretending<\/em> to be. Flat management structures were sexy. Collaboration and innovation were the buzzwords that made top talent flock to tech companies and leave the staid, hierarchical dinosaurs of government, finance, manufacturing and oil and gas in the dust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this was always a delicate balance. Collaboration challenges authority. And for executives who\u2019ve spent decades cultivating their inner monarchs, DEI became a thorn in their side. It wasn\u2019t just about hiring diverse talent\u2014it was about creating systems where leadership couldn\u2019t simply rule by decree. DEI made leaders uncomfortable because it demanded accountability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then came the shift in executive compensation. Stock-based pay packages, low-tax capital gains, and the explosion of stock buybacks have made short-term gains king. Why invest in a collaborative workplace or long-term innovation when you can cash out in five years and board a rocket to Mars? Executives now have every incentive to prioritize immediate profits over sustainable growth, and dismantling DEI is just part of the equation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As MSNBC business reporter Stephanie Ruhle pointed out on The Bulwark Podcast<\/em>, there\u2019s a growing sentiment among executives: \u201cI\u2019m done ruling by committee. I\u2019m the boss, and I get to decide.\u201d This is the corporate \u201cid\u201d unleashed\u2014a return to a top-down structure where executives reign supreme and diversity initiatives are seen as distractions rather than assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Consultant Class Didn\u2019t Help<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Now, let\u2019s be honest: the DEI consultant class didn\u2019t do itself any favors. What started as a good idea\u2014a way to bring more fairness and innovation into the workplace\u2014was hijacked by PowerPoint warriors who turned it into a cottage industry. In some cases, DEI became less about fostering collaboration and more about ticking boxes. And when you give executives a reason to see something as performative, they\u2019ll dismiss it the first chance they get.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But here\u2019s the irony: the original principles that made workplaces collaborative, diverse, and innovative didn\u2019t come from consultants or mandates. They emerged organically. Companies like those in early Silicon Valley flattened hierarchies not because they had to but because they wanted<\/em> to. And it worked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back to the Future<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

So here we are, heading backward. The political climate\u2014let\u2019s call it the Trumpian permission structure\u2014has emboldened corporate America to abandon even the pretense of collaboration. Add to that the fundamental changes in how executives are paid, and the result is a perfect storm: companies reverting to pre-Internet, top-down hierarchies where innovation takes a back seat to profit extraction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The consequences are clear. Without collaboration, lateral thinking, and the diversity that fuels it, companies risk becoming stagnant. They\u2019ll still produce\u2014just not the kind of groundbreaking ideas that drove the tech boom in the first place. Instead, they\u2019ll focus on squeezing every last dime out of their current assets, leaving future growth to someone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as for those executives? Well, they\u2019ve got limited time to make their big play, cash out, and move on\u2014whether that\u2019s to another gig or the next seat on a mission to Mars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A New Path Forward?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps the backlash against DEI will pave the way for something better\u2014something more organic and less performative. The best ideas often come not from mandates but from necessity. And as history shows, when companies truly need to innovate, they\u2019ll flatten hierarchies and embrace diversity not because they\u2019re told to but because it works. It’s also unclear as to the state of future workforces with the AI revolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The question is, how long will it take for us to get back where we need to be? As long as executives continue to bullshit about long term thinking to their respective boards with the same bullshit you’d hear from a DEI consultant, they just want to get paid sooner rather than later. The incentive structure needs to change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: MSNBC’s Stephanie Rhule talking to Tim Miller of the right leaning podcast Bulwark<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n