A masterclass in destroying an organisation

In the overwhelming majority of organisations, it is people that make it exist, function, and - if the organisation enables or aids it - thrive. 

Union busters and corporate raiders don’t understand that: they take the short term view of “what will give us more profit in the next few years?” In the long term, they could often, in my view, have created far greater customer loyalty, worker pride, and surety of profit by putting people first, but they went for what was their focus now - what seemed to them to be “easiest”.  

In the 1990s, neoliberals in my home state privatised our (electrical) power industry.

As a result of that, we had:   a failure to properly rehabilitate open cut mine pits that led to a fire that burned for weeks and devastated a nearby town;   a failure to update a power station from 1950s technology to 1970s technology, thereby extending and exacerbating pollution;   and   a human toll that became blindingly obvious when one foreign-owned company shut down a power station without warning, throwing thousands of workers onto the unemployment heap. 

Our state government stepped in to help them, setting up systems and learning lessons that will help other industries facing shutdowns in the future elsewhere. 

Most significantly of all, that party is now running in our elections on a promise of restoring the former State Electricity Commission, albeit with  focus on renewable energy generation.

If those companies had behaved with decency and consideration towards their workers and the towns their workers were supporting, would the SEC be being brought back in? 

I work in the consulting engineering industry: it’s a high pressure environment for a wide range of reasons, but there is an increasing focus on treating workers well - including an awareness of the need for retention of workers, not just getting people into the fields the company covers. I’ve even had good conversations around gender norms, human libraries, and TGD transitions with senior management of late. This is exemplary - but many other organisations doing the same, as shown by this, for instance.

And then there’s the billionaire who bought a social media platform recently ... the “anything goes” impression he has created has caused advertisers to leave or pause their purchase of advertising, an attempt at getting users to pay for features has failed, key workers left or were fired, especially after a work-in-the-office-or-else warning that ignores disabilities and health vulnerabilities - and now he has given his highly-developed, expert workforce the “choice” of either commit to health-destroying, family-destroying, soul-crushing work conditions or “resign” - which term is actually being used illegally.(see also here and here.)

Why? 

Well, much as with the privatisers, union-busters and corporate raiders of the 80s and 90s, he has too narrow a focus. He seems to be focused on what he likes or feels comfortable with, to the extent that he is out of touch with the vast majority of humanity. 

In my opinion, that is ineptitude at management to the extent that he should never have power over other humans. 

Others are in similar positions - they should never have power over others for reasons including not only ineptitude at management but also conscious and unconscious bias, too narrow/short term focus, too limited life experience, lack of a mature self awareness, and flat out bigotry or bias. 

What can we do about that? Well, as a starting list of suggestions: 

• be as careful as you can personally to avoid getting into such situations, which partly asking questions to show potential problems of your potential employer in job interviews, and partly avoiding lifestyle vulnerabilities (including have simpler, minimalist lifestyles, slower lifestyles, and people-focused economies);
  
• urging governments to leave laissez-faire politics back in the 1800s grave that it belongs in (and should never have got out of) and hold companies to account for their behaviour - beyond financial matters; 
  
• advocate for just transition of industries, including supporting those affected by layoffs, no matter what size of layoffs - see here, for instance; and
  
• advocate for an education system that includes respect, communication, and emotional intelligence.
  

That last one, in particular, has the potential to be transformative in so many areas of life. 

PS - see also https://theconversation.com/elon-musks-hardcore-management-style-a-case-study-in-what-not-to-do-194999