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I would dare say the causality is reversed here. Once your company reaches a certain size, NOT having a diverse executive team will very quickly get you labeled

I would dare say the causality is reversed here. Once your company reaches a certain size, NOT having a diverse executive team will very quickly get you labeled as racist and will cost you dearly. Nobody cares about a mom and pop bakery, but imagine the outrage in the media, if Apple or Google did not pick their executive teams based on the diversity constraints.

malandrew 6y ago
Not only that, for the time period when this study was done, the most successful businesses will be in cities where there is statistically a more diverse pool to draw from. Is the cause the diversity or is it that cities are generally hyper-competitive places that draw the most competitive people in society and filter out those that can't hack it. Your reason and my reason are just two possibilities of reversed causality. I'm sure there are many others. The conclusion of that study is basically a wet streets cause rain conclusion. One only needs to look at foreign firms like those in China that are crushing it to see that many non-diverse businesses are doing very well. I'm sure those businesses weren't included because it wouldn't support the conclusion the researcher wanted to arrive at.
- Avicebron 6y ago
  China is a great example, very mono-cultural (relative to the US, I know there is different great diversity in China) and (personal experience) a bit racist or dismissive of Non-Chinese. Yet they absolute crush it with almost everything they do? How do we square that circle and say well..if everyone just looked different we would be better off. Minus the white people, they shouldn't be around anymore.
  - lawnchair_larry 6y ago
    Not to mention, anyone with half a brain that they are willing to use should already know that it’s absurd to think that 2 people with a different skin pigment have an advantage over 2 people with the same skin pigment. The willful delusion and mental gymnastics to justify reverse racism are a wonder to behold.
  - mullingitover 6y ago
    It's pretty easy to pick this apart. China is actually quite diverse culturally, but communism has long had a focus on equality. They're demonstrating that equality is a competitive advantage.
    - malandrew 6y ago
      I've lived in China and the US and it doesn't even come close to the diversity of thought as the US. That said, they still crush it despite the lack of diversity of thought. With the US diversity of thought also comes the diversity of work ethic. China doesn't have that issue. A lot of the diversity of thought China has typically comes from expatriates that have returned home after meaningful experiences living abroad. This alone demonstrates that genetics is a terrible proxy for diversity of thought. What matters is cognitive diversity and diversity of experience.
mullingitover 6y ago
Seems like you're assuming that having an all-white workforce, absent the political blowback that this would cause, is some kind of competitive advantage? Am I understanding you correctly?
- john_moscow 6y ago
  I am assuming that having workforce hired purely based on their ability to perform the job, would be a competitive advantage if the company was aiming at efficiency rather than playing games with investors (which is another long story). I am not saying anything about their race and I personally know many competent people from many races and ethnicities. Ironically, by interpreting my statement as an claim that such a policy would lead to an all-white workforce, you yourself just made an assumption that many people would call very racist.
  - mullingitover 6y ago
    > I am assuming that having workforce hired purely based on their ability to perform the job, would be a competitive advantage if the company was aiming at efficiency rather than playing games with investors (which is another long story) Have you considered that the companies with diverse executive teams and boards did exactly that? Can you point me to the list of companies where their lack of diversity at the executive and board members level has 'cost them dearly'?

malandrew 6y ago

Not only that, for the time period when this study was done, the most successful businesses will be in cities where there is statistically a more diverse pool to draw from. Is the cause the diversity or is it that cities are generally hyper-competitive places that draw the most competitive people in society and filter out those that can't hack it. Your reason and my reason are just two possibilities of reversed causality. I'm sure there are many others. The conclusion of that study is basically a wet streets cause rain conclusion. One only needs to look at foreign firms like those in China that are crushing it to see that many non-diverse businesses are doing very well. I'm sure those businesses weren't included because it wouldn't support the conclusion the researcher wanted to arrive at.

Avicebron 6y ago
China is a great example, very mono-cultural (relative to the US, I know there is different great diversity in China) and (personal experience) a bit racist or dismissive of Non-Chinese. Yet they absolute crush it with almost everything they do? How do we square that circle and say well..if everyone just looked different we would be better off. Minus the white people, they shouldn't be around anymore.
- lawnchair_larry 6y ago
  Not to mention, anyone with half a brain that they are willing to use should already know that it’s absurd to think that 2 people with a different skin pigment have an advantage over 2 people with the same skin pigment. The willful delusion and mental gymnastics to justify reverse racism are a wonder to behold.
- mullingitover 6y ago
  It's pretty easy to pick this apart. China is actually quite diverse culturally, but communism has long had a focus on equality. They're demonstrating that equality is a competitive advantage.
  - malandrew 6y ago
    I've lived in China and the US and it doesn't even come close to the diversity of thought as the US. That said, they still crush it despite the lack of diversity of thought. With the US diversity of thought also comes the diversity of work ethic. China doesn't have that issue. A lot of the diversity of thought China has typically comes from expatriates that have returned home after meaningful experiences living abroad. This alone demonstrates that genetics is a terrible proxy for diversity of thought. What matters is cognitive diversity and diversity of experience.

mullingitover 6y ago

Seems like you're assuming that having an all-white workforce, absent the political blowback that this would cause, is some kind of competitive advantage? Am I understanding you correctly?

john_moscow 6y ago
I am assuming that having workforce hired purely based on their ability to perform the job, would be a competitive advantage if the company was aiming at efficiency rather than playing games with investors (which is another long story). I am not saying anything about their race and I personally know many competent people from many races and ethnicities. Ironically, by interpreting my statement as an claim that such a policy would lead to an all-white workforce, you yourself just made an assumption that many people would call very racist.
- mullingitover 6y ago
  > I am assuming that having workforce hired purely based on their ability to perform the job, would be a competitive advantage if the company was aiming at efficiency rather than playing games with investors (which is another long story) Have you considered that the companies with diverse executive teams and boards did exactly that? Can you point me to the list of companies where their lack of diversity at the executive and board members level has 'cost them dearly'?