Nice one - and couldn't agree more that organisations, and all of society, benefits from maximal diversity (even sociopaths have a valuable role, as long as they stay within the law). How would you propose that companies achieve the personality-based forms of diversity when hiring? And how to balance the need for maximal diversity with fairness and the top candidate getting the job?
Ian's list of diversity targets makes more sense than the one currently imposed on companies. But the whole topic is entirely driven by vibes. I think for a young small start-up, what is most important is that founders have a set of mutually complementary qualities, but also that they like working together and share significant parts of their world view. This will be true in any domain where you are working on a project with a group of people. This is how our culture created Google, Tesla, Radar, indeed the atom Bomb.
Today's column is revelatory in its perceptiveness as it brilliantly breaks down the qualities that animate any aggregation of human beings. As someone who prides himself on running a newsroom with a strict "no assholes" policy, I still had to recognize the need for "agreeableness diversity." I want reporters who are willing to hector public officials and corporate executives without doing the same to their colleagues. I'm for all seven flavors of diversity, as long as they're mixed (when it comes to colleagues) with ample quantities of respect, patience and kindness.
Nice one - and couldn't agree more that organisations, and all of society, benefits from maximal diversity (even sociopaths have a valuable role, as long as they stay within the law). How would you propose that companies achieve the personality-based forms of diversity when hiring? And how to balance the need for maximal diversity with fairness and the top candidate getting the job?
Ian's list of diversity targets makes more sense than the one currently imposed on companies. But the whole topic is entirely driven by vibes. I think for a young small start-up, what is most important is that founders have a set of mutually complementary qualities, but also that they like working together and share significant parts of their world view. This will be true in any domain where you are working on a project with a group of people. This is how our culture created Google, Tesla, Radar, indeed the atom Bomb.
And one needs to be varying degrees of diverse within oneself.
Thanks for the Dropout recommendation. We're totally hooked!
Excellent!
Today's column is revelatory in its perceptiveness as it brilliantly breaks down the qualities that animate any aggregation of human beings. As someone who prides himself on running a newsroom with a strict "no assholes" policy, I still had to recognize the need for "agreeableness diversity." I want reporters who are willing to hector public officials and corporate executives without doing the same to their colleagues. I'm for all seven flavors of diversity, as long as they're mixed (when it comes to colleagues) with ample quantities of respect, patience and kindness.
Bill Nighy choosing Neal Stephenson’s books made me love him even more.
I now have a legitimate rationale for being more disagreeable at work. Thank you!