Chief Diversity Officers (CDO) might make corporations superficially diverse, in a purely demographic sense.
But I'd argue that it's not so easy to make a company truly diverse--in the sense that people are friendly (or at least congenial on a professional level), equally respectful of each other, and able to hold and tolerate varying/conflicting perspectives without respectfully, without animosity.
That makes for a truly enjoyable place to work, if you can find a company with such a culture. But it's much more rare than one might hope. It's just not human nature to treat each other that well, in general, by default.
In my (admittedly limited) experience, it takes truly gifted/talented/experienced leaders, and they must cultivate a culture like that from the top down. It just isn't likely to evolve organically, without guidance.
Sad, but true, I think.
Anyway, companies that do succeed in that regard tend to be extraordinarily successful.
I once had a really incredibly great boss. He went to Georgetown, was very sharp and was an exceedingly shrewd business tactician, so that certainly helped. But this company succeeded in a way that seemed so effortless, in comparison with other less pleasant places I've worked.
It was a team effort; we had several developers who were very good at their jobs, so I certainly wouldn't attribute our success to anyone person. But I do really believe the way this guy treated us and motivated us the critical factor.
This is a good point. I live on the East Coast and have never worked for Google, so I hadn't considered how the work environment and their unique company culture might have been significant factors.
There's just not that many (if any) companies here which have taken such a radical approach (I mean this in the most positive sense) to intentionally crafting a company culture so focused on employee satisfaction and retention.
But, I hadn't thought about how those features which seem like extraordinary perks from the outside--like, no-charge gourmet meals on campus, on-site laundry, and a college-environment, might transform the culture in totally unanticipated ways.
Anyway, oddly enough (now that I think about it), the Navy was remarkably similar in their approach: they did provide a "campus" (ship), with no charge ~~gourmet meals~~ chow, on-site laundry, and pretty good security. ;)
But I'd argue that it's not so easy to make a company truly diverse--in the sense that people are friendly (or at least congenial on a professional level), equally respectful of each other, and able to hold and tolerate varying/conflicting perspectives without respectfully, without animosity.
That makes for a truly enjoyable place to work, if you can find a company with such a culture. But it's much more rare than one might hope. It's just not human nature to treat each other that well, in general, by default.
In my (admittedly limited) experience, it takes truly gifted/talented/experienced leaders, and they must cultivate a culture like that from the top down. It just isn't likely to evolve organically, without guidance.
Sad, but true, I think.
Anyway, companies that do succeed in that regard tend to be extraordinarily successful.
I once had a really incredibly great boss. He went to Georgetown, was very sharp and was an exceedingly shrewd business tactician, so that certainly helped. But this company succeeded in a way that seemed so effortless, in comparison with other less pleasant places I've worked.
It was a team effort; we had several developers who were very good at their jobs, so I certainly wouldn't attribute our success to anyone person. But I do really believe the way this guy treated us and motivated us the critical factor.