Feeling ownership doesn't have to mean managers can't contribute at all, that's absurd.
Creative labor is unqiue - Depending on the employee, I know I have X changes I can suggest/propose per project before they start to get annoyed with me, for some it's more than others. Unsurprisingly when its promo time the guys who are easier to work with get brought up (even if the difficult divas work is marginally better) The big thing is trust and respect - earning that early on is key and once you do things are much easier going forward.
you're spot on here, have some relevant experience, I tried to stay above board and not 'cheat' but quickly changed my tune as our competitors started eating us. Don't think the FTC knows how deep this rabbit hole goes. It's play dirty or die 100%.
In a similar boat but at the same time I haven't pulled my VIVE out in almost a week now - when I think about why it's because 1) the hassle of getting the headset on comfortably 2) lack of new and interesting software/games to try. Will come with time, comfortable lightweight HMD + good telepresence apps will be the breaking point for this tech imo
historically the best players have been on the shorter side. Maradona was 5'5'', Pele 5'8''. One of the greatest parts of soccer is that it doesn't immediately disqualify 70%+ of the potential talent pool based on the importance of a single attribute, like height in basketball.
This topic is something that I feel strongly about as a minority that has worked in tech/new media.
I don’t think any reasonable people at this point would disagree that affirmative action/hiring for the sake of racial quotas is the equivalent of passing up qualified candidates based on race. That is to say it’s a destructive practice that creates resentment and unnecessary racial tension.
The main problem with this line of thinking is that it ignores the tremendous societal forces in place that lead to a predominantly white executive work force instead focusing only on the outcome and attempting to change that with affirmative action and minority hires for the sake of diversity. This is so narrow minded and results-oriented that I have a hard time believing intelligent people signed off on it and it was actually legally mandated at one point.
What we should be doing is examining the processes and infrastructure that leads to a predominantly white male executive workforce to determine where discrimination occurs and attempt to curb it there. This discussion is not the one we’re having, instead focusing on sensationalist headlines and click-bait articles that do more harm than good to racial relations in America. Top that off with clowns like Jesse Jackson who just the other day showed up at the facebook shareholders meeting "advocating for hiring more minorities at technology companies, especially into board seats." and you get the sad state of affairs we find ourselves in today.
Louis CK tells a joke in which the general idea is “You know you really trust someone when you reveal to them your inner most racist thoughts”. It’s funny because it’s true, but the prevailing air of secrecy and shame about ones prejudices is a big part of what's preventing us from having honest dialogue about race in this country.
Just the other week Mark Cuban was lambasted by a desperate journalist/blogger who took quotes out of context and misrepresented his remarks to paint him as racist. With an atmosphere like that it’s no wonder white people are afraid to discuss race relations. It's the same reason this thread is full of people getting defensive about "Google isn't racist!"
Now I'm going to lose a lot of you on this next part, but based ONLY on my subjective experiences in the corporate workforce whenever we had new hires, the white males always seemed to be treated as "potential leadership material" not based on merit but simply because they looked the part. Being tall and easy on the eyes helps too. Meanwhile minority hires, even in the same position as their white male counterparts were seen as foot soldiers and worker bees. This perception was prevalent in the last 2 companies I've worked for. Take from that what you will, that's been my experience.
I don't think anyone can realistically argue that physical appearances do not modify how others will judge or interact with you.
Going out a bit on a whim here, but if we accept that a) beauty has a substantial subjective element b) standards of beauty are modifiable/learned c) that people can derive an advantage through their status of being beautiful (ie, that all things being equal, in a choice between two identical candidates except that one is judged more beautiful than the other, that the more beautiful one will tend to be favored) and d) that North American and European norms of beauty are still rooted deeply in being white (which is fairly reasonable, and not their fault), then you can see where problems kick in.
It's honestly really shitty. I could rant on about your example re: looking the part of leadership material. But I won't cause... it'll be rambling and awkward. Suffice to say that we're in this really awkward in between phase, trapped between a history of clear white majority, and a future of clear heterogenerality - and worse, it's a transition taking place unevenly in nearly every respect.
>'Just the other week Mark Cuban was lambasted by a desperate journalist/blogger who took quotes out of context and misrepresented his remarks to paint him as racist.'
That was incredibly frustrating to me as I thought Cuban's message there was spot-on. Basically, that we all have prejudices and predilections, but actions in response to and awareness of them are key.
Most of that probably would have been lost anyway, but making the horrible choice to say 'hoodie' ensured it would become a nonsensical circus.
Anyway, you're absolutely right that the conversation has to change. Unfortunately, we're locked in a sort of cold war of escalation without compromise in multiple directions that leaves reasonable people at a zero-point in the center which often feels like it's standing still.
Apparently this guy had a brain tumor and this wasn't the first time he's publicly embarrassed the company. He tweeted from the RapGenius account "WARREN BUFFETT CAN SUCK MY DICK".
Behavior like that is not acceptable for someone in a position of authority at a company no matter what the context. (It's not clear what Moghadam's specific role at Rap Genius was, but he did have a seat on the board of directors)
It's the same reason that we shouldn't let blind people fly commercial airliners. Flying requires vision. Running a company requires good judgement.
"I seemed alien to them somehow, with a weird background that was just too different from their own… so they didn’t know what to make of me on a purely emotional level."
Not saying this was the case here, but I feel like this effect, even if it occurs subliminally, plays such a staggering role in business relationships and decisions that it can be discouraging for anyone outside of the "main" group. Aaron Swartz talked about this in some of his blog posts but it wasn't until I was thrown into the corporate workforce that I saw it for myself first hand.
I don't think it's a conscious malicious effort to keep minorities/non-americans out of executive positions, just a consequence of the reality that people are more comfortable dealing with others that share a similar cultural background. This becomes doubly true when dealing with extremely high value contract negotiations and business decisions - you want to know exactly where the other person is mentally and emotionally - and that's much easier to decipher if you share a culture/race with that person.
Creative labor is unqiue - Depending on the employee, I know I have X changes I can suggest/propose per project before they start to get annoyed with me, for some it's more than others. Unsurprisingly when its promo time the guys who are easier to work with get brought up (even if the difficult divas work is marginally better) The big thing is trust and respect - earning that early on is key and once you do things are much easier going forward.