Opposition to what Trump calls woke policies has been a major messaging platform for the President who says he wants to dismantle such policies. At the same time, his cabinet is fairly diverse, maybe not as diverse as President Biden, but it includes men, women, minorities, immigrants and gays.
Trump would argue such diversity is good for decision making. I have to agree. Group think is an enormous problem in all organizations. You can’t make good decisions if everybody in the room is all coming from the same background. Robert McManara in very early 1960s was concerned about such problems in the Defense Department, and it remains a lingering concern in many people’s minds.
Trump would argue though that D. E. I. has gone well beyond that. He would say that the ideal of including all in decision making and hiring, leads to an over emphasis in considering diverse backgrounds over actual competence in the job. I am not sure that is true, if anything existing biases most likely to less qualified people with less diversity finding positions in organizations.
It is a lot harder then one would think to recruit skilled people of diversity. Unfortunately, incumbent players – and familiar faces have such a leg up in recruiting – you are missing out in a whole pool of talent people who never apply for a job or get interviewed because they’re out of the normal circle of people knowing about your position. Group think is too often reinforced in organizations because diverse people are not at the table.
That said, while diversity is important, also is institutional knowledge and group cohesion through shared experience. It is often a bad thing to hire people from outside and organization to lead it, unless you are in a need of radically shaking up an organization and taking it wherever the changes bring you, regardless of the pain endured.
There is a strong case in many ways to promoting within, but also that is caveat that it makes it all the more important to seek diverse individuals in entry-level positions whenever possible to maximize the strength of organization as they grow to be leaders with diverse experiences while also understanding the strength of the institution.
Just imagine getting up every morning an hour or maybe two before sunrise, and being off to work in the dark. On the other hand, it might be good from an energy conservation perspective.
Week
Sunrise
Sunset
Week
Sunrise
Sunset
January 1
8:25 am
5:32 pm
July 2
5:21 am
8:36 pm
January 8
8:24 am
5:39 pm
July 9
5:26 am
8:34 pm
January 15
8:22 am
5:47 pm
July 16
5:32 am
8:30 pm
January 22
8:17 am
5:55 pm
July 23
5:38 am
8:24 pm
January 29
8:11 am
6:04 pm
July 30
5:45 am
8:17 pm
February 5
8:04 am
6:14 pm
August 6
5:52 am
8:09 pm
February 12
7:55 am
6:23 pm
August 13
6:00 am
7:59 pm
February 19
7:45 am
6:32 pm
August 20
6:07 am
7:49 pm
February 26
7:34 am
6:41 pm
August 27
6:15 am
7:37 pm
March 5
7:23 am
6:49 pm
September 3
6:22 am
7:26 pm
March 12
7:11 am
6:58 pm
September 10
6:30 am
7:13 pm
March 19
6:59 am
7:06 pm
September 17
6:37 am
7:01 pm
March 26
6:46 am
7:14 pm
September 24
6:45 am
6:48 pm
April 2
6:34 am
7:22 pm
October 1
6:52 am
6:36 pm
April 9
6:22 am
7:30 pm
October 8
7:00 am
6:24 pm
April 16
6:11 am
7:38 pm
October 15
7:08 am
6:12 pm
April 23
6:00 am
7:46 pm
October 22
7:17 am
6:01 pm
April 30
5:50 am
7:54 pm
October 29
7:25 am
5:51 pm
May 7
5:41 am
8:02 pm
November 5
7:34 am
5:42 pm
May 14
5:33 am
8:09 pm
November 12
7:43 am
5:35 pm
May 21
5:26 am
8:16 pm
November 19
7:52 am
5:29 pm
May 28
5:21 am
8:23 pm
November 26
8:00 am
5:24 pm
June 4
5:18 am
8:28 pm
December 3
8:08 am
5:22 pm
June 11
5:16 am
8:33 pm
December 10
8:14 am
5:21 pm
June 18
5:16 am
8:35 pm
December 17
8:19 am
5:23 pm
June 25
5:18 am
8:37 pm
December 24
8:23 am
5:26 pm
December 31
8:25 am
5:31 pm
Winter mornings would be even darker if you get farther north and west in every Time Zone, such as Grand Rapids Michigan, which also is in the Eastern Time zone.
As they say, good information is expensive even though today with the internet it’s incredibly inexpensive to distribute. Creating information either through research or experience and writing it down is what is expensive. When you can get information for free you should readily embrace it. Even though most free information is paid through either it being propaganda or advertising, it’s still worthwhile to consider. Just because information is trying to sell you something doesn’t mean you should resist learning more about it.
But I often find myself turning away from information that I find uncomfortable and either challenges my values or beliefs. Somehow I’m afraid to confront truth or that I will be forever changed after listening to new information. Yet, I’m aware that simply listening to information won’t automatically change your outlook on the world. But it sometimes seems very painful to have my views challenged.
As a single guy, I am no fan of Valentines’ Day. We are now seven weeks into winter, often with a gray haze and clouds all around. It’s cold, I’m stuck inside in my small little apartment that is rarely warm in part because I don’t like paying for the heat, and in part because it’s drafty and falling apart. Despite the foam I put around the door, one of the days it’s going to completely fall apart again. The vinyl windows have lost their seal, and the walls don’t line up with the foundation, allowing air to leak in freely on this blustery morning.
I got the news that I am likely losing my home 16 years this week, with the landlord selling the building. A place I’ve gotten to know so well, with many in-perfections but also the niceties of living somewhere that is walk-able and bikable, with good public transportation. I have to start the home search, be it an another apartment or buying a house. But I don’t want to move or give up on the life I’ve come to love — biking to work, walking down to the library, weekends in the wilderness.
My heart is so broken to be losing my apartment in the coming months. But it’s also tough to be so alone, in what often seems like the bleakest days of winter, before the dawn of spring. The nights are getting shorter, but not by much, and the mercury slightly warmer. Things will get better soon, but it’s so bleak right now. I have much to look forward to after this period of darkness.
