The discounting of experience

[Guest guest]

From Barbara Ehrenreich (interviewed by Jennifer Pollock, in " Fast

Company " , October 2002)

 

" There is a profound discounting of experience going on that we're

going to have to reexamine if we're going to keep uo with the rest of

the world. During my research for 'Bait and Switch', I was told again

and again that the basis of hiring is not your skills or experience,

but how likeable you are. The rationale is that you have to be a 'team

player' and conform, in great detail, down to the shape of your lapel

pin. In what kind of team does everyone have to be the same?

 

" There seems to be a growing culture of incompetence where who knows

whom and who likes whom weigh more than getting the job done. This is

the kind of thinking that got us Michael D. Brown heading up FEMA. Even

more perverse is the constant culling out of the high achievers. If you

get a raise, it's like have the bull's-eye painted on your back. You

are just an expense, and a bigger expense, so let's get rid of you.

 

" How will American business face the challenges of the rising economies

of China and India? Those nations are emphasizing skill and a proven

track record. We are not going to survive in a globalized economy if

our business culture is so self-indulgently involved in preserving an

internal comfort level. What did you hire me for? To keep you company

in the office? "