Category: Corporate Wokism

Executive Advice

Corporate Wokism, Men & Women

I had to laugh at the news that the WNBA is going to need “weeks and months” to decide (in essence) the definition of a “woman”, which will decide once and for all (or probably not, see below) who qualifies to play in their stupid little league.

Here’s the problem.  Women are by nature accommodationist.  They seek to make decisions based on consensus, something that takes all viewpoints and attitudes into account, and finally arrive at such decisions with the implicit (and sometimes explicit) understanding that the decisions may be altered at some point — even when the decision may be critical and a matter of foundation principle, as is the case here.

In this case, that approach is not only wrong, but completely wrong.

At the risk of sounding all mansplainy, allow me to offer some advice to the WNBA chicks.

  1. Whenever an executive decision is made, somebody’s going to get upset about it.
  2. The key to making the best decision is to decide whether that aggrieved person (or group) represents a significant obstacle or even threat to the future of your organization.
  3. If you are convinced that your decision is the right one for both the short-term and long-term viability of your organization, and that the opposition’s position isn’t, make sure you set up guardrails to ensure the decision’s permanency.

That’s the 200,000-ft perspective.  Here’s the nitty gritty:

Decide that the definition of a woman is someone identified as such on their birth certificate.  Period, end of statement, end of discussion.

Yes, I know there is a percentage of the population who were born female but turned out to be male, either by physiology or inclination — and vice versa.  And yes, I know that it’s a tragic circumstance for them.

Here’s what I also know:  decisions have to be made — especially in a corporate environment — that benefit both the organization and a significant majority of their employees.

Let me mansplain that further.

Allowing biological men to play in the WNBA will do two things, both fatal to the organization and to the game.

Whether you like it or not, a huge percentage of your already-tiny audience is going to react negatively to the spectacle of “cocks in frocks” taking over the game and rendering the contest meaningless.  With the disappearance of spectators — live or on TV — this is going to mean reduced interest from your advertisers, and a concomitant loss of revenue for your already-cash-poor organization.  That’s the corporate outcome.

As far as the sport is concerned, that dominance is going to subtract the entire essence of sport — of equals competing against each other.  Thus, adding the aforesaid cocks in frocks is just going to end up with teams recruiting more and more of them, which is going to harm your (actual) female performers both physically and in terms of their competitiveness.

Yes, that means that the gender-confused will be forever denied a chance to play in your competition.  It’s sad, but in real life, tiny minorities often get the short end of the stick.  It’s just the way of the world, and has been so forever.  All the good intentions aren’t going to change that, and most probably, such intentions are going to be very counterproductive to your corporate wellbeing.

So, if I may be permitted to use a very masculine term, the WNBA has to bite the bullet, and make the above — and correct — decision.

They won’t.  And the WNBA will begin its slide into oblivion.

You read it here first.

So Long, Faerie

Corporate Wokism, Drive Time

It’s probably too late, of course, but I see that Jaguar Land Rover (JLR, to use their stupid non-brand acronym) has finally decided to can the woke twerp who turned Jag into… well, nothing.

Just the “relaunch” ad’s smug payoff line was enough to set my teeth on edge:

“We’re here to delete ordinary. To go bold. To copy nothing.”

I hate to tell them this but if Jaguar was anything, it wasn’t “ordinary”.  And frankly, if anything was worth copying, it was Jaguar’s heritage of wonderful, sleek and bold designs.

I’d post pics of the suggested modern replacement for the above (as envisaged by the now-departed Gerry McGovern), but I don’t want to ruin anyone’s appetite.

I just wonder what Jag is going to do now?

Update:  OMFG

From Comfortable Heritage To Modern Banal

Corporate Wokism, Marketing / Advertising

We’ve all seen how modernist logo design has turned the proud familiar into simplistic trash:

…and of the recent Cracker Barrel rebrand we will not speak, as they’ve been forced into a U-turn.

Now if one thinks of modernistic Philistines and Wokery Gone Mad in the civic sense, it’s hard to imagine a better example than that “blueberry in a bowl of tomato soup”, Austin TX.  Who have “progressed” from a traditional city seal to… well, a 1970s-era representation of a homeless person’s tent shelter:

Bloody hell.  It’s an encapsulation of everything that’s wrong with the Left:  ahistorical, simplistic and ugly.

Electric U-Turn

Corporate Wokism, Drive Time

Someone else sees the light:

Audi has become the latest auto manufacturer to perform a dramatic U-turn on its electric vehicle commitments, writing off its promised to stop developing internal combustion engines (ICE) in 2033.

Instead, the Bavarian-based marque will continue to make both ICE cars and plug-in hybrids into the next decade, as part of a ‘completely new’ fuel-powered line-up.

CEO Gernot Döllner confirmed the brand’s revised plans, explaining that ‘flexibility’ is the new direction Audi will take so it can see how ‘markets develop’.

The German car giant had originally planned to build its last ICE-only car next year with the new-generation Q7. However, it suggested earlier this year that petrol and diesel models could run for longer.

Stupid assholes thought they could buy credibility with the wokerati Greens by putting a deadline on the eeeevil fuel-powered engines, despite all the writing on the wall indicating that EVs are not popular in the mass market, that there are serious concerns about the “green-ness” of the EV when the total energy cost of their manufacture is taken into account and not just their eco-friendliness on the road.

And speaking of “on the road”, there’s always this little EV problem:


…and the fact that the EV fires are almost inextinguishable (and can re-ignite even after they are extinguished), and give off toxic smoke.

Yeah… I can’t imagine why a company might want to rethink their position, either.

The fact of the matter is that the auto companies should never have drawn that line in the sand in the first place.

In the meantime, here are a few pics to make us all feel better about this.

There;  I told you it would make you feel better.

Return To Common Sense?

Corporate Wokism

Reader Mike L. sent me this article about Walmart:

On Monday Walmart confirmed that it’s ending some of its diversity initiatives, removing some LGBTQ-related merchandise from its website and winding down a nonprofit that funded programs for minorities.

The nation’s largest employer, which has about 1.6 million U.S. workers, joined a growing list of companies that have stepped back from diversity, equity and inclusion efforts after feeling the heat from conservative activists.

Some have also attributed changes to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last year that struck down affirmative action programs at colleges.

Those companies include Tractor Supply, which said in June it was eliminating DEI roles and stopping sponsorship of Pride festivals. Lowe’s, Ford and Molson Coors have also walked back some of their equity and inclusion policies in recent months.

Others, such as Anheuser-Busch-owned Bud Light and Target, have faced sharp backlash and falling sales after marketing campaigns or merchandise focused on the LGBTQ community.

In a statement, Walmart said it is “willing to change alongside our associates and customers who represent all of America.”

…followed by the usual weasel corporate-speak about “being a Walmart for everyone”  blah blah blah.

One would like to think that such a rethink involved realizing that at its heart, the whole “Diversity/Equity/Inclusion” initiative was anything but a vehicle for racial- and sexual inequality, but the reality is that the policy reversal was caused by the economic consequences of customer backlash and revulsion.  (Jaguar, of course, has responded to such a reaction to its latest marketing campaign by calling its customers and the public in general hateful and intolerant — we’ll see what happens, but pretty much any fule can predict disaster… for Jaguar.)

And yes, the political ethos has changed as well:

All of a sudden (the Socialists think), what was okay is now somehow not okay.  In the past, we made jokes about it:

…and all of a sudden, they think, it’s not okay.

Except that it’s not “all of a sudden”.  Most of us have never thought all this woke nonsense was “okay”, but then something happened:

And to paraphrase Forrest Gump:  “…and just like that, everything changed.”

Of course, those in the path of this new change are worried and are calling for “moderation” and “bipartisanship”, except:

So:

The change is not just going to come with the destruction of the Deep State (a political institution), but also in the Woke Mindset (a cultural one).

It’s been a long (too long a) time coming, but it’s about time now.

Update On Big Auto’s Duracell Drive

Corporate Fuckery, Corporate Wokism, Drive Time

Following on from yesterday’s post on VW, Mercedes and Stellantis (the bastards), there’s this:

Car makers slash EV prices, suspend production and extend petrol model availability as electric demand wanes

The global downturn in sales of EVs has been triggered by a cocktail of diverging policies on green incentives, range and charge anxiety among drivers and the fact prices haven’t come down as much as experts had forecast.

As such, 2024 has been awash with a wave of U-turns by legacy car firms in response to a lower-than-expected appetite for electric vehicles.

‘Appetite for EVs among consumers is quickly diminishing. There are many factors contributing to this, including the lack of clarity around incentives, high prices and concerns around the low residual value of EVs.’

Yeah, not to mention the paucity of charging points when your Duracell phuts out, the cost of replacing said Duracell when it becomes as worn out as Madonna’s box at a P Diddy White Party, and those pesky spontaneous combustion episodes — to name but some “consumer concerns”.

Looks like corporate obeisance to the great Global Cooling Climate Warming Change© is losing its luster, especially when that pesky cold hard cash is involved.  (Also see:  Germany restarting coal-fired electricity generating plants.)

This is especially rich:

‘The new pricing structure on Corsa Electric and Astra Electric is the latest in a number of measures we have taken to democratise access to electric vehicles.’\

“Democratize access”, my aching African-American white ass.  That’s just a fancy term for “getting rid of unwanted stock”.

But when it comes to weaselly corporate-speak, it’s hard to top this:

Volvo Cars chief executive Jim Rowan said: ‘We are resolute in our belief that our future is electric. An electric car provides a superior driving experience [nazzo fast, Guido] and increases possibilities for using advanced technologies that improve the overall customer experience [like having their every move tracked and sent to insurance companies and ad agencies].

‘However, it is clear that the transition to electrification will not be linear [ya think?], and customers and markets are moving at different speeds of adoption [or not moving at all, see above].

‘We are pragmatic and flexible [except of course when we try to coerce people into buying our Duracell cars by eliminating the ICE option completely], while retaining an industry-leading position on electrification and sustainability.’ [and I hope you’re the first to go out of business, Mr. Leader]

Wait… what’s this I’m experiencing?

Oh, and one more thing, speaking of Duracell cars:

…not that any of my Readers would be affected, of course, being Sensible Chaps.