What now?

Shhh, listen. Do you hear it? That’s the sound of 400-year old chickens coming home to roost.

And I don’t know about you, but when I saw corporate goliaths like Amazon, Apple and Uber posting heartfelt-sounding messages about dismantling systemic racism I had mixed emotions. My first reaction was ‘wow, this is kind of inspiring.’ My second reaction was a queasy feeling that maybe these corporate statements were the tip of the lip service iceberg. Time will tell.

Dismantling racism is going to be the mother of all marathons. The test of whether you’re in the fight, I suspect, is gonna be what comes after the promises to fight for change. Coach and consultant Shirley McAlpine has posted an impressive guide to all of us who want to walk our talk. She offers 14 questions organizational leaders should be asking themselves today. As a starting point.

I don’t feel comfortable editing her list or posting only part of it, so I ask you to go read it for yourself. It’s not going to be easy. But if we’re serious, this is a useful and important next step.

As McAlpine says, “People are watching, and the promises for change have been heard before.”

Alia eloquently laid out our starting point as a company. Like you and your words, living up to them is our challenge.