Lessons for DEI from a statue crumbling in the desert
Remember Ozymandias? That haunting image of a fallen statue in the desert, a testament to the fleeting nature of power? Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote Ozymandias in 1817, inspired by the fragment of a statue of the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II (known in Greek as Ozymandias) that the British Museum had recently acquired. I read the poem in college. I never forgot the vivid description of a once-mighty ruler's monument to a vanished empire and its arrogant inscription, “Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!”
Recently, however, when I re-read the poem in the prologue to Jared Diamond's Collapse, I saw something completely different. Diamond, my favorite polymath, explores how societies throughout history have collapsed because of environmental degradation, climate change, and societal inequality. Sound familiar? The book was published in 2004, but it feels more relevant now than ever.
In this moment, the "sneer of cold command" Shelley describes is everywhere. I see it in the faces of those clinging to historical power structures, trying to erase histories of a reality they pretend doesn’t exist. I hear it in the voices of those working to undo progress by undermining language and reversing law. Fighting to keep and grow that power, no matter the cost to people or planet until “nothing beside remains.”
But power is ephemeral, and change is inevitable. Smart leaders understand diversity isn’t a problem to solve; diversity solves problems. Smart leaders understand inclusion isn’t feeling valued; it’s being enabled to deliver value. And smart leaders know equity isn’t fair people; it’s fair systems. Smart leaders are building sustainable organizations that will thrive in the increasingly diverse workplace of an increasingly global world. Because here’s what they know: Diversity is destiny.
And those leaders cowering before the sneering of those who command today? Well, they may not have any works for the future’s mighty to look on, much less despair. Just ask Ozzy.