> "Further establishing a welcoming and diverse work environment encouraging synergy and collaboration by committing to a common set of strategic goals."
That certainly is buzzword soup. But I don't think its fully incoherent or bullshit. It essentially says:
Lets continue becoming more diverse. Because doing that will help us work together better and more. We will do this by all agreeing on what our goals are and agreeing that we will follow them.
The core concept is not that bullshitty. Though how exactly agreement on the goals leads to more diversity isn't quite clear. If the workshop were to be about figuring out if / how agreement on goals leads to more diversity in your specific company, then your buzzword soup happened to deliver an accidentally useful discussion.
Problem is that diverse doesn't really say anything, it is just a positive word. Diversity is often a bad thing, you don't want to have to build a diverse set of services for one functionality etc. Diversifying your income streams is good, but also not good since it dilutes efforts, you know there is also the "focus on your core business" mantra that goes the exact opposite.
Edit: For example, can you explain what "diverse work environment" means? Do they have no desk standards so that desks don't fit neatly together? Do they lack AC so that you get a diverse temperature over the year? Inclusive work environment would have said more, but diverse? Whatever positive meaning you attribute to it comes from your own imagination, that is the main selling point of these slogans. You don't promise anything but people still feel you said something good.
It does mean the word means totally different things to different people. That may make it a good or bad word to use in a mission statement, depending on your goals.
> Because doing that will help us work together better and more
Not my experience at all. The more diverse, the harder it is to communicate, share values, and achieve goals. We are all products of our cultures. And some cultures are fundamentally incompatible.
Also, it is impossible for everybody to agree on the same goals. Without some sort of social/hidden pressure to comply with the dominant opinions, clearly signalled by who gets promoted/fired by the company.
You might disagree with the premise. But the statement is meaningful, interpretable, and testable. I don't think that qualifies as "bullshitting" because there is clarity.
I could imagine the content of workshop involving bullshitting. (Regardless of whether diversity is positive) but I don't think the title counts as bullshit.
As for me having a blindspot, I hope you see I wasn't arguing about diversity at all.
But it is bullshit - it just says, "let us do the things that work well, and not do the things that do not work well". It's not wrong, but it doesn't need to be said, either. Of course he was trying to be ridiculous, but it sounds like every other corporate mission statement.
It actually is pretty "bullshitty". Diversity is just cultural zeitgeist that companies parrot to please demographics they want to hire. It's the definition of Mammon.
> Lets continue becoming more diverse. Because doing that will help us work together better and more.
This is a tautology.
I suspect you have a blindspot here, because this specific brand of bullshit is there to please people with your belief system. To others, it's as much bullshit as a company prayer, or talk of how a SAAS startup is "changing the world", would be.
That is not a tautology at all. It is closer to a contradiction.
My point wasn't that I agree with the statement. My point is that the statement has clarity, and that it actually communicates an idea.
The very fact that the statement could be falsified means to me that it is not bullshit as meant in the article. That is not to say the statement is true!
> That is not a tautology at all. It is closer to a contradiction.
I actually meant a non sequitur, but can't edit at this point.
> My point wasn't that I agree with the statement. My point is that the statement has clarity, and that it actually communicates an idea.
> The very fact that the statement could be falsified means to me that it is not bullshit as meant in the article. That is not to say the statement is true!
Yes, this is fair. I misunderstood the point you were trying to make. My apology!
That certainly is buzzword soup. But I don't think its fully incoherent or bullshit. It essentially says:
Lets continue becoming more diverse. Because doing that will help us work together better and more. We will do this by all agreeing on what our goals are and agreeing that we will follow them.
The core concept is not that bullshitty. Though how exactly agreement on the goals leads to more diversity isn't quite clear. If the workshop were to be about figuring out if / how agreement on goals leads to more diversity in your specific company, then your buzzword soup happened to deliver an accidentally useful discussion.