At Issue: Trump’s re-ascendency is giving a renewed permission structure to return back to a time before DEI and ESG programs were put in place. Trump through an executive order has dismantled DEI programs across the US civil service and sent the DEI consultant class packing. No tears shed there. Private industry is looking at this in the wake of a few top companies also dismantling their DEI programs and now the table is set for the force of MAGA to wash over the internal culture of corporate America. Trump’s return creates a permission structure that simply says this: Make American Companies Dictatorships Again.

Once upon a time—not all that long ago—the tech industry birthed a new way of working. It wasn’t some grand social experiment or a utopian dream of equity. It was born of necessity. In the late 1990s, the race to create the next killer app or SaaS product led to something revolutionary: workplaces flattened their hierarchies. The goal was to move faster, foster creativity, and encourage lateral thinking. Bad ideas were not only tolerated; they were encouraged—because bad ideas were stepping stones to better ones.

And what fuels lateral thinking? Bringing together people from different walks of life, with different perspectives and experiences. Diversity wasn’t an HR checkbox—it was the secret sauce to building better products, disrupting markets, and, frankly, winning. This wasn’t charity, and it wasn’t DEI. It was organic, and it worked.

Fast forward to today, and that once-promising structure is collapsing. Hierarchies are reasserting themselves. The backlash against so-called “woke” ideology has given executives an excuse to reclaim their thrones, dismantling anything that smells like collaboration, democracy, or inclusivity. DEI programs, which sought to institutionalize the organic diversity of the early tech industry, became an easy scapegoat. But this story isn’t just about DEI—it’s about power, profit, and a fundamental shift in how executives view their companies and themselves.

The Executive “Id” Unleashed

Let’s face it: companies were never democracies. But in the early days of the tech boom, they were at least pretending to be. Flat management structures were sexy. Collaboration and innovation were the buzzwords that made top talent flock to tech companies and leave the staid, hierarchical dinosaurs of government, finance, manufacturing and oil and gas in the dust.

But this was always a delicate balance. Collaboration challenges authority. And for executives who’ve spent decades cultivating their inner monarchs, DEI became a thorn in their side. It wasn’t just about hiring diverse talent—it was about creating systems where leadership couldn’t simply rule by decree. DEI made leaders uncomfortable because it demanded accountability.

Then came the shift in executive compensation. Stock-based pay packages, low-tax capital gains, and the explosion of stock buybacks have made short-term gains king. Why invest in a collaborative workplace or long-term innovation when you can cash out in five years and board a rocket to Mars? Executives now have every incentive to prioritize immediate profits over sustainable growth, and dismantling DEI is just part of the equation.

As MSNBC business reporter Stephanie Ruhle pointed out on The Bulwark Podcast, there’s a growing sentiment among executives: “I’m done ruling by committee. I’m the boss, and I get to decide.” This is the corporate “id” unleashed—a return to a top-down structure where executives reign supreme and diversity initiatives are seen as distractions rather than assets.

The Consultant Class Didn’t Help

Now, let’s be honest: the DEI consultant class didn’t do itself any favors. What started as a good idea—a way to bring more fairness and innovation into the workplace—was hijacked by PowerPoint warriors who turned it into a cottage industry. In some cases, DEI became less about fostering collaboration and more about ticking boxes. And when you give executives a reason to see something as performative, they’ll dismiss it the first chance they get.

But here’s the irony: the original principles that made workplaces collaborative, diverse, and innovative didn’t come from consultants or mandates. They emerged organically. Companies like those in early Silicon Valley flattened hierarchies not because they had to but because they wanted to. And it worked.

Back to the Future

So here we are, heading backward. The political climate—let’s call it the Trumpian permission structure—has emboldened corporate America to abandon even the pretense of collaboration. Add to that the fundamental changes in how executives are paid, and the result is a perfect storm: companies reverting to pre-Internet, top-down hierarchies where innovation takes a back seat to profit extraction.

The consequences are clear. Without collaboration, lateral thinking, and the diversity that fuels it, companies risk becoming stagnant. They’ll still produce—just not the kind of groundbreaking ideas that drove the tech boom in the first place. Instead, they’ll focus on squeezing every last dime out of their current assets, leaving future growth to someone else.

And as for those executives? Well, they’ve got limited time to make their big play, cash out, and move on—whether that’s to another gig or the next seat on a mission to Mars.

A New Path Forward?

Perhaps the backlash against DEI will pave the way for something better—something more organic and less performative. The best ideas often come not from mandates but from necessity. And as history shows, when companies truly need to innovate, they’ll flatten hierarchies and embrace diversity not because they’re told to but because it works. It’s also unclear as to the state of future workforces with the AI revolution.

The question is, how long will it take for us to get back where we need to be? As long as executives continue to bullshit about long term thinking to their respective boards with the same bullshit you’d hear from a DEI consultant, they just want to get paid sooner rather than later. The incentive structure needs to change.

Source: MSNBC’s Stephanie Rhule talking to Tim Miller of the right leaning podcast Bulwark