It was ‘war to the east, war to the west,
War to my right, and war to my left.’
What I came to understand is that the nation’s response to MLK’s 1963 ‘March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom’ was, “You can’t have both.” People have ancestors, and so do corporations. Their ancestral roots run deeper and farther back than the invention of race in the 1400s. The most powerful lesson we can learn inside corporate life is that any brotherhood based on race you may have had when you woke up most likely vanishes before the morning coffee and donut. Unless you have the same mother, corporate life will neutralize it. “I admire your courage” are the words you’re most likely to hear just before “and it was an honor working with you.” There are good people who work hard to do what’s right, and I was privileged to have known and worked with some of them, and got vital help from a few. But walking into corporate life isn’t for the faint of heart, nor for the naively trusting soul. A true brother will be there for you in the hardest of times. (Prov. 17:17) But chances are your brother will be waiting for you outside rather than inside the office. The more young people who we help to understand that cold hard reality, the farther they’ll get successfully in their careers. We don’t have to give up our own humanity to survive in corporate life. But neither do we need to handicap ourselves with the expectation that others won’t.