Innovation and Creativity vs. Compliance

September of 2021 President Biden announced that employees of government contractors would be required to be vaccinated. So many compliant, bureaucratically minded companies are falling into line, including airlines, chicken producers, drug manufacturers, etc from nearly every sector of business since the government contracts nearly every sector of business.

Problem is the government is trapped in its own bureaucratic mire. The Covid mandates are causing economic upheaval, business upheaval, and employee upheaval in ways not expected (or, if expected, then I have an even darker critique). The government preaches values of innovation, contracting nimbleness, and original thought on topics ranging from technical issues to contracting vehicles–while at the same time encouraging and financially rewarding fealty of companies as policy lemmings. The New York Times writes, “Some large employers have already decided on their own to impose vaccine mandates on their workforces, including 3M, Procter & Gamble, IBM, Tyson Foods and the airlines American, Alaska, JetBlue and United.”

The people who think creatively and independently are not the same ones that mumble “okay” and stand in line for the next mandate. Which are our companies retaining? Where are the creative and independent minds going? It will be interesting to see how employees vote with their feet over the next 5 years. I wonder if there is stock-holder value in these issues that will eventually bubble up to affect recruiting efforts for companies.

While the US Courts and the Executive branch argue about unilateral medical mandates on large swaths of the public, other nations and interests press ahead with actual innovation and technical prowess. Our National Legislature, designated to make actual laws, remains tongue-tied in bipolar political debates of spending $1,500,000,000,000.00 or $3,000,000,000,000.00.  What a mess.

A question distilled in my mind. Do we want innovation and original thinking? Or do we want fealty and allegiance to Executive Administration?