Muslim ban

Trump’s Stand on Immigration Jeopardizes the Labor Market

Donald Trump’s recent decision on immigration, besides being a human rights nightmare, makes one thing very clear—he understands very little about attracting and retaining talent.  In this article by Jeffrey Sparshott in the Wall Street Journal, the author discusses how small businesses are spending more money than ever to find and train skilled workers. One of the ways we fill this need is attracting talent from overseas to fill highly skilled labor needs, which is why Trump’s cruel ban on Muslim immigration jeopardizes the U.S. economy. Forbes points out the very real brain drain caused by this policy and Scientific American reports that thousands of physicians and medical students banned by this executive order and may leave hospitals without staffs. Affected technologists and scientists could easily go to Canada, Europe—or even China—instead; top talent is in high demand. As I discuss in my new book, From Bully to Bull’s-Eye: Move Your Organization Out of the Line of Fire, the need to attract and retain talent should be one of the driving factors in creating psychologically healthy, safe and fair workplaces. Trump’s policies do the exact opposite.  

Credit: CNN

CEO as Revolutionist: Starbuck's Howard Schultz

This week’s Revolutionist of the Week is Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. Schultz has gone above and beyond to protect his employees in the wake of the current executive order to ban Muslims and decisions against the Affordable Care Act by the Trump administration.

Schultz declared that Starbucks will hire 10,000 refugees in 75 countries, beginning in the United States with individuals who served with U.S. troops as interpreters and support personnel. He also said that any Starbucks employee who loses their ACA medical coverage will be able to return to health insurance through Starbucks. I applaud Schultz for leading a company that is not just a psychologically healthy, safe and fair workplace with a stable culture, but one that is accountable to its employees as well as customers and the community at large.

Speaking of accountability, Dallas accountability expert Greg Bustin is holding his annual “Best & Worst in Accountability Survey” based on events that occurred throughout the year. It’s your chance to vote for the companies that did the right thing in 2016—and those that did not. Highlighting leaders and businesses that did the best and the worst helps keep them accountable. 

Credit: Getty Images/Bloomberg