George, thank you for this article. Having worked at several design firms I've always admired IDEO's work and philosophy. I did not realize that IDEO was that large a company; for some reason I still had in my head that they were a medium-sized scrappy, start-up kind of firm. I guess their branding really works!

Several of your stories affecting people of color are sad and disturbing, but many of your other stories is on par with other large firms. When hierarchy builds and the work becomes more lucrative, most firms inevitably attract more ambitious, even machiavellian employees and bosses.

I think the ultimate issue with IDEO is that the exploratory nature of the work and the open-mindedness towards design problems, when combined with a cult of positivity ultimately does a huge disservice and becomes a form of gaslighting.

It's astounding to me for any business to say outright that "IDEO is not a political place."

People are political animals full stop. Pretending this does not exist makes it that much more difficult to call out someone when they are acting in a self-serving manner, it discourages people who do good work from self-promotion and standing up for their ideas, which is a necessary evil in large corporate environments. It also lets superiors off the hook - not acknowledging the political forces means that they can be less forthcoming about the opportunities (or lack thereof) for promotion.

For example, you should have been flat out told, or felt comfortable asking: how does not taking the remote position affect my career path?

IDEO and "progressive" firms clearly do not want to structure themselves around a partner track like the old school law and consulting firms. That's fair, but the passive aggressive, gray zone work environment has its own set of problems.