But Not For Me

There was a help wanted  ad in the Globe last sunday for the CIA.  Clandestine Services.  The job that demanded "superior intellect, ingenuity and courage, facing complex, unstructured circumstances..."   That sounded a lot like my kind of work.   It was interesting until I ran into the qualifications which included, "Maximum age for entry into the service is 35."
Then paradoxically,  "We are an equal opportunity employer..."

Hel-lo Government!   "Equal Opportunity" means no discrimination on issues, such as age!
Besides, what is wrong with geezer spies?  Do they talk too much?  Do they forget their secret codes? Do they nodd-off on stake-outs if the last later than 9:30pm?
  
So, I had two responses to the ad.  One, they don't even understand the definition of EO.  Two, the reason we are in such a mess today is that they are a closed shop.  They get young people into the organization and brainwash them to do things "our way."  By the time they get to be 45 or 50 any creativity, sense of persepctive and autonomy has been breeded out.
 
According to my research, this is precisely the age group when most anarchists, white collar criminals and terrorists are in their prime.   Thus CIA operatives are pitifully outmatched by their non-bureacratic, high risk peers in the enemy camps.   

In the mouldy old days, big companies like IBM, NCR, Proctor and Gambel did not hire people from outside the culture.  They got people right out of college, fed them the party line and molded them to the culture.  When anyone got promoted to a senior staff position, they already had a lifetime career with the company and fully understood the culture, ie,
Good old boys get promoted and renegades get the boot.  

But around 15 years ago, things started to change in corporate America.  Renegades from IBM and NCR spun off their own companies or joined start-ups.  Big corporations and their awkward command and control structures were like huge tankers on the ocean - very hard to turn quickly.  The companies with non-bureacratic structures proved to be very adaptable.  These new adaptable cultures began to eat the lunch of the big unwieldy firms.  For example consider how upstart Microsoft stole the PC operating business from IBM.  And how Apple took Xerox discoveries and made many people rich by productizing those ideas.

Pretty soon the old line companies started to open up and let in some new blood.  People started jumping from place to place.  Companies  stopped placing the value on longevity and started spotlighting contribution.   Nowadays, nobody talks about "corporate culture," except as a lip service "values" blurb in the annual report.    Companies have adopted the EO mantra seriously, to their (and society's)  benefit.    

In a nutshell, the point is:  A truly diverse organization is made up of talented people from all origins and of all ages.     Old ones, young ones, Skinny ones, fat ones, short ...you get the idea.

We all know from movies and TV that the FBI and CIA still work under the old bureacratic, command and control style of management.  Perhaps the problem with our clandestine operations is that there aren't any old spies with new blood and fresh eyes.  

I hear the terrorists are recruiting people of all ages.

Of course, I wouldn't mind having a job where I carried a gun legally, and could intimidate (or  even shoot) law-abiding citizens with impunity.   But,  I still would not apply for a job that required obedience, discipline, ability to keep a secret, or all night stake-outs.   

Note:  This blog is an equal opportunity rant, no one is safe, regardless of race, creed, breast size, hair color, age, gender preference,  or other physical attribute.