What Wells Fargo C.E.O., Charles Scharf, Meant to Say

This past summer, the chief executive of Wells Fargo said something controversial:

“While it might sound like an excuse, the unfortunate reality is that there is a very limited pool of Black talent to recruit from,” he wrote in a company-wide memo.

If only the C.E.O. had remembered the following scene from Aaron Sorkin’s T.V. show, the West Wing:

LEO

There are people out there.

TOBY

There are not people who... You’re like the guys who say, “Are you telling me you could only find one African-American speechwriter good enough to work at the White House?” I’m amazed I found that many. “Good enough to work at the White House” is a pretty small population to begin with. And guys who can write entire sections of a State of the Union? I’d be as surprised if there were as many as nine of us.

In other words: It’s not what you say. It’s how you say it.

Also, while we’re quoting the West Wing, here’s another fantastic line that Charles Scharf would do well to remember:

TABITHA

I’m sorry, but I tell the truth.

TOBY

Not every minute of the damn day, Tabitha.

Why Diversity Matters

Will Oremus makes a persuasive point:

“A journalist’s ability to intelligently challenge orthodoxies and assumptions of all kinds should be a major consideration in every hiring decision. Some might view this as a call to prioritize diversity over intellectual rigor. It’s just the opposite: Media companies need to prioritize diversity in service of intellectual rigor.”