Monthly, quarterly, and annual reports serve as an organization's historical record, allowing us to measure performance, identify trends, and make informed decisions about the future. They provide invaluable insights into which products are thriving and which may need to be reevaluated, which team members excel and which may need additional support, which vendors consistently deliver quality goods and which may not align with our values.
But company history isn't always comfortable. Just as some historical narratives have been sanitized or erased to fit a particular narrative, there are aspects of our organizational history that may be difficult to confront. Managers may try to conceal under-performing businesses in order to delay decision to eliminate business functions. Or they may, "fudge" the numbers to practice the art of C.Y.A. In the long-run, the business suffers and the action that needs to take place, will happen.
Yet, just as we strive to tell the complete story of our organizational past to ensure a brighter future, so too must we acknowledge and learn from the darker chapters of our collective American history. We see similar challenges in the preservation of monuments and historic locations dedicated to Black families, and there is state and national level resistance to accurate K-12 curriculum. The erasure of truth about race riots, theft of property, and systemic injustices is led by some members of the nonBlack Americans---government officials and community members alike. The omission and distortion compounds from generation to generation and the truths never fade.
As a society, our stories must reflect a more inclusive and accurate portrayal of our shared history. In a country where societies are formed to preserve homes, clothing, paintings and stone monuments are constructed to honor legacies, it's imperative that we extend this same commitment to preserving the totality of American history---the violent past against the Indigenous nations, Africans and their descendants included.
