Ari Weinzweig: Can Workplace Dignity Prevent Political Tyranny?

The first two months of the new Administration in Washington DC have brought shocking degrees of chaos and disruption. Many people who didn't vote for the current President feel like they've been punched in the face and knocked to the ground.

How in a situation like this do you get back up? What actions can you take to lift your mood and make things in the world better?

This week's guest on How My View Grew, which launches season three of the podcast, is no stranger to this dilemma.

Ari Weinzweig, co-founder of the Zingerman's Community of Businesses in Ann Arbor, Michigan, knows something about getting crushed by a global shock and then finding a way to get back up. In his case, the event was Russia's brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. How he got back up was by learning about Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity in 2014 and then using this as inspiration to bring dignity into the workplace.

Ari's story offers a lesson about how to respond to disturbing and horrific events. It also raises a startling question: if millions of people felt a sense of dignity in the workplace, would they vote for demagogues claiming "you've been screwed" and promising to "fix it" for them? Or might they instead say, "No thanks. I'm good. If you want to be an autocrat, move to Russia?"

**Key takeaways**

• 5:00 When Ari was unconsciously competent at dignity
• 10:00 "Putin isn't going to call me for advice"
• 14:00 Inspiration from Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity
• 25:00 Honoring dignity doesn't take more time
• 27:00 Being authentic without dumping on others
• 32:00 Showing employees the financial numbers
• 36:00 "Maybe it's not because they're lazy."
• 43:00 Slipping daily and then gamefilming
• 45:30 Amiel's reflections

**Resources**

• A Revolution of Dignity in the Twenty-first Century Workplace, a pamphlet by Ari
• Zingerman's Deli in Ann Arbor, Michigan
• Ukrainian civic activist Valerii Pekar on Ukraine's stunning resilience (How My View Grew)
• Historian Marci Shore on how to improve the world amidst evil (How My View Grew)
• Depolarize politics by escaping the drama triangle (How My View Grew)

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