Nike Chairman Jordan Brand has hidden his crime history for 40 years. Now he wants Chros to consider a second chance.
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Jordan Brand Chairman, Larry Miller Nike And the former president of the NBA Portland Trail Blazers faced a pivotal moment early in his career, making him think of something he gave up after he came so far.
Miller had done several interviews as he was in the role of Arthur Andersen, the Big 8 public accounting firm of the time. Finally, Miller decides to share the secrets with his employment manager. He spent his time as a teenager at the Juvenile Corrections Center for his role in the death of another teenager whom he accidentally thought was from a rival gang. When Miller told the employment manager about his crime past, Miller saw the manager’s face fall. The manager told Miller that he had a letter of offer in his pocket but was unable to give it to him.
“He said, ‘I can’t get you a chance,'” Miller recalled. luckWorkplace Innovation Summit In California earlier this week. “I wish you the best, but I can’t hire you.”
At that point, Miller was fighting hard to turn his life around. He took university classes while in prison, then moved to Temple University, earned a degree in accounting with Honor and later an MBA from LaSalle University, and managed to get an associate degree by taking university classes. After Arthur Andersen’s rejection, he thought that the whole effort could be a waste of time and money, and that he would not be able to build a career.
But Miller didn’t give up. Instead, he decided to forget about public accounting. If anyone asked, he didn’t deny it or lie, but he certainly wasn’t going to volunteer for information. For the next 40 years he worked hard while keeping that part of his life a secret.
“It was cruel because I was trying to build a career and every day I was worried and worried,” he said. “I’m worried that the story will come out every day.
With the help of his daughter, Lyla Lacey, Miller finally told him in her 2022 memoir, Jump. And with his initiative, Justice and Upward Mobility ProjectMiller hopes his story will help managers and top HR personnel discover an untapped and generally ignored pool of talent: previously incarcerated.
Miller points out that in the Internet age, people can no longer hide their past as he did. And there is no longer an education program that helped him discover his love for accounting and business. So, Miller addressed the causes that underline the possibility that the group must contribute to the workforce. He emphasizes that the cohort often views employment as a privilege rather than a mere obligation.
a Case studies His story, conducted by Harvard Business Review, revealed that previously incarcerated people had a recidivism rate of 77% within two or three years. However, if a former imprisoned learns the skills, the number drops to 30%. If they have a bachelor’s degree, it will be 6%, and if they have a master’s degree, the number is 0.
“For me, it’s a clear indication that if people can learn to trade and get an education, something will allow them to rebuild their lives, take care of their families, and return to their communities,” Miller said. “That should be the goal.”
Amandajeroot
amanda.gerut@fortune.com
This story was originally introduced Fortune.com