In news that’s almost too ridiculous to believe, John Winning (yes, *that* one) has desperately tried to backpedal on his ridiculous comments about millennials in the workforce after having his ass swiftly handed to him on Sunday.
Yesterday I introduced you all to the millennial CEO who complained that all other millennials are just lazy and entitled, despite having his job handed to him by his dad.
But it looks like I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t stoked with Winning’s comments.
Since the original SMH article went live yesterday, John has received so much backlash that he’s tried to publicly clarify his point. But surprising to absolutely nobody, the wildly privileged CEO managed to dig himself into an even deeper hole than he was already in.
The original interview included wild quotes like: “When I think of hustling, I think of rolling your sleeves up and working from early in the morning to late at night. They see hustling as a get-rich-quick scheme or another easy solution,” despite John’s own career requiring very little hustle and a whole lot of privilege.
So obviously, Mr Winning was not exactly ‘winning’ when we woke up on Monday morning to a heap of backlash.
He spoke to news.com.au, claiming the quotes were part of a big interview, which is true. But the whole interview was a disaster, and in my extensive research of most of the interviews he’s ever done, this isn’t the first time he’s made these sorts of comments.
John said that he stands by his comments, but didn’t mean to “pigeonhole an entire generation. He continued by saying that he wasn’t trying to imply that millennials were “entitled”, claiming that we’re a mere “by-product of the world we live in today.”
“We employ people aged from 17 to 70 and … it’s more than an observation than anything, but with many millennials I interview I see this kind of almost false expectations as to what they might be able to get. Again, it’s not their fault — it’s driven by the world they live in and the content they absorb,” he said.
“There are probably more millennial entrepreneurs out there than any other generation … and it’s incredible that we can do such a thing, but there also needs to be a bit of a reality check,” Mr Winning said.
Well John, the reality check hotline called and it looks like you’re at the top of the list.
“People need to know it’s not as easy as watching a video on Facebook of some guy getting out of a Lamborghini and saying he’ll give you five tips if you pay him $500 so you can earn $5000 a week working for yourself at home from two hours a day — that’s just not reality.”
Yes, it’s not a reality. You know, unless you come from a family of multi-generational wealth and privilege and can open a business on (assumably) your dad’s dime while using his reputation at the ripe old age of 21.
Granted, he at least tried to acknowledge his privilege, but still managed to miss the point completely.
“I’m very grateful to have the opportunities I have and I don’t stand by trying to deny I was very lucky to be born into the family I’m in and to have been given the values my father instilled in me,” Mr Winning said. “I can’t change the fact I was born into a family business but it was absolutely my choice (to join it) and I wasn’t given the key by any means.”
Like I said yesterday, there’s nothing wrong with taking advantage of the opportunities you’re given as a result of your privilege. The problem is when you fail to acknowledge said privilege and ridicule the rest of the world, who have to work exponentially harder to get the same opportunities as you.
Winning didn’t enter the workforce until age 17, where he worked as a waiter for a short time before opening the Appliances Online leg of the Winning Group at the age of 21. With less years of experience than I can count on one hand, John was set up for life. So, I’m not exactly sure what “blood, sweat and tears” he’s referring to in the interview. Perhaps the ones he shed when he was born into a position of privilege?
“The reality is … you’ve got to work your guts out and it takes blood, sweat and tears and before you can reap the rewards you have to stick things out. If you haven’t found success in a month or three months, maybe you just haven’t done it for long enough.”
For a 35-year-old man, John Winning appears to have very little real world experience outside of the building with his name on the door. Even after a royal internet roasting, it appears he still fails to recognise nepotism, even when it’s smacking him in the face.
Today in Nepotism – featuring John Winning, CEO
Must be tough getting hired and promoted by Dad! #winning pic.twitter.com/hPiOZgGgic
— Nick Fabrio (@longhorncapital) October 13, 2019
I’m a tail-end boomer and I work with a bunch of millennials who work hard, work long hours and have studied long and hard to be in their jobs. Some of them come from a privileged backgrounds, some not. I’m sick of hearing that they’re lazy.
— Baroness Shredder (@eveharrington) October 13, 2019
Millennial who had a multimillion dollar company handed to him by his dad, who had it handed to him by his dad, who had it handed to him by his dad, laments that his fellow millennials have a strong sense of entitlement & want things handed to them without working for them. 🙄
— Simone (@PhoenixMe_) October 13, 2019
https://twitter.com/Bishop64/status/1183280755226509312
