They are people whose thought process is, "Wheels have been round for thousands of years, it's time for change!" so they use their position, power and authority to decree that their organization will start using square wheels moving forward and people who voice their objections will be decried as luddites and troublemakers who are too set in their ways to embrace change. As it becomes obvious the square wheels aren't working, they will just call it a, "transitional phase," and they will smoothly and convincingly lie to those they answer to about how well things are going. By the time their idea wrecks the organization, they have moved on somewhere else oblivious to the wreckage left in their wake.
They are not to be confused with true visionaries who look at a round wheel, understand that the concept is ideal, but think instead of replacing wooden spokes with cast metal, replacing solid rubber with inflatable tires, designing new tread patterns for better traction, etc. Their vision is based on retaining what already works, and putting forward improvements on what can be improved.
IMHO, this CEO is probably more of a square wheel visionary than any serious advocate of DEI. I would bet that the "new look," has more to do with her making changes just because she has the power to do so, and DEI is simply the avenue for doing so. If this was the 1970s she would have been turning Cracker Barrel into a disco, and if it was the 1980s she would have been upgrading with Miami Vice neon and pastels.
Good post.
The Board of Directors of any organization need to have the wisdom to be able to tell the difference between the fast talking fraudsters and the real deal.
If they get it wrong the error can be fatal.