Recently someone repeated a comment to me that had been made about me in a room I was not in.
Apparently I had become “too woke.”
It was meant as an insult. A way to explain my absence or perhaps dismiss my perspective. I suppose the assumption was that caring too much about certain things had somehow made me unreasonable.
What struck me most about the comment was not the hostility. It was the intellectual laziness behind it.
The word “woke” originally meant something very simple. It meant being aware. A recognition that the world is not always fair and that some people experience obstacles others never have to think about. It meant being alert to injustice and unwilling to pretend it does not exist.
Somewhere along the way that idea became an insult.
Now it is used as shorthand for anyone who believes human dignity should apply broadly. People who believe minorities deserve protection. People who believe women deserve autonomy. People who believe refugees from war zones deserve compassion instead of suspicion.
Apparently noticing suffering is now a character flaw.
That is a strange position to hold while sitting comfortably in a peaceful country, ordering dinner at a restaurant, sleeping safely in a warm home, and living under institutions that millions of people around the world would risk everything to reach.
History has an interesting pattern. Societies do not collapse because too many people care about others. They collapse when empathy is replaced by tribalism and when power becomes more important than humanity.
Leaders understand this instinctively.
Leadership is not neutrality in the face of injustice. It is the willingness to stand for principles even when it is inconvenient or unpopular. Silence may feel safe in the moment, but silence is often how bad ideas spread.
Strategy is not only about markets and capital. It is also about values. The societies and organizations that endure are the ones that understand cooperation, fairness, and human dignity are not weaknesses. They are structural advantages.
Which brings us back to the accusation.
If noticing injustice is “woke,” then the word has lost its sting.
Because caring about people simply because they are people should not be controversial.
It should be the minimum requirement for being awake.
I am a Canadian insurance and investment professional and the President and Chief Executive Officer of Chazz Financial Inc. and Chazz Capital Assets. I write about leadership, markets, insurance, investing, and decision making, with a focus on how structure and incentives shape outcomes.
I hold a business degree and I am a Fellow of the Canadian Securities Institute (FCSI®), a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU®), a Chartered Financial Planner®, a Certified Health Specialist and a Mutual Fund Investment Representative.
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