Category Archives: Inclusion

Diversity and Inclusion

Balancing your day as an Entrepreneur – by Rae Steinbach

February 6, 2019 Rae Steinbach

Why does Diversity & Inclusion include so little religious diversity training? The cultural awareness and cultural competence inherent in D&I are increasingly embraced as major tools of the global market place of the future.

Starting your own business is hard work and it’s even harder when you’re a mom entrepreneur. Finding the time to grow your business while also raising children is an intimidating task. If you’re looking to generate a business plan that focuses on coworking ideas, an on-demand product, or simply selling products over the internet, it may seem like you simply don’t have the time when you’re also focused on raising your children.

However, it’s certainly not impossible. Many women in your situation have gone on to become successful entrepreneurs. They simply knew how to manage their time effectively.

These tips will help you do the same. If you’re trying to balance the responsibilities of being a mom and a business owner, keep them in mind.

Continue reading Balancing your day as an Entrepreneur – by Rae Steinbach →

Authors I-Q, Inclusion

The Era of Diversity Talk and No Action Is Over – by Joseph Nwoye

January 15, 2019 Joseph Nwoye

It’s Time for A Paradigm Shift

Diversity is increasingly becoming a powerful force in the determination of an organization’s success. Everyone has talents, some of which are recognized and used, and others never identified and thus never put into use. Organizations that engage diverse teams can draw on the synergy associate with it to innovate and subsequently achieve unprecedented success. It is evidenced in Harvard Business Review article, titled, “How diversity can drive innovation.” In that piece, (Hewlett, Marshall & Sherbin) assert, “Employees of firms with 2-D diversity are 45% likelier to report a growth in market share over the previous year and 70% likelier to report that the firm captured a new market.”

Considering various research showing the correlation between diversity and business success, many organizations are now, for good reasons, calling for greater diversity in the board room and significant areas of leadership in our global market place. There is clearly ubiquitous evidence demonstrating that diversity correlates with business success. McKinsey and company assert “New research makes it increasingly clear that companies with more diverse workforces perform better financially.” According to Deloitte, “Diversity and inclusion at the workplace are now CEO-level issues, but they continue to be frustrating and challenging for many companies.”

Continue reading The Era of Diversity Talk and No Action Is Over – by Joseph Nwoye →

Authors A-H, Inclusion

Valuing the Remnants! – by Terry Howard

January 12, 2019 Terry Howard

The first thing that caught my eye when I entered that carpet store was the separation between the multi-colored, expensive looking carpets lined up vertically on the right wall and, by contrast, the mundane remnants stacked in horizontal piles on the left. Oddly, those images got me thinking about the evidence of societal human separation. It also reminded me of something Oprah Winfrey wrote recently.

Let’s start with Oprah.

Now with the exception of a billion dollars – like she got it, I don’t – Ms. Winfrey and I have something in common; we both know, as millions do, that the undeniable truth is that our nation has reached a dangerous fraying around the edges, an implosion of our fundamental values and, in the words of Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Leonard Pitts, we’re dropping verbal litter into the public square. And it seems that there’s no end in sight.

Continue reading Valuing the Remnants! – by Terry Howard →

Teams & Leaders

Getting to the Point: Character-Driven Success — By Dr. J. Phillip London

January 9, 2019 J. Phillip London, Ph.D.

If there was one thing that you could point to for all of your success and accomplishments, what would it be? Likewise, where would you point the finger for all of your mistakes and failures? Right now there should be two fingers pointing at you. Why? Because who you are and what you become is completely up to you.

Authors I-Q, Commerce, Culture, Teams & Leaders

Global Leadership: Five Steps to Calibrating your Cultural Compass — by Dr. Richard Griffith

January 6, 2019 Institute for CrossCultural Management Florida Institute of Technology

Global Leadership today: The modern workplace brims with activity as people dart from meeting to meeting. Sometimes our communication is too brief. At times our messages are not well thought out. Even when the communication is crystal clear, the message can get lost in a wave of workload. But because our organizations tend to rely on best practices, people have a common frame-of-reference when there are misunderstandings. Best practices are a common denominator that allow us to understand and predict behavior, and serve as “true north” as we navigate the complexity of modern organizational life.
As organizations expand internationally and multi-cultural communications between employees, vendors, suppliers, and customers become more frequent, we are finding that the common denominator of best practices begins to unravel. And once we can no longer fall back on best practices, our inner compass can go haywire.

Continue reading Global Leadership: Five Steps to Calibrating your Cultural Compass — by Dr. Richard Griffith →

Authors R-Z, Generational

Life Cycle Flexibility – Disrupting the Trajectory of Work – by Paul Rupert

January 1, 2019 Paul Rupert

Society is demanding that companies, both public and private, serve a social purpose. To prosper over time, every company must not only deliver financial performance, but also show how it makes a positive contribution to society. Companies must benefit all of their stakeholders, including shareholders, employees, customers, and the communities in which they operate.”
–Larry Fink, CEO, $6 Trillion BlackRock investment manager in his 2018 advisory letter

Mr. Fink’s extraordinary, yet seemingly common sense conclusion is that we need to consider caring not only for shareholders but also for stakeholders, especially employees. But is that a likely shift?

Continue reading Life Cycle Flexibility – Disrupting the Trajectory of Work – by Paul Rupert →

Authors A-H, LGBTQ, Teams & Leaders

When Bias Comes Knocking – by Terry Howard

December 12, 2018 Terry Howard

During my highly visible role as diversity and inclusion director at two Fortune 500 companies, I wrote internal articles, often when bias was a factor, read by people across the globe. I also had to make difficult decisions, sometimes with potentially significant financial consequences, for the organization. Following is a major decision I made and the national fallout in one company. That’s followed by a few responses I received in response to internal articles I wrote. Note that topics of sexual orientation or Islam/Muslims seemed to generate these messages to me:

Continue reading When Bias Comes Knocking – by Terry Howard →

Authors A-H, Of Men

The Loneliness of Men – by Terry Howard

December 6, 2018 Terry Howard 1 Comment

Here’re two men I want you to meet. They’re happy, lead productive lives and at peace with themselves, except, well, maybe they’re not.

Guy #1: Seems that he has everything going for him, a successful career, a beautiful home, expensive cars in his driveway and a family that adores him. He shows up at church every Sunday and never misses his daughter’s dance recitals.

Guy #2: He gets by comfortably on his pension and social security checks. Not into the social media “stuff,” he spends his days writing letters to the dwindling number of folks he’s known for decades. His biggest source of pride is his only son, a high-level administrator at a prestigious university and holder of two degrees from Ivy League universities.

Now if you were to ask either one of them “How ya doing?” they’ll probably respond, “Just fine.” But beyond the façade they may in fact be dealing with an affliction within…loneliness!

Continue reading The Loneliness of Men – by Terry Howard →

Authors R-Z, Inclusion

The Great Flood: an Inclusion Story – by Lydia Taylor

November 30, 2018 Lydia Taylor

During the early morning of October 16, 2018, I was awakened by the muffled voices of my parents who were scurrying around their home. I could hear them speaking but did not know what they were talking about and besides, I was interested in getting a bit more sleep. At approximately 7:00am one of them appeared in the doorway. She told me what time it was and that we were evacuating. Initially I thought, is it that serious? Nevertheless, I immediately got out of bed and put on some jeans and tennis shoes, grabbed my Vera Bradley duffle and put a few toiletries into the matching cosmetics bag.

I was visiting, so my bags were readily available. It took very little time and we were out the door and into the driving rain. As I got into the back seat of the truck I noticed that there was a ladder propped against the roof of the carport. The situation appeared to be worse than I thought. After a few minutes the door next to me opened, and I was handed the next-door neighbor’s dog and told we must evacuate her also. No problem, I love dogs. Within the next few moments we were driving up the hill to higher ground with the next-door neighbors, from both sides, following in their vehicles.

Continue reading The Great Flood: an Inclusion Story – by Lydia Taylor →

ADR