Readiness for change is a core muscle individuals must flex or build as part of their own race journey. Organizations must do the same.

As organizational development consultants we know how failing to name what needs naming derails any business endeavor. That’s a certain outcome if euphemisms are applied to race talk and race work. In your business spaces we encourage you to use direct, constructive language to name what must be named, without shaming or blaming. Shared context […]

…says Edelman, a privately held communications firm with 60 offices around the globe. Every year since 2000 Edelman has conducted a trust and credibility survey. For the 2022 survey they interviewed 38,000 respondents across 28 countries and publish the findings in a report called The Edelman Trust Barometer.

How often have we stumbled our way through a new project with cross-functional team members who use their own siloed jargon or have no context for what has come before? In business, when developing a new product, implementing new systems, or creating alignment around a marketing or investment strategy, you will get nowhere without a […]

May 25, 2020. In the days and weeks after the death of George Floyd, hundreds of US-based companies hung shingles of solidarity with the Black community. Many pledged millions of dollars to racial justice organizations. Awareness is a good start. And “millions” reads well in press releases. However, action and accountability – twin engines that […]

Experiment with the Voice Method. Assemble Diverse Interview Panels. Ask Value-based Questions. Solicit Input from Frontline Employees. Keep Diversity Top of Mind for Final Hiring Decision. “Get Loud.” For details on each practice, download for free Chapter 10: Hiring Made Visible: Individual Decisions, Institutional Changes.

There are more than 40 additional resources in The Business of Race. Most of them are free: Chapter 1 Book: Blueprint for a Revolution: How to Use Rice Pudding, Lego Men, and Other Nonviolent Techniques to Galvanize Communities, Overthrow Dictators or Simply Change the World, by Srdja Popovic. Book/Play: Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992, by actor […]

We are huge fans of short films. They are powerful distillations of the human condition. As Learning and Development practitioners, we find them to be transformative tools, especially when viewed together as a team or organization. Here is a thought-provoking short film by writer-director Stephen Takashima. Watch it alone. Watch it together. Either way, be […]

We discovered SNL’s skit on YouTube. We watched a few times, howled with laughter each time then thought: the humor and cultural observation would make it a non-threatening but thought-provoking conversation starter on race. Watch it alone. Watch it with your team. Either way, be sure to reflect on or discuss the questions below. Reflection […]