Would you ever enter a race with the goal of finishing last or not really caring how you perform during the race? Would you ever head out to an appointment and not knowing where you’re going and how to get there?

No, right?

Then why would an organization, institute diversity initiates and then not follow through? Why would a company adopt a philosophy of diversity and then not dedicate resources and energy to make a change?

Apparently a large number of companies doing just that, talking about diversity, but not implementing diversity initiatives.

Recently I delivered a workshop on cross cultural communication to about fifty employees. This  organization is having issues where employees are not getting along  with one another due to various problems.

I was baffled to discover that none of the earlier recommendations were implemented. And furthermore, the decision makers apparently were too busy to attend the workshop.

Apparently often  superficial approach results in mediocre changes to a company’s productivity and profitability.

In order to create a whole approach to diversity, meaning every single person in the company from the very top of the pole to the bottom is aligned to support corporate diversity initiatives, a company should include  the following:

  1. Be inclusive
  2. Be productive
  3. Be respectful
  4. Commit to the development/resources
  5. Embrace and support team contribution

Without committing to all levels of diversity and embracing diversity, companies stand the real chance of failing to reach all their objectives. And when this occurs, an organization loses faith and the reputation plummets.