Building on the Diversity Advantage!
04/28/03
Margaret Heffernan, in a Fast Company article, challenges organizations to change how they do business, or they will lose many women eager to make a difference. She writes: "Rather than fight the system, this next generation of women simply dismiss the system. Instead, these women seek places to work that value individuals--whether as customers or as employees. They seek places that are transparent and collaborative, that respect relationships as the bedrock of all good businesses. What women want are companies that look a lot more like a network than a pyramid, companies where fairness is a given, companies that value what's ethical above what's expedient. At the same time, this next generation of women is too practical, pragmatic and tough-minded to be dismissed as ideologues. If they can't find these kinds of companies, then they'll simply build them."
Data suggests that instead of fighting the glass ceiling in many organizations, many women are starting at the top of their own companies. There are more people working for women-owned businesses in the United States than for all of the Fortune 500 firms combined. In changing times, applied diversity promises new structures and innovative opportunities for those organizations that can harness its potential. If it fails to do so, those very people can sew the seeds for the competition that will challenge its future. What are you doing to create a meritocracy that builds a challenge and an opportunity for all your employees to make a difference where it counts--inventing a new and profitable future?
A PAULSON QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"Once you get to know people, you don't care about or even see the color of their skin, their age or their gender. They are just people--people like you--who are working together to make a difference. In a world where it is hard to get beyond our own biases, a vibrant global economy committed to capitalize on diversity is one of our greatest hopes for positive change." --Terry L. Paulson, PhD, CSP, CPAE
MONDAY'S MIRTHFUL MOMENT
Dr. Loren Ekroth (Loren Ekroth, www.conversation-matters.com) provides this week's mirthful message--"Some Things My Mother Taught Me." Enjoy:
My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE.
"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."My mother taught me RELIGION.
"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL.
"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"My mother taught me LOGIC.
"Because I said so, that's why."My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM.
"Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"My mother taught me about STAMINA.
"You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."
When you keep your eyes open for mirth, you just may find it! Hope this kicks off your morning and helps get your mood adjusted for the week. Now, get busy MAKING CHANGE WORK and have some fun along the way!...