RESPECTING DIVERSITYNG DOESN'T MEAN BLAND

Thinking about  organizations during holiday times is what made me think of diversity. I spent many years helping to create organizational cultures that were healthfully diverse. Diversity equals health whether in your leaky gut or of the heart of your company. Differences are not the final touches or the window dressing of health. They are the embedded potential for change and adaptation and possibilities for the future.

OK! That's my stance and I just did my lecture. Now the practicality issues.
There seems to me to be only two choices that carry the least risk during these times of hair trigger sensitivity and litigation.  One is to mute all differences, to write policy that tries to smooth out differences and which comes terribly close to denial. 

OR to allow and promote all the wild differences that exist. Give it all expression of some kind. Write a policy of inclusion not exclusion in the name of fairness.
Hanukkah, Ramadan, Kwanzaa, Christmas, Festival of lights of India, The Water
 Festival of Thailand and any and all others.  

As a top leader, protect the right of differences to be expressed. Do it explicitly.
Moderate it. Of course, it is not the primary focus of your business. But people feeling safe to be who they are and seen as they are is fundamental to your work. It is in the stew, the melting pot, the mess of differences that the richness of talent, the surprise of skills and the x factor of commitment and engagement become real assets.

Don't settle for bland. Be bold. Stand for differences. Teach that expressions of difference are fundamentally valuable.

Happy Holiday---whatever that may be for you.

ASSUME GOODWILL

Assuming goodwill at work is a discipline, not a "good people approach" and not a test of your big heart.  It is a stance, an intention, an emotional discipline.  And it can work miracles. I've experienced it.

No organization is without its ugly moments and political alliances. We have structures of power and status in most companies. We haven't found the alternative yet. And so there is often both real and perceived threat to our own positions and influence and resources. 

I was involved in a quagmire that was going south fast. And I received lots of irate, insulting voice mail. (Always a bad way to communicate but a great way to dump anger).  I was dying to pick up the phone and retaliate either with  anger or the superiority of proving others wrong with facts.

I'm not sure what made me do it, but here's what I did. I called back and left a message saying, "Let's assume goodwill and talk when we have some which may not be today."  "Assume goodwill" became a phrase that was used often and sincerely and even with humor and undisguised difficulty. My reaction to hating organizational craziness and was a reset moment so the phrase caught on.  It saved face and bought time and allowed real reflection to occur.  

So in the spirit of the holidays and of the need for peace everywhere one looks, I offer the discipline of ASSUMING GOODWILL first. Talk second.

THOSE BEST SELLING BUSINESS BOOKS? MOST CEO'S DON'T READ THEM

Many of the best CEO's will tell you that they don't read much.
It's not just a matter of time.
It's more that they know that business books are the new business card.
It's like every candidate for the President in the US has to write a book for validity and gravitas.

The other issue is that there is usually only a concept or two in any book that are worth it and the gleaning takes time that could be used for action, for getting stuff done, for making money. 

But here's how and when a CEO should read:
(How)
—Scan books around a theme or issue you want to explore. Use the chapter summaries.  That's what they are for.  Only dig in where you are grabbed by you own curiosity
—Rarely sit down and read the book cover to cover because you feel you should 
—If you find a gem, test it with a colleague for usability
—Don't swallow a book whole. Integrate it with others and create your own language and point of view about what's valuable in it.  

(When)
—when you have a nagging problem 
—when you are about to spend a fortune on a consultant when if you read the book and shared it you could take action on your own
—when three colleagues say the book is worth reading
—when you have a six hour flight and no good mystery at hand