A book about how businesses and other organizations can improve their performance by tapping the power of differences in how people think. What if workforce diversity is more than simply the right thing to do? What if it can also improve the bottom line? Because it can. The autuor presents overwhelming evidence: teams that include different kinds of thinkers outperform homogenous groups on complex tasks, producing what he calls diversity bonuses. These bonuses include improved problem solving, increased innovation, and more accurate predictions - all of which lead to better results. Drawing on research in economics, psychology, computer science, and many other fields, the book also tells the stories of businesses and organizations that have tapped the power of diversity to solve complex problems. The result changes the way we think about diversity at work-and far beyond

A Gentle Invitation into the Challenging Topic of Privilege The notion that some might have it better than others, for no good reason, offends our sensibilities. Yet, until we talk about privilege, we’ll never fully understand it or find our way forward. Amy Julia Becker welcomes us into her life, from the charm of her privileged southern childhood to her adult experience in the northeast, and the denials she has faced as the mother of a child with special needs. She shows how a life behind a white picket fence can restrict even as it protects, and how it can prevent us from loving our neighbors well. White Picket Fences invites us to respond to privilege with generosity, humility, and hope. It opens us to questions we are afraid to ask, so that we can walk further from fear and closer to love, in all its fragile and mysterious possibilities.

“In plain English, Martin Davidson explains how diversity can make a company more efficient and innovative, which leads to greater profits.” —Reginald Hudlin, producer/director and former President, Black Entertainment Television, Inc. A conversation with a CFO he worked with led Martin Davidson to explore the flaws in how companies typically manage diversity. They don’t integrate diversity into their overall business strategy. They focus on differences that have little impact on their business. And often their diversity efforts end up hindering the professional development of the very people they were designed to help. Davidson explains how what he calls Leveraging DifferenceTM turns persistent diversity problems into solutions that drive business results. Difference becomes a powerful source of sustainable competitive advantage instead of a distracting mandate handed down from HR. To begin with, leaders must identify the differences most important to achieving organizational goals, even if the differences aren’t the obvious ones. The second challenge is to help employees work together to understand the ways these differences matter to the business. Finally, leaders need to experiment with how to use these relevant differences to get things done. Davidson provides compelling examples of how organizations have tackled each of these challenges. Ultimately this is a book about leadership. As with any other strategic imperative, leaders need to take an active role—drive rather than just delegate. Successfully leveraging difference can be what distinguishes an ordinary organization from an extraordinary one. “This extensively researched book moves the diversity paradigm from the human resource cubicle to the whole organization, the tactical to the strategic, the short term to the sustainable, and the domestic to the global.” —Dr. Austin Ifedirah, Founder & Managing Partner, Engagent Health

How diversity and difference strengthen democracy and increase prosperity It is clear that in our society today, issues of diversity and social connectedness remain deeply unresolved and can lead to crisis and instability. The major demographic changes taking place in America make discussions about such issues all the more imperative. Our Compelling Interests engages this conversation and demonstrates that diversity is an essential strength that gives nations a competitive edge. This inaugural volume of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation's Our Compelling Interests series illustrates that a diverse population offers our communities a prescription for thriving now and in the future. This landmark essay collection begins with a powerful introduction situating the demographic transitions reshaping American life, and the contributors present a broad-ranging look at the value of diversity to democracy and civil society. They explore the paradoxes of diversity and inequality in the fifty years following the civil rights legislation of the 1960s, and they review the ideals that have governed our thinking about social cohesion—such as assimilation, integration, and multiculturalism—before delving into the new ideal of social connectedness. The book also examines the demographics of the American labor force and its implications for college enrollment, graduation, the ability to secure a job, business outcomes, and the economy. Contributors include Danielle Allen, Nancy Cantor, Anthony Carnevale, William Frey, Earl Lewis, Nicole Smith, Thomas Sugrue, and Marta Tienda. Commentary is provided by Kwame Anthony Appiah, Patricia Gurin, Ira Katznelson, and Marta Tienda. At a time when American society is swiftly being transformed, Our Compelling Interests sheds light on how our differences will only become more critical to our collective success.

Today’s board rooms, think tanks, and staff lounges are more diverse than ever before. These cultural differences can either lead to gridlock among stubborn, single-minded thinkers or they can catalyze innovation and growth among an expansive team of creative, distinctive individuals. Diverse teams are far more creative than homogenous teams--but only when they are managed effectively. Driven by Difference identifies the management practices necessary to minimize conflict while maximizing the informational diversity found in varied values and experiences. Drawing on the cultural intelligence, or CQ, of diversity success stories from Google, Alibaba, Novartis, and other groundbreaking companies, this must-have resource teaches managers of diverse groups how to: Create an optimal environment Consider the various audiences when selecting and selling an idea Design and test for different users Fuse differing perspectives Align goals and expectations New perspectives and talents have joined your company’s ranks in recent years. Are you seeing the increased innovation and success that should be resulting from such diversity?

Winner of the George R. Terry Book Award from Academy of Management and the Outstanding Academic Title Award from CHOICE Magazine Successful management of our increasingly diverse workforce is one of the most important challenges facing organizations today. In the Fourth Edition of her award-winning text, Managing Diversity, author Michàlle E. Mor Barak argues that inclusion is the key to unleashing the potential embedded in a multicultural workforce. This thoroughly updated new edition includes the latest research, statistics, policy, and case examples. A new chapter on inclusive leadership explores the diversity paradox and unpacks how leaders can leverage diversity to increase innovation and creativity for competitive advantage. A new chapter devoted to “Practical Steps for Creating an Inclusive Workplace” presents a four-stage intervention and implementation model with accompanying scales that can been used to assess inclusion in the workplace, making this the most practical edition ever.