Kelly McDonald - It's Time to Talk about Race at Work

You are not paying attention to changing demographics. As of this writing, the Latinx/Hispanic population in the United States is 19 percent of the total population, and the Black population is 14 percent. That's a full third of the U.S. population! It would be foolish to ignore a third of the market, but many businesses do.

If you recognize any of these signs as being valid or true for your business or team, that's a big red flag. And an opportunity! You have to get better at this to run a good business or to be a good leader.

You know that there is value in diversity from a moral and social standpoint. You wouldn't be reading this book otherwise. But business runs on metrics. It runs on performance . The next chapter will show you just how powerful the business case for diversity is. I call it the “diversity remedy.”

Here's a fact that may come as a surprise to you: Businesses that are diverse do better in every way that matters in business. No exceptions . Study after study proves again and again that diverse businesses perform better on every metric that businesses use to evaluate success: 1

Higher sales

Higher profits

Better company reputation

Enhanced company image

Higher brand value

Customer growth—in new customer acquisition and customer expenditures

Higher customer satisfaction

Greater customer loyalty

Better customer insights and ability to anticipate customer needs

Greater ability to attract and recruit talent

Better quality of employee applicants

Broader talent base with new and untapped perspectives

Better problem-solving

Better employee performance and productivity

Higher levels of employee engagement

Higher levels of employee satisfaction

Reduced employee absenteeism

Better employee retention

Increased creativity

More solutions

Increased adaptability

Greater innovation

Higher market share

A better, sharper, two-sided, competitive “edge”:The first “edge” that diverse companies have is that they are equipped to serve their diverse customers better. Customer service improves when staff can communicate effectively with customers from a range of backgrounds. When you have a diverse team, they bring their insights and experience to the table. They're going to deliver a better customer experience because they understand what diverse customers want and expect. A diverse team can meet those expectations and drive customer satisfaction and loyalty off the charts.The second “edge” that diverse companies have is that their leadership is likely to be more diverse than their competitors, now and in the future. When your “bench of players” is diverse, as they progress professionally and become leaders themselves, they'll be less likely to overlook the customers your competitors are ignoring.

How does diversity deliver on these key metrics? What is in the “secret sauce” of diversity? The answer is one monumental ingredient: better decision-making . Every aspect of business is a result of decisions made: who you hire, how you train them, what products or services you offer, which new ones you create, how you reach customers and prospects, how you listen to them, how your employees collaborate (or don't), whether they feel seen and heard and valued (or don't). The entire flow of business is one decision made after another. So it makes sense that if you can improve decision-making across the board, your company or team or brand will be more successful. The enemy of decision-making is groupthink, or what researchers call the “social majority” in a company.

We all know what it's like at work: we get together for meetings and we need to make decisions on strategy, tactics, who, how, where, and when. We go into these meetings one of two ways:

1 Engaged and fired up about the meeting topic and eager to contribute or …

2 Apathetic and disengaged, because “Nobody ever listens to my ideas anyway—I'm just here to get the decision and then start implementing it. Just doing my job.”

In most companies, in most meetings, groupthink takes over. No one plans that or expects for it to happen, but it does: a few people kick around a few ideas or options on an approach, and after a while, the rest of the group starts nodding. This happens because the people in the meeting all agree on the topic at hand. Or they don't agree, but mentally “fold,” because the power of the social majority of the group is greater than their own power. I'm not talking about a person's position or title within a company or about who is more “powerful.” I am talking about how when people start agreeing, and those who agree become the majority in a discussion, it's easier for the rest to just go along than it is to dissent. It's hard to voice an opinion that is contrary to what the group believes and wants to do. It takes real confidence and bravery to not go with the flow and to speak up with an opinion or view that may not be welcome or well-received. It's easier to just keep quiet and carry on.

A disturbing result of groupthink is that when a group has been working together in the same way for a long time, the group becomes more prone to overlook facts . They see what they want to see, and their minds justify their decisions with thoughts like these:

“We've always done it this way and that's what our customers expect from us.”

“We make most of our profit with this product—we don't want to mess with that.”

“We don't want to alienate any of our core customers by catering to new ones.”

“We know we need to update our approach and reach out to new market segments, but this isn't the year. We need to get our business stabilized first before we invest in anything new.”

You get the idea. The facts may suggest that they take their business strategy in a new direction, but they ignore those facts because it rocks the boat. It's uncomfortable. And unknown. It feels safer and easier not to change anything or explore new ideas and perspectives. And that, right there, is a decision made —and probably a bad one .

When a diverse group of people get together, something magical happens. Groupthink becomes harder. Why? Because people from diverse backgrounds alter the behavior of a group's social majority in ways that lead to improved and more accurate decision-making. They do this in three key ways:

1 They focus more on facts.

2 They process those facts more accurately.

3 They are more innovative.

When you're focused on facts and you're processing those facts accurately and without preconceived ideas or preformed opinions, innovative solutions and ideas emerge.

On top of that, diverse people bring different perspectives to the table. A team made up of diverse people will have experiences that differ, and that difference can shape their lens on issues and strategies. Their views and ideas may be fresh and innovative. Having diverse perspectives on a team can lead to innovation, and innovation leads to success. The bedrock of innovation is diversity —it's someone asking, “What if?” The very definition of innovation is new thinking and new approaches—the opposite of groupthink!

Companies spend billions each year to make their companies, products, and people smarter, better, more innovative, and more effective. Creating and working with a diverse team can achieve the same results, and it doesn't cost billions.

If diversity pays dividends—in ways that every company wants—why aren't more companies racing to make their organizations as diverse as they can be? Why do some dismiss or downplay the need to be diverse, or worse, resist it altogether?