dispatches from the new world of work

100 Ways to Succeed #100:

Passing the "Squint Test"

When you squint at the page in the annual report featuring the Executive Team, does the gender and skin-tone roughly match the demographics of the market being served?

(Notice that I purposefully said "roughly"; I'm not looking for quotas, just very rough approximations.)

If you fail the "squint test," what is your 6-month, 1-year, and 2-year program, including immediate "next steps" for addressing the issue?

Note of importance: This holds as much for a 23-person project team as it does for a division or company as a whole.

My opinion: Fix the "women part" first. I.e., more or less ... now.

(P.S. We ain't done yet! #101 on our "Top 100" success strategies comes Monday.) (Probably.)

Tom Peters posted this on 12/07/07.

Comments

More to come??? I was just about to post a Whoo-hoo! We made it to the end! Yay, Tom! I guess I'll have to hold off on that, but I will start working on a PDF of Success Tips 1 through 100.

Posted by cathy mosca at December 7, 2007 9:23 AM

Cathy-you beat met too it! Was going to ask if we could get Success Tips 1 through 100 for Christmas. Thanks to you and to Tom for sharing all of those with us.

Posted by kurt wendelken at December 8, 2007 11:02 AM

Agreed! Having a workforce that closely mirrors the marketplace allows a company to better understand and serve the needs of an increasingly diverse customer base. This assumes significant importance in todayâ€™s corporate context - i.e.
a) What's known as "the glass ceiling" for the advancement of women in business is a growing concern in Japan and Sweden.
b) An issue surfacing in Australia is the fair treatment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
c) In Canada, there's a focus on expanding education and workplace opportunities for Aboriginal people.
d) In France and Ireland, the acceptance of people with different ethnic backgrounds is an issue that's coming to the fore.
A diverse workforce will enable a company to have a broader view of the world and to identify issues that truly matter and effectively compete in todayâ€™s global marketplace.

Posted by Sriram at December 10, 2007 3:06 AM