Another great take-away from this book is Dr. Thomas's model for identifying and differentiating between business requirements and preferences.
All in all this is an extremely powerful book that should be in every manager's library. Thank you Dr. Thomas.
Joe SantanaCo-author of Manage I.T.
Building a House for Diversity begins with a short fable about how a friendship between the two animals is threatened when the house built for a tall, skinny giraffe cannot accommodate his invited guest, a broad, bulky elephant. Using this story as a vivid metaphor for the difficult issues inherent in diversity, the book goes on to demonstrate how managing diversity can be seen as a set of skills that anyone can learn--and use.
In a way that makes diversity management "up close and personal," Building a House for Diversity offers compelling, real-life stories of individual experiences at work. It includes:
* the perspective of both "insiders" (usually white males) and "outsiders" (usually minorities or women) * insightful commentary illuminating what these experiences tell us about the challenges and opportunities of diversity * a particularly interesting segment on Phil Jackson, legendary Chicago Bulls coach, and how he dealt with diversity issues in his relationships to Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman, Scottie Pippin, and others * hands-on guidance to help readers become "diversity mature" and take personal responsibility for their attitudes and actions.
Throughout, the book reflects the seminal thinking of R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr., a pioneer in articulating the concepts of managing diversity. In this book, he has produced his most creative and practical approach to this continuing challenge.