We have a diverse society and a diverse workforce. Have we done enough to reap the full benefits of this diversity? One of the world’s most acclaimed experts says, "not yet"—and shows us how to move forward The "numbers" were achieved. The workshops attended. Most people in your organization have gotten their "isms" under control. But here you are again, recycling yet another round of costly diversity programs—and still unable to overcome the problems and reap the benefits of your diverse workforce. That’s because most organizations, despite good intentions and hard work, are stuck in their diversity efforts, says R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr., a leading diversity expert who has continually raised the bar on how we think and act on a complex array of diversity issues. In our communities as well as in our workplaces, a feeling of frustration has emerged as the promise of the Civil Rights Movement and affirmative action has become overly politicized and polarizing. But managing diversity is not a new issue. In fact, it is both a hallmark and core challenge that organizations and society have confronted since the founding of America, "an experiment in diversity." Building on the Promise of Diversity is Thomas’s impassioned wake-up call to bring diversity management to a wholly new level—beyond finger-pointing and well-meaning "initiatives" and toward the shared goal of building robust organizations and thriving communities. This original, thoughtful, yet action-oriented book will help leaders in any setting—business, religious, educational, governmental, community groups, and more—break out of the status quo and reinvigorate the can-do spirit of making things better. The book includes a deeply felt analysis of the sometimes tangled intersections between diversity management and the Civil Rights Movement and affirmative action agendas . . . a personal narrative that charts Thomas’s own evolution in diversity thinking . . . and a roadmap for mastering the powerful craft of Strategic Diversity Management™, a structured process that helps you: Realize why multiple activities and good intentions are not enough for achieving sustainable progress.

Recast the meaning of diversity as more than just race and gender, but as any set of differences, similarities, and tensions—such as workplace functions, product lines, acquisitions and mergers, customers and markets, blended families, community diversity, and more.

Accept that a realistic goal is not to eliminate diversity tension but to use it as a catalyst to address key issues.

Recognize diversity mixtures, analyze them accurately, and make quality decisions in the midst of differences, similarities, and tensions.

Build an essential set of diversity skills and develop your "diversity maturity"—the wisdom, judgment, and experience to use those skills effectively.

Reflect on the ways you might be "diversity challenged" yourself. Diversity is the reality of America today. Whether you let diversity be a drain on your organization or a dynamic contributor to your mission, vision, and strategy is both a choice and a challenge. Building on the Promise of Diversity gives you the insights and skills you need to navigate through simmering tensions—and find creative solutions for achieving cohesiveness, connectedness, and common goals.

"The ""numbers"" were achieved. The workshops attended. Most people in your organization have gotten their ""isms"" under control. But here you are again, recycling yet another round of costly diversity programs -- and still unable to overcome the problems and reap the benefits of your diverse workforce.

That’s because most organizations, despite good intentions and hard work, are stuck in their diversity efforts, says R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr., a leading diversity expert who has continually raised the bar on how we think and act on a complex array of diversity issues. In our communities as well as in our workplaces, a feeling of frustration has emerged as the promise of the Civil Rights Movement and affirmative action has become overly politicized and polarizing. But managing diversity is not a new issue. In fact, it is both a hallmark and core challenge that organizations and society have confronted since the founding of America, ""an experiment in diversity.""

Building on the Promise of Diversity is Thomas’s impassioned wake-up call to bring diversity management to a wholly new level -- beyond finger-pointing and well-meaning “initiatives” and toward the shared goal of building robust organizations and thriving communities. This original, thoughtful, yet action-oriented book will help leaders in any setting -- business, religious, educational, governmental, community groups, and more -- break out of the status quo and reinvigorate the can-do spirit of making things better.

The book includes a deeply felt analysis of the sometimes tangled intersections between diversity management and the Civil Rights Movement and affirmative action agendas . . . a personal narrative that charts Thomas’s own evolution in diversity thinking . . . and a roadmap for mastering the powerful craft of Strategic Diversity Management™, a structured process that helps you:

* Realize why multiple activities and good intentions are not enough for achieving sustainable progress.

* Recast the meaning of diversity as more than just race and gender, but as any set of differences, similarities, and tensions -- such as workplace functions, product lines, acquisitions and mergers, customers and markets, blended families, community diversity, and more.

* Accept that a realistic goal is not to eliminate diversity tension but to use it as a catalyst to address key issues.

* Recognize diversity mixtures, analyze them accurately, and make quality decisions in the midst of differences, similarities, and tensions.

* Build an essential set of diversity skills and develop your “diversity maturity” -- the wisdom, judgment, and experience to use those skills effectively.

* Reflect on the ways you might be “diversity challenged” yourself.

Diversity is the reality of America today. Whether you let diversity be a drain on your organization or a dynamic contributor to your mission, vision, and strategy is both a choice and a challenge. Building on the Promise of Diversity gives you the insights and skills you need to navigate through simmering tensions -- and find creative solutions for achieving cohesiveness, connectedness, and common goals."

That Dr. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr. is searching for the next level of diversity is not unusual considering his stature as a respected guru in the field. But when Dr. Thomas says diversity has become a politicized "code word for affirmative action," and we - meaning organizations and society - are going to have a hard time getting to any next level because we're stuck in muddle-headed thinking about diversity, well, that is unusual! (He defines affirmative action as "the recruitment, promotion and retention of members of 'protected classes'" in the United States.)

Thomas believes most organizational leaders, as well as society, have accepted the politicized definition of diversity, which positions it as a win/lose power struggle. We understand diversity through the lens of struggle because that's how we understand differences. The power struggle is a legacy of the Civil Rights Movement and of affirmative action, and we would argue it is also a legacy of other institutions which the United States has used to approach differences, such as Indian reservations, slavery, segregation and Jim Crow laws, Japanese internment, to name a few).

If you are looking for a book to clarify your thinking about diversity, the legacies of Civil Rights and affirmative action, and how to improve people's ability to manage diversity, this book is essential reading. If you are looking for a thorough description of what the next level of diversity is, you won't find it. If we understand Dr. Thomas correctly, we have to master the craft of diversity management in order to discover what the next level is. Care to join us?

By Kyla Meyers and Barbara Deane, editors at DiveristyCentral.com