Reviews
"Martin Davidson has developed a transformative insight: that a key to building innovative companies is to replace well-intentioned but generally ineffective 'managing diversity' programs with Leveraging Difference initiatives. I would highly recommend this book to any CEO, manager, or HR professional who wants to build a sustainable, high-performance organization." --Decker Anstrom, US Ambassador, World Radiocommunication Conference, US Department of State; former President, Landmark Communications; and former Chair, The Weather Channel Companies "This book presents a realistic look at the diversity challenge and proposes pragmatic ways to achieve meaningful change along with useful tools for the journey. I wish that I had read this before I became CEO." --Steve Reinemund, Dean of Business, Wake Forest University School of Business, and retired Chair and CEO, PepsiCo "Martin Davidson brings a fresh and compelling look at why our three-decades-long investment in 'managing diversity' has come up short. He then offers a new paradigm for guiding our efforts to make diversity a resource for organizational and individual development and performance. Based on extensive research, The End of Diversity as We Know It offers new insights and tools that will help leaders ensure their companies and organizations get the benefits of the diversity within them." --David A. Thomas, Dean, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University; former Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School; and coauthor of Breaking Through: The Making of Minority Executives in Corporate America "Martin Davidson makes us all take pause and reflect on the diversity and inclusion work we've been part of over the past decade or so and how we must move ahead to transform this critical work across all dimensions of difference. This book is truly thought-provoking and provides excellent practical tools." --Claudette J. Whiting, President, CJW Consulting, and former head of diversity, Microsoft Corporation and DuPont Corporation "I would hope every industry leader would read and embrace the book's major conclusions and recommendations to not only alter marginally successful diversity practices but, more importantly, leverage difference to enhance shareholder value." --James Lowry, Senior Advisor, The Boston Consulting Group, "Martin Davidson has developed a transformative insight: that a key to building innovative companies is to replace well-intentioned but generally ineffective 'managing diversity' programs with Leveraging Difference initiatives. I would highly recommend this book to any CEO, manager, or HR professional who wants to build a sustainable, high-performance organization." -Decker Anstrom, US Ambassador, World Radiocommunication Conference, US Department of State; former President, Landmark Communications; and former Chair, The Weather Channel Companies "This book presents a realistic look at the diversity challenge and proposes pragmatic ways to achieve meaningful change along with useful tools for the journey. I wish that I had read this before I became CEO." -Steve Reinemund, Dean of Business, Wake Forest University School of Business, and retired Chair and CEO, PepsiCo "Martin Davidson brings a fresh and compelling look at why our three-decades-long investment in 'managing diversity' has come up short. He then offers a new paradigm for guiding our efforts to make diversity a resource for organizational and individual development and performance. Based on extensive research, The End of Diversity as We Know It offers new insights and tools that will help leaders ensure their companies and organizations get the benefits of the diversity within them." -David A. Thomas, Dean, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University; former Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School; and coauthor of Breaking Through: The Making of Minority Executives in Corporate America "Martin Davidson makes us all take pause and reflect on the diversity and inclusion work we've been part of over the past decade or so and how we must move ahead to transform this critical work across all dimensions of difference. This book is truly thought-provoking and provides excellent practical tools." -Claudette J. Whiting, President, CJW Consulting, and former head of diversity, Microsoft Corporation and DuPont Corporation "I would hope every industry leader would read and embrace the book's major conclusions and recommendations to not only alter marginally successful diversity practices but, more importantly, leverage difference to enhance shareholder value." -James Lowry, Senior Advisor, The Boston Consulting Group, "Martin Davidson has developed a transformative insight: that a key to building innovative companies is to replace well-intentioned but generally ineffective 'managing diversity' programs with Leveraging Difference initiatives. I would highly recommend this book to any CEO, manager, or HR professional who wants to build a sustainable, high-performance organization." -Decker Anstrom, US Ambassador, World Radiocommunication Conference, US Department of State; former President, Landmark Communications; and former Chair, The Weather Channel Companies "This book presents a realistic look at the diversity challenge and proposes pragmatic ways to achieve meaningful change along with useful tools for the journey. I wish that I had read this before I became CEO."? -Steve Reinemund, Dean of Business, Wake Forest University School of Business, and retired Chair and CEO, PepsiCo ?"Martin Davidson brings a fresh and compelling look at why our three-decades-long investment in 'managing diversity' has come up short. He then offers a new paradigm for guiding our efforts to make diversity a resource for organizational and individual development and performance. Based on extensive research, The End of Diversity as We Know It offers new insights and tools that will help leaders ensure their companies and organizations get the benefits of the diversity within them." ? -David A. Thomas, Dean, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University; former Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School; and coauthor of Breaking Through: The Making of Minority Executives in Corporate America ?"Martin Davidson makes us all take pause and reflect on the diversity and inclusion work we've been part of over the past decade or so and how we must move ahead to transform this critical work across all dimensions of difference. This book is truly thought-provoking and provides excellent practical tools." -Claudette J. Whiting, President, CJW Consulting, and former head of diversity, Microsoft Corporation and DuPont Corporation ?"I would hope every industry leader would read and embrace the book's major conclusions and recommendations to not only alter marginally successful diversity practices but, more importantly, leverage difference to enhance shareholder value." -James Lowry, Senior Advisor, The Boston Consulting Group, Finally, a diversity book that dares to tell the truth about the limitations of the "managing diversity" paradigm. Davidson (Darden Graduate School of Business, Univ. of Virginia) offers evidence-based arguments that call for a new way to see and engage diversity in organizations, using his "Leveraging Difference" model. He is quick to point out that the stark contrast between the two diversity approaches he describes is magnified for effect, but he does not exaggerate the frustrations felt by practitioners tasked with implementing the quick-fix diversity initiatives, which usually end up an extension of the HR department and an add-on to core organizational strategies. The author discusses how an emphasis on comfort-focused verses purpose-focused diversity programs has ensured that past efforts resulted in only short-term gains, which were not necessarily tied to the bottom line. Some striking examples of leveraging difference come from Davidson's clients, and the insights gained through the more strategic approach presented in this book give hope to practitioners of diversity training like this reviewer. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels of undergraduate and graduate students, researchers/faculty, and practitioners.
