Chapter 6Step One: New Majority ReadinessThe Organization Assessment
If you think back to the experiences I shared with you in Chapter 4, you'll probably notice a theme: In every case, the engagement's eventual success was limited by one or another aspect of the organization's unpreparedness for the Total Market. I had to learn that by doing it, but the process I underwent led me to develop a Total Market Enterprise organization assessment. The five levels of Total Market readiness are helpful only if you can assess which stage your company is at—because that's the only way to know what to concentrate on first.
As you're already aware, becoming a Total Market Enterprise is a major disruption. So, you'd be justified in wondering why the necessary changes can't just evolve from existing diversity and inclusion programs. In the next section, I'll explain why the old ways won't work anymore.
History of Diversity and Inclusion as a Model for the Marketplace
The Compliance Era
Diversity programs began in the 1960s in response to civil rights inequities within the workplace. They were motivated by a desire for social justice on the one hand and a recognition of the need to acknowledge modernity on the other. Let's give our forebearers the benefit of the doubt and say that their primary goal was to demonstrate social responsibility while giving equal consideration to all employees.
Diversity programs initially took the form of collective associations and sets of resources designed ...
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