The Loudest Duck: Moving Beyond Diversity while Embracing Differences to Achieve Success at Work

Chapter 2

The Elephant and the Mouse

In every power structure on Earth, there are elephants and there are mice. The basic idea is that if you are the elephant in the room, what do you need to know about the mouse? Not much, for you are mighty, tall, and powerful, and have little use for the tiny jungle creatures. If you are the mouse in the room, what do you need to know about the elephant? Everything. You could be crushed or obliterated if you don’t understand the elephant’s habits, movements, and preferences.

The elephant knows almost nothing about the mouse, while the mouse survives by knowing everything about the other. Herein lies the dynamic between the dominant and nondominant groups in the workplace. Nondominant groups develop certain skill sets, including vigilance, attentiveness, and adaptability. In business, for example, Microsoft is an elephant and Mozilla is a mouse. In politics, the United States is the elephant; Hong Kong is a mouse. In American society, generally white men are elephants, while women and minorities are mice.

We cannot escape the fact that some groups have more power than others. This power may come from sheer numbers, who historically has had more power, or preconceived ideas about the proper roles of individuals in a given culture. All of these will affect who naturally has a dominant place in the power structure and who does not. It also affects what we know about others, how much we know about what other’s lives are like, and what others ...