TrailBlazers: How Top Business Leaders are Accelerating Results through Inclusion and Diversity

Chapter 8. Sticky Strategies™ to Keep Your Pipeline Filled

Anticipating Kathryn Bigelow's historic 2010 Best Director Oscar win, Jodie Foster was quoted as saying, "Directing is the one area that hasn't changed dramatically at all in the film business for women. I don't think it's a conspiracy, I don't think it's a plot to keep women down. I think it's really like race psychology. It's very hard to hand someone $8 million who doesn't look like you."^[7]

In this, the twenty-first century, there are no acceptable excuses for not having a diverse pipeline of talent! Yet businesses continue to struggle. Although there are challenges, Trailblazers have been innovative in their approaches to overcome them. "We just can't find any..." is not accepted by these thought leaders. Diversifying any organization requires an investment of finances and time along with a commitment to change organizational behaviors while creating a culture of inclusion. No small task, but certainly an achievable one.

As this book went to print, the United States and countries in many parts of the world are still suffering from the effects of a major economic downturn, yet our Trailblazers are steadfast in their efforts to continue to attract and retain the best talent. Though never complacent, they realize that this is the time to work even harder than usual to retain and attract new talent. On March 9, 2010, DiversityInc Magazine announced its prestigious list of Top 50 Companies for Diversity. Trailblazer Sodexo ...