Leadership and Change

So, combining diversity of thought and recognition of alternate viewpoints, I offer these two postings on Dell’s customer [lack of] help line: http://www.bivingsreport.com/2006/dell-hell-are-we-learning-the-right-lessons http://www.micropersuasion.com/2006/07/dellstartscor.html . Frequently a victim of Dell's "support" system, I completely agree with these well-regarded blog postings. Once corporations start to engage public criticism in an effective manner, they will do much more to build diversity in customers and employees than working with focus groups paid to comment on the newest flavor of snack chip. It’s not only a question of what you respond to, but how you design the response.

Portland is lauded as the most sustainable city in the US (http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2007/07/19/cities/). They are now questioning what type of housing to design for the current market demographic. As urban centers increasingly attract single occupant households that enjoy engaging in community activities, the response was to become more European in the shape of housing. If you visit this Cyan PDX site, you’ll see that the branding fits the model of minimalism and small unit living. The showroom is similar to an Apple store; displaying only a few products, but focusing on the experience within the store and service of the staff. The product includes small European appliances designed to consume less electricity and handle smaller loads. They say the refrigerator will encourage the occupant to visit the local foods farmer’s market more.

Point being, the product is not just about what it is, but what it enables. Are bag chips about mimicry of dip and chips, or about having a convenient portable snack? Is housing about the overall unit, or its proximity to other like-minded people and/or resources that support your lifestyle? Is diversity in corporations about how your company photo looks online, what statistics you can flaunt, or is it about the viewpoints brought to the table?

Amartya Sen breaks down capability and capacity as two drivers of freedom. I submit that it is no longer black/white/red/yellow that we need to categorize diversity. With the highly educated Nigerians being the significant African-American immigrant population (http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Urgent_Action/apic020303.html), one can question if college admissions affirmative action policies that evaluate based on skin color or ethnic affiliation is appropriate. Affirmative action is designed to assist those with the capability, but not the capacity to obtain higher education, something that has been more closely tied to race in the history of our nation. But once the categorization becomes so abbreviated that it no longer applies to the current populace, it’s time for redesign.

Does this string of thoughts have a common theme? In my mind, it’s about identity and integrity of diversity. The demand market focus of senior editor Hymowitz’s article is true to the capitalistic drive of the entire newspaper. But when will American companies begin to realize it’s about product intent, corporate responsiveness, brand loyalty, and support of initiatives that enable those outside of the target-market to join their loyal consumer base?