Order Now | Review | Excerpts

Excerpts from Cracking the Corporate Code

Westina Matthews-Shatteen was enlisted to develop and implement the diversity plan. "I was invited to a meeting with some senior executives and lawyers. It turned out they wanted to talk about diversity. I don't know what I had to do with diversity, so I just walked in there and said what I thought. It was as if my great uncle and mentor from Chicago, Bill Berry, had walked into the room. 'Well, do we agree the emperor has no clothes? Now you've got to find somebody who really is known out in the community, someone with a reputation and a vision.' They listened attentively and said, 'Whom would you suggest?' I replied, 'I have no idea.' They said, 'What about you?' I said, 'I have a job. I'm not interested.' And I went off to host a lunch uptown. As I walked into the restaurant, I received a call summoning me back for a meeting with the president and the vice chairman.

"After about fifteen minutes of conversation, the then-president slammed his hand on the table and said, 'I'm ready to take this on. Write up the plan.' I went into my boss's office and said, 'We have a problem. I think I've been asked to write a plan for a job I don't want.' He said, 'You don't have a choice. The president asked you to do it.'' I wrote a strong plan and said to myself, 'They're not going to do this.' After about three months, people started congratulating me for being named the new head of diversity. It was news to me. Finally, the head of HR told me about my new assignment.

"I've actually had more discretionary authority in this position, more opportunity to have influence. I am in the room where decisions are being made. And because I'm now on the human resources side, I have access to so much information. I know what policies they're thinking about, so I know where I can add value. I can introduce policies right at the level where things really happen. "One of the policies I'm proudest of is our reporting on diversity. We've created diversity scorecards that keep track of the work force three times a year for every business group around the world.

'What were your opportunities? How many hires and promotions did you have at this level? How many of them were women, how many blacks, Asians, Hispanics?' When they have to turn in these qualitative and quantitative reports, you start seeing a difference.

Right now we have the will to hire and the will to promote. They want a reason for you to do well. However, what we hear from the women is that men are cats with nine lives. They can fail and get more chances. But women are so visible, so vulnerable, they often are removed at the first mistake, or they might get a second chance. I think people of color often just get one chance. That's our parents' old warning, 'Be twice as good.' But today, companies will give you the chance. You just have to step up and prove yourself."