Building a House for Diversity: How a Fable about a Giraffe & an Elephant Offers New Strategies for Today's Workforce Hardback - 1999 - 1st Edition

"What could an elephant and a giraffe teach people about working together? Some very important lessons, it seems, about the complex--and critically important--issues of dealing with diversity in the workforce.

Building a House for Diversity begins with a short fable about how a friendship between the two animals is threatened when the house built for a tall, skinny giraffe cannot accommodate his invited guest, a broad, bulky elephant. Using this story as a vivid metaphor for the difficult issues inherent in diversity, the book goes on to demonstrate how managing diversity can be seen as a set of skills that anyone can learn and use.

In a way that makes diversity management ""up close and personal,"" Building a House for Diversity offers compelling, real-life stories of individual experiences at work. It includes:

* The perspective of both ""insiders"" (usually white males) and ""outsiders"" (usually minorities or women)

* Insightful commentary illuminating what these experiences tell us about the challenges and opportunities of diversity

* A particularly interesting segment on Phil Jackson, legendary Chicago Bulls coach, and how he dealt with diversity issues in his relationships to Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman, Scottie Pippin, and others

* Hands-on guidance to help readers become ""diversity mature"" and take personal responsibility for their attitudes and actions.

Throughout, the book reflects the seminal thinking of R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr., a pioneer in articulating the concepts of managing diversity. In this book, he has produced his most creative and practical approach to this continuing challenge."