From Intention to Impact

Description

How business leaders can move their DEI efforts from intention to impact through strategy and culture change.

In the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, corporate America has doubled down on its public intentions to be more inclusive and equitable. Yet beyond the pledges it is difficult to see which system changes make a real difference. In From Intention to Impact, Malia Lazu draws on her background as a community organizer, her corporate career as a bank president, and now her experience as a leading DEI consultant to explain what has been holding organizations back and what they need to do better. First and foremost, she recognizes that truly moving from intention to impact means targeting and changing the traditions and culture that normalize whiteness.

From Intention to Impact shows what organizations, leaders, and people at all levels must do to create more inclusive environments that honor and value diversity. Lazu shares a seven-stage guide through this process as well as a 3L model of listening, learning, and loving that readers can use from the initial excitement of doing “something” to the frustration when the inevitable pushback comes, and finally to the determination to do the hard work despite the challenges—on corporate and political fronts. Most compelling, From Intention to Impact shows that, while commitment from the top is paramount, for DEI to be most effective, it needs to be decentralized—among managers, within teams, and across the organization.

A crucial read for anyone looking to future-proof their company, From Intention to Impact goes beyond the “feel good” PR-centric actions to showcase the real DEI work that must be done to create true and lasting systemic change.Contents

Series Foreword ix
Introduction xi

I How We Got Here 1
1 Waking Up to Uncomfortable Truths 3
2 Evolve or Die 11
3 Making Antiracism the New Normal 27

II A Blueprint for Sustainable Change 41
4 From Performative Action to Business Performance 43
5 Finding Your Company’s Authentic Voice 57
6 Goals Alone Do Not Make Change—Uninformed Goals Pose a Reputational Risk 67
7 Creating a Curious Work Culture 83
8 It’s Not Them, It’s You 105
9 Vendor Procurement: Building Diverse Ecosystems 119
10 Where to from Here? 129

Acknowledgments 139
Notes 141
Index 159“Lazu has a refreshing, suffer-no-fools style … and her recommendations to hire more employees of color, change company policies to better serve them, and contract with more vendors from marginalized groups offers a welcome alternative to the milquetoast guidance in other business manuals focused on corporate ‘culture’ and posturing. This walks the walk.”
—Publishers WeeklyMalia C. Lazu is an award-winning, tenured strategist in diversity and inclusion and a lecturer in the Technological Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Strategic Management group at the MIT Sloan School of Management. She is former EVP and Regional President of Berkshire Bank and the creator of several accelerators designed to support minority-owned businesses in the Boston area, as well as the consultancy the Lazu Group.US

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