The Power of Difference

Where the Complexities of Diversity and Inclusion Meet Practical Solutions

Learn how to create true diversity and inclusion by combining our differences, having open conversations and listening to all voices, not just the few, with this practical and engaging guide.
EAN: 9781398601543
Edition: 1
Published:
Format: 236x158
264 pages

About the book

WINNER: CMI Management Book of the Year 2022
SHORTLISTED: Business Book Awards 2022 - Diversity, Inclusion & Equality category

Good intentions are not enough - real diversity is about change. This book explains why it's our differences and how we combine them that creates true diversity and generates innovation, fresh thinking and ultimately, success.

With clarity and wit, The Power of Difference brings together the author's own experiences with the latest research to explain why inclusion is more than just being nice to people, why unconscious bias training isn't the fix we need and why listening to all individual voices, not just assuming that one viewpoint represents a group, is key.

Offering insight, analysis and practical solutions, The Power of Difference is a must read for all managers, leaders and HR professionals as well as anyone looking to engage with the topic, who doesn't know where to start. Exploring how to confront bias, question assumptions and avoid generalizations, this book illustrates why diversity should be part of the overall business strategy, not separate from it. It shows how for innovation and diversity to flourish, we must create spaces that are safe for disagreement, not from disagreement.

Written in an engaging yet practical style, this book courageously tackles some of the most significant issues at work today.

About the authors

Simon Fanshawe OBE is the co-founder of Diversity by Design, where he works with public, private and third sector companies to bring about meaningful change in the diversity of their talent and the true inclusiveness of their culture. He is Chairman of Hexagon Housing and on the Board of POWERful Women. Based in Brighton, UK, he was a co-founder of Stonewall and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Sussex for his work on diversity and human rights. He has long been involved in campaigns for equality and positive social change and has served on the Board of companies and organizations in the private and charity sectors for over thirty-five years. In 2023, he was inducted into the HR Magazine Hall of Fame after being named one of the most influential HR thinkers in 2022.

Simon Fanshawe has written the most compelling book on diversity I've ever read...beautifully written and full of narrative power, The Power of Difference weaves together the author's personal experiences, insights from research, and remarkable stories of others' journeys to show both how to build genuine inclusion and why it matters so very much in our multicultural world and to the success of organizations.

Amy C Edmondson, Professor, Harvard Business School and author of The Fearless Organization