Momentum

The last of six short and snappy booklets in the easy-to-use and refreshingly straightforward Diversity Breakthrough! Strategic Action Series, More Action might well be the most important one, focusing on how to constantly reevaluate and renew commitment to an organization's diversity program. It also explains how to regularly start new phases of action in the ongoing process of making diversity not just part of an organization's philosophy but of its vision and practices.

Like all the booklets in Kennedy's goal-oriented series, this one comes with self-assessment tools, concrete action strategies to mobilize change, and fun, quick action-planning worksheets, all in a concise 64-page format that's as adaptable to an organization-wide initiative or a small group effort as it is to a single individual's nighttime reading and enrichment (where organizational change, after all, often begins). And as part of the real-life, first-person accounts that make all these booklets so immediate, this edition includes leaders from such diverse organizations as Hewlett-Packard, Leap Wireless, GTE, IBM, Lotus Printing, and the City and County of San Francisco talking about how their organizations have grappled with diversity issues in such areas as business practices, staffing, and overall culture.

Readers can use this booklet alone or in conjunction with others in the series, each of which focuses on a crucial phase in what author Kennedy, a veteran consultant and a former manager of Equal Opportunity and human resources at IBM, calls the "imperfect circle" of change: "Assessment," "Acceptance," "Action," "Accountability," "Achievement," and--you guessed it--"More Action." The Breakthrough system also includes a pack of 52 cards, each of which spells out a specific diversity roadblock (starting with "Our leadership team does not reflect our stated commitment to inclusion."). Passed around in group format, they allow participants to literally "put their cards on the table" about internal issues they'd rather not bring up aloud--making for not just a brilliant icebreaker on a touchy subject but a crucial first step in isolating strengths and weaknesses in the realm of diversity.

If you're looking for a non-technocratic, non-touchy-feely toolkit that finally demystifies diversity management and accords it the seriousness of purpose it deserves, this one delivers. It would also be a wonderful book to read and discuss in corporate reading groups that are springing up around the country. --Timothy Murphy