Is DiversityInc a ‘Slick Money-Making Machine’?
Luke Visconti’s Ask the White Guy column is a top draw on DiversityInc.com. Visconti, the founder and CEO of DiversityInc, is a nationally recognized leader in diversity management. In his popular column, readers who ask Visconti tough questions about race/culture, religion, gender, sexual orientation, disability and age can expect smart, direct and disarmingly frank answers.
Stu Arnold, one of our relationship managers, received this email from Terry Howard, diversity director, Texas Instruments on Oct. 10, 2010:
[From Terry Howard] … Diversity Inc has a growing reputation as being nothing but a slick “money-making machine” driven solely by your profit motive. Not sure if you’ve heard that or not but that reputation is out there in the diversity community.
Here’s the email I sent to Terry on Oct. 14, 2010:
[From Luke Visconti] That was a really foolish thing to write, Terry. Every company exists to make a decent profit for return on equity.
But businesses shouldn’t just be measured on profit alone, Terry. Corporate citizenship is also very important – you have an area about that on your website. It says that TI donated $18.8 million to various charities (including $8 million to the TI Foundation). Your firm had $12.5 billion in annual revenues. That means TI donated 0.15 percent of its revenue to charity. I’m on three college boards and one other not-for-profit board. I donated 2 percent of my gross revenue – or 33 percent of my salary — to those philanthropies.
Which company is the “slick money-making machine”?
And about reputation in the “diversity community”: There’s no diversity area on your website – this might be because out of 18 corporate executives pictured on your web site, none appear to be non-white and only three are women – two of the three women are definitely not in line positions. That means that 6.25 percent of your leadership positions are staffed by women.
What “diversity community” are you a member of? The almost 100 percent white male one.
Your reputation is fully grown with me, Terry: You’re a fig-leaf holder. I’ll bet they make you work out of an office outside the state. No Texan I know would put up with you.
On Oct. 21, 2010, after he received the above email, Terry sent this email to a group of diversity professionals in Dallas. One of them forwarded it to me:
[From Terry Howard]: To tag onto the recent exchanges about the DiversityInc survey, does anyone have a feel for just how “diverse” DiversityInc is relative to the number of people of color and women who work there? Who holds the key jobs there and what do they look like?
And further, given that DiversityInc has become a financial behemoth, does anyone know how much they have given back to their homebase, the city of Newark, known to have problems of unemployment, high crime, etc.
In short, is DiversityInc really walking their talk or are they just raking in the dough?
Are my questions legitimate ones to pose? Talk to me Consortium.
Terry
I responded by referring the person who forwarded Terry’s email to me to www.DiversityInc.com/aboutus. Please note that when Terry sent the above email, he already had my response about DiversityInc philanthropy. For the record, of my eight direct reports, six are women, two are men (one white man). Five of my eight direct reports are not white. I sent this email to that person on Oct. 24, 2010 (the companies I named were on The 2010 DiversityInc Top 50 list – on The 2011 DiversityInc Top 50 list, several companies do no business with me, including General Mills, Cummins and SC Johnson):
[From Luke Visconti]: One more thing you may want to think about — entering the DiversityInc Top 50 competition is free — and you get a report card. There are six companies on my list who don’t do any business with me, including JPMorgan Chase, General Mills and Xerox — which PROVES there’s no connection between doing business with me and being on my list (I’m just guessing this has been brought up).
There are some people who think that not participating is the best thing to do – if you don’t participate, your CEO can’t ask “Why aren’t we on the list?” If you do participate and get on the list, you have to worry about falling down in your rankings. If you’re a fig-leaf holder for your corporation — if you’re the kind of person who figures “Hey, I got mine, the hell with everyone else,” the LAST thing you want is a measure of independent verification. Once you have it, you actually have to drop the fig-leaf to DO SOMETHING. Might be risky! Might be stressful! You might actually have to face some heat.
The reason I waited to publish this interaction until now was the hope that it would go away – unfortunately two companies have recently contacted me with the same slander – one of them mentioned Terry by name. Unfortunately, Terry must have mistaken my kindness for weakness. Bullies often do that. I’m going to send his CEO and corporate counsel a copy of this column with a letter from me. For the record, Texas Instruments does not participate in The DiversityInc Top 50 and we do no business with them.
For those of you listening to whispering campaigns by people like Terry – who will slander and libel my company behind my back and do not have the guts to confront me directly (yes, I know all about you two on the West Coast), please keep this in mind: I’m not going to take it quietly anymore.
12:41 pm
Hi Luke:
Thanks for sharing this exchange. It is always interesting on how to respond to those who are critical of our efforts. It is unfortunate that you had to go to these extremes, but hopefully this minimizes any future ‘slander’ although it is unlikely it will ever completely go away. I must admit my initial reaction was that the tone was a bit harsh, but I could sense the level of frustration you must be feeling. Thanks for what you do and the impact DiversityInc is making.
Warm regards,
Douglas
12:42 pm
Luke,
What an unfortunate situation. I sense your frustration a determination but … in a world of replete social media capability facts and innuendo easily become comingled, often spiraling out of control.
Without taking sides, have you thought about talking with one another, face to face? (For the record, it is never too late to do this.) If I were your trusted advisor, that would have been my advice.
If I can help let me know.
Ryan
12:44 pm
Hi Luke,
Sorry you have to go through that– I wonder what the agenda is- guess they feel threatened? Anyway, I think you wrote a wonderful response. Keep up the great work!
12:45 pm
Luke,
Thanks for sharing. You know how to take care of bullies. Keep on keeping on!
12:46 pm
Dear Luke,
In these days–it is 2011 right?–I can’t believe that anyone at a major corporation would write something like that!!
Thank you for sharing it and also for sharing your well written response!
Best always,
Joyce
12:47 pm
Mr. Visconti, professional and personal jealousy spur rumors. You do great work, provide valuable information, dispel myth with facts, hold companies accountable, and do so across several industries. That you can earn a living doing so is no sin. Others certainly earn a living from diversity positions that result in far less diversity improvement.
12:47 pm
Great! I am glad that you are choosing to not take it quietly anymore! I believe that too many of us have just taken things quietly and that is a big reason for many of the messes our entire society is involved in now. It is time to speak up!
Thank you for doing so!
Jan Lindeman
12:48 pm
Luke
I have had to defend this rumor myself and I used your information about staff and philanthropy as well as your free services to the Federal government . You are so appreciated by the right people. “Never grow weary of doing that which is right”.
Cheryl
12:50 pm
Boy, this really pisses me off! Thanks for sharing. I guess I won’t be buying any TE calculators for my twins when they start their higher-order math in school.
Keep up the good work! And do NOT take any crap from anyone. Facts speak the loudest.
Ted
12:50 pm
Is he insane! How on earth was he ever put in that role! And BRAVO to you for your responses.
1:01 pm
I just wanted you to know how appreciative i am for the information you distribute to your devoted readers. Not only has it awakened my diversity mind it has helped me get equipped for the challenges that so many companies still face with diversity. I had the honor of listening to you in 2009 at the Multicultural Forum and i have been a fan every since. I read your response to Terry and i thought that you were tactful and on point. I hope it serves as a warning that never attack the White Guy, but ask a White Guy and he will definitely tell you the real truth. Thank you again for all you do. it is appreciated!
1:08 pm
You have the funniest snappy comebacks ever! ROFL You would have killed on the debate team. Thanks for the story, Mr. Visconti.
1:20 pm
Although I understand the passion of your response, publishing the exchange of dialogue I did not agree with. Always fight to defind against slander BUT the tone and the manner by which you do it (and publish it) will be remembered far longer than the words of slander delivered. You are not running a not-for-profit organization, nor have you ever made that claim so I’m not sure what the point is of your naysayers. Please continue to direct and focus you efforts on delivering the truths about diversity. The false Diversity ‘leaders’ lack of commitment will show in due time. Thanks for the good work.
1:50 pm
Terry shouldn’t be concerned with DiversityInc’s ability to generate income but rather if there is value in what you do. There is a direct correlation between income and value provided. The customers will determine whether there’s value or not. I think it’s safe to say DiversityInc is achieving that balance. Terry – you may want to consider holding that fig leaf over your face for awhile. Not sure what your end game is nor do I care. I’m betting TI is less than impressed with your email attacks.
Luke – I appreciate your passion. It’s unfortunate to have to defend it. Stay the course.
1:56 pm
Luke – in my opinion, Terry’s behavior is way out of line, unprofessional and doesn’t reflect well on TI. It is clear that he was deliberately and inappropriately hitting DI below the belt. I appreciate your holding off publishing the exchange in the hope that it would go away, but clearly it has not. Looking down at it all from 50K feet, while it’s regrettable that the exchange occurred, it’s even more regrettable that Terry wasn’t mature enough to handle it with you directly. And, when he expanded his attack and it started to impact other potential DI clients, it seems to me you had no choice but to publish it and go on the offensive. As a mediator, I want only for both parties to come to the table and attempt to regain some respect for each other. But as a realist and someone who has grown wiser with age, I know it may be too late for that. As always, I remain respectfully yours, Gregg Ward, CMC
1:57 pm
Luke,
I worry about this conflict and where it could go. So many people in this field continue to “color-code” all inter-racial discussions – often accusing white men of “misusing privilege” and attributing other evil motives to them. I don’t want you to wind up as the “bad white guy.”
Is there any possibility of a rapprochement?
1:58 pm
Never fear, know that your efforts are truly blessed and highly favored. We appreciate you :)
2:11 pm
I think that DiversityInc and Mr. Visconti have a well-earned reputation for advancing the cause of diversity and inclusion. It would be–in my opinion–a mistake to continue to expend effort in this dialog: Your record should speak for itself
2:11 pm
Get him Luke :) Seems silly that we still shoot the messenger in today’s time. Whether you make money while serving a social purpose is irrelevant to the ultimate beneficiaries of Diversity Inc.
Very truly yours. Sharon Simmons
2:34 pm
Terry’s attack is another example of the strategy of those who want to return us to the dark ages – distract from the real issue using false and irrelevant information. The more you repeat some bit of information regardless of its actual truth or relevance, the more of an audience it gets – the goal is for that information to become a popularly held belief and therefore true. Distract everyone from your own inadequacies with smoke and mirrors. Shame on Terry and TI. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.