Comments on: Is DiversityInc a ‘Slick Money-Making Machine’?

By: Luke Visconti

Luke Visconti — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 18:10:25 +0000

Did you even read the column? If being slandered and libeled isn’t offensive then what in the hell is? He attacked my integrity and the core of who I am and what I do. I asked him to stop—twice—and he said he would—twice. When it became clear that he wouldn’t stop, I wrote this column. He stopped. If he wasn’t lying about me, then he would have continued—and he could have taken me to court. This column not only stopped Terry, I’m sure it stopped other jackasses from trying to pull the same stunt, because you can plainly see I’m not afraid to put it all out there. Luke Visconti, CEO, DiversityInc

By: Richard

Richard — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 16:40:23 +0000

As an interested outsider and casual third party observer I was compelled to echo and emphasize a few of the comments here. Admittedly I’m ignorant to the history behind exchanges between Terry and Luke and the issues they harbor, but not to civil and effective communication.

If your response had acknowledged Terry’s ‘heads up’ to the ‘word on the street’ with a thankful tone, for him showing you enough respect to offer open awareness and invite your comment (my perception of his message), your position would have appeared much more honorable and credible. As it is, the defensive and caustic retort casts doubt on your integrity and lends credibility to the criticisms (it did not appear Terry originated or intended to offend with them).

I suspect he may deserve some of the criticisms you dealt out, but doubt you represented & gained your intent; unless you only intended to attack & offend him and raise questions for anyone looking for answers to their doubt. It did NOT APPEAR he intended offense, only conversation, from an outsiders view.

In other words Luke, if it was meant as a contest by either or both of you, you lost!

I only bother to waste my time around this unprofessional exchange because I believe strongly in the cause it distracts from. Perhaps you, your company and the cause you purport to represent would be better served by involving less emotionally invested agents – filtering, supporting & increasing your effectiveness (and adding to your appeal & bottom line)!

By: Leann Simmons

Leann Simmons — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:56:55 +0000

Luke,
Bravo! What is disheartening is not that this Terry person is willing to inject such unqualified criticisms into the fray of an arena that obviously does not impact his company – they don’t have diverse leadership or a strategy. But that he has found a cohortive voice, and feels comfortable publicly disparaging the work! How short minded and actually what a lack of business decorum – to be polite. Profit margins aside, if TI is not in the business of diversity, than so be it. We’re all grown ups and professionals and know that diversity is not embraced by all, most or in some quarters even many. But to attack your organizational mission and to publicly solicit a fight against it as they have no arsenal to remedy or combat what he wants to identify as being disparate in your approach??? What did we learn as kids? That the best revenge is to do well. If you don’t like what I do, than show me up by doing it better. At best, a lack of discretion is remiss while a better approach of conducting his ‘research’ was done. At worst, this looks bad for TI as an organization that does not have a value of diversity representation in its leadership and that it allows its employees to be publicly disparaging in their name.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 23:14:40 +0000

Luke,
Hang in there, this TI guy clearly does NOT know ANYTHING about the great work you do to teach and promote Diversity and Inclusion. We use your magazine at our university, in our classes, and as a basis for discussion with students and faculty alike. If your company were only a slick money making machine, then why do universities, military, and a whole host of groups get DiversityInc, for FREE?!! You should see what our students have to pay for textbooks and on-line publications these days, but DiversityInc is given to them and us for FREE! Fight back, Luke, and let the TI guy know that he doesn’t have the facts. Grace Hwang

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 11:50:44 +0000

I’m so sorry you have had to deal with something like this. I have found DiversityInc to be a gem for understanding how “best practice” organizations are addressing diversity issues. Any time I do a presentation, whether domestically or internationally, I cite DiversityInce as a great resource for the latest summaries of research and top employer programs for diversity. I think DiversityInc has been significant in moving the diversity field forward.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 17:31:25 +0000

The work you are doing is so important and you take great business risks with your stand on some issues. You are admired and respected, but then… oh know, God forbid, you are successful, and begin to prosper and the Left turns on you.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 08:39:15 +0000

I first realized that the head of DiversityInc was “a white guy” when Luke came to speak at my company for a diversiy event. I arrived late to a full-to-capacity auditorium and so I stood along the back wall with my jaw dropped that here was this white guy speaking with sincerity, intelligence, and authority on the sometimes uncomfortable realities of the diversity advances that companies still have yet to make (e.g. a friend in NC told me last month that he wasn’t allowed a position in logistics because, as the lady in HR said, “You have a police record for getting in a fight when you were in high school, so you’ll have to work on the assembly line if you want a job with us because some white people are uncomfortable working with a black man who has a fight on his record.”) Anyway, I left inspired because I too am a white guy who share’s Luke’s passion for D&I, and have said many times to my colleagues and my company’s diversity leaders that if I wasn’t an engineer, I’d be Luke Visconti. Thanks, Luke, for showing that people like you and I exist and are genuine in trying to make things better for us all.

As for this exchange. I’m grateful for being made aware of it because now I know where *not* to work.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 09:31:59 +0000

It really seems that Terry has a personal beef with you Luke …. more like “player hating” than a legitimate issue, e.g. “Not sure if you’ve heard that or not but that reputation is out there in the diversity community.” Really? That’s not much better than the “… I heard that people think you (fill in the blank)…” that happened in high school.

P.S. My brother in Texas told me that he heard that Terry doesn’t really like football! Not sure if he’s heard that or not but that reputation is out there among the maintenance staff at Cowboy Stadium.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 09:14:23 +0000

Mr. Visconti,

I applaud your response to Terry’s attack on your magazine. I have found many useful articles in your magazine over the years that I have been aware of it and share it widely in the hope to broaden my fellow professional peers awareness. Diversity matters and it is good for business. You magazine is very much needed still today to raise the voice and awareness. Thank you for what you are doing.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 08:16:19 +0000

To all the people attacking Luke for fighting back with facts: Did you actually read the article? What makes you think that having a beer summit with TI Terry would have changed things? Really, what makes you think that? Luke’s tried to deal with him nicely for the better part of a year, and instead TI Terry keeps being a bad actor. It almost makes me wonder how many of you are TI Terry’s sockpuppets or people he’s told to swarm this thread to attack Luke, because none of the people attacking Luke seem to have bothered to read, much less comprehend, anything Luke wrote.