When Mission Is Real, It Shows Up in the Smallest Moments
Most organizations say they are mission-driven. Very few are willing to let their mission actually drive decisions. Mission statements are easy. Posters are easy. Websites…
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Never Be Blinded by Limitations: Why Peter Drucker Would Challenge How We Hire People With Differing Abilities
“Never be blinded by a person’s limitations. Be awed by their possibilities.” Too often, we focus on what people cannot do. In hiring, we create…
Why Employees Don’t Self-Identify (And It’s Not Fear of the Form)
For years, organizations have puzzled over the same question: Why don’t more employees self-identify as having a disability? The most common answers sound reasonable: So,…
Inclusion Is a Mindset, And Most Organizations Still Get It Wrong
Almost every organization today claims to value inclusion, even in a day and age when some have tried to eradicate the term DEI. They have…
The R-Word Isn’t “Back.” It Never Left the People It Hurts.
The R-Word Isn’t “Back.” It Never Left the People It Hurts. The New York Times recently published a troubling article titled “The ‘R-Word’ Returns, Dismaying…
The Manager Is the System: Why Inclusion Fails When Managers Aren’t Equipped
Most conversations about workplace inclusion eventually land in the same place: culture, values, and intent. That’s understandable. Intent matters. But intent does not run an…
When School Ends and the World Gets Smaller: Lessons from the 21-Year-Old Cliff
Earlier this week, John and I had the privilege of speaking with the Special Needs Parents group here on Long Island. We came prepared to…
From Compliance to Operating System: Why Inclusion Fails When We Write Policies and Ignore Systems
For years, disability inclusion in the workplace lived in the same category as safety posters and legal disclaimers: necessary, important, and largely disconnected from how…
Leadership, Trust, and the Need to Slow Down in Moments of Crisis
When tragedy strikes, our instinct is often to react quickly: to assign blame, to defend positions, to demand certainty before the facts are fully known….
What Drives Your Organization? Start with Purpose.
Why does your organization exist, not what you do, but why? What’s the heartbeat behind what you do? Saying you want to make money is…