Summary of Driven by Difference

David Livermore

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Rating

The rating – what does it mean?

At getAbstract, we summarize books* that help people understand the world and make it better. Whatever we select for our library has to excel in one or the other of these two core criteria:

Enlightening – You’ll learn things that will inform and improve your decisions.

Helpful – You’ll take-away practical advice that will help you get better at what you do.

We rate each piece of content on a scale of 1–10 with regard to these two core criteria. Our rating helps you sort the titles on your reading list from adequate (5) to brilliant (10). Books we rate below 5 won’t be summarized. Here's what the ratings mean:

5 –Solid. A helpful and/or enlightening book, inspite of its obvious shortcomings. For instance, it may be offer decent advice in some areas but be repetitive or unremarkable in others. 6 – Notable. A helpful and/or enlightening book that stands out by at least one aspect, e.g. is particularly well structured. 7 – Good. A helpful and/or enlightening book that combines two or more noteworthy strengths, e.g. contains uncommonly novel ideas and presents them in an engaging manner. 8 – Very good. A helpful and/or enlightening book that has a substantial number of outstanding qualities without excelling across the board, e.g. presents the latest findings in a topical field and is written by a renowned expert but lacks a bit in style. 9 – Superb. A helpful and/or enlightening book that is extremely well rounded, has many strengths and no shortcomings worth mentioning. 10 – Brilliant. A helpful and/or enlightening book that, in addition to meeting the highest standards in all pertinent aspects, stands out even among the best. Often an instant classic and must-read for everyone. While the rating tells you how good a book is according to our two core criteria, it says nothing about its particular defining features. Therefore, we use a set of 20 qualities to characterize each book by its strengths:

Applicable – You’ll get advice that can be directly applied in the workplace or in everyday situations.
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Concrete Examples – You’ll get practical advice illustrated with examples of real-world applications or anecdotes.
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Engaging – You’ll read or watch this all the way through the end.
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For beginners – You’ll find this to be a good primer if you’re a learner with little or no prior experience/knowledge.
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Qualities

Applicable

Recommendation

Corporate culture expert David Livermore offers an unusual note of practical advice. He argues that diversity matters only if it contributes to your organization’s mission. Livermore offers chapters on showing respect, listening, gaining clarity and arriving at consensus in diverse teams. Only when such teams truly leverage their differences in perspectives and ideas can their organizations reap the benefits of a variety of viewpoints. Livermore refreshingly derides political correctness and suggests that people should embrace their differences instead of seeking commonalities. Though no organization can hope to implement all of Livermore’s ideas, getAbstract recommends his practical suggestions to diversity and inclusion professionals and their HR colleagues.

About the Author

David Livermore, PhD co-leader of the Cultural Intelligence Center, speaks worldwide about culture, identity and inclusion, and is a visiting fellow at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University.

Summary

Simple Diversity Doesn’t Work

Many leaders and teams have had it with diversity. They’ve run programs and training sessions, and they’ve recruited diverse employees only to see no gains except, perhaps, an increase in problems and infighting. Whether or not you institute diversity intentionally, today a diversity of employees pervades nearly every workplace. However, just having a diverse workforce doesn’t guarantee innovation, creativity or any of the benefits generally associated with diversity.

High-functioning, diverse teams outperform homogenous teams, but diversity by itself contributes nothing to an organization’s success. Unless leaders intentionally leverage its potential, diversity erodes performance and productivity. Simply recruiting people of varied backgrounds and skills and hoping for the best often ends in acrimony and gridlock. If you don’t manage diverse teams carefully to take advantage of the members’ unique perspectives, you’re better off with team members of the same race, age, gender and culture – a clear impossibility.