Diversity Programs are entering a dynamic phase...Diversity II (Diversity to the Second Power). In order to move diversity to this dynamic realm, a methodology specifically designed to optimize the potential of diversity and to maximize corporate performance must be put in place. Such a methodology is embodied in the principles and the mechanics of Cramer's Cube. Utilizing the methodology, the power and potential of diversity is tapped and its essence is then applied to the corporation's tactical and strategic objectives. Cramer's Cube does not address the group diversity embodied in Affinity Groups. Rather, it taps the unique potential of individual diversity and fuses it into a creative organizational development environment, which empowers the individual and enriches the corporation. The diversity that is addressed in Cramer's Cube would more accurately be defined as individuality.

DIVERSITY II —
METHODS TO TUNE-UP THE OPERATIONAL ENGINES

1) CREATE A TEAM AND DEFINE ITS OBJECTIVE
Corporate management defines an issue that a team of employees will address. Drawing on the diversity of the individuals, a team is created that has the best possibility to provide unique insight and understanding of the issue and its underlying aspects. The team must be as diverse as possible. For example, the group dynamics will not be effective if all team members share the same experience level. The best dynamics are achieved by populating a team with a wide spectrum of individuals. The team's objective must be communicated in a manner that is precise, quantifiable and clear. The team must acknowledge that each of these criteria has been met.

2) DEFINE CLEAR METHODS OF COMMUNICATION.
ELIMINATE "LOOSE LANGUAGE"
Until two people are confident that each has the same understanding of a word or phrase, miscommunication results. In business, this miscommunication may yield tragic consequences.

There will always be a degree of inefficiency in spoken communication and it would be counterproductive to attempt to eliminate all of it. However, each of us must be aware if we are contributing to the problem by using ambiguous language. Phrases that require an explanation, or concepts that are intended to provide dramatic effect, must not be used. Phrases such as giving 110% are counterproductive in the workgroup because they cannot be clearly defined. This would fall into the classification of "loose language."

3) FOLLOW THE FLOW...DON'T FOLLOW THE LEADER
When teams are assembled, there is usually a stated commitment by each member to follow a fair and democratic process in discussions and collaborations. In reality, it is usually decided that a member of the team should step forward to move the process along by proposing a "straw man" as the team's solution to the assignment.

A "straw man" is a proposal or argument that the "proposer" understands will be challenged and attacked. This gives the appearance that the straw man is a fair, balanced and inclusive process. Appearances can be deceiving and in this case they are! In submitting the straw man, the leader has directed the attention and focus of each individual toward a very small universe of potential solutions. The straw man should not be viewed for what it is, but for what it excludes.

4) EXECUTIVES CREATE AN EASY PROCESS
FOR THE TEAM TO FOLLOW
In most workgroup settings, it is expected that the collaborative process is rather straightforward. Each member of the team is a competent individual and a recognized team player. Each will be respectful of the others and work toward a timely solution that the entire team can supports. Unfortunately this process often results in failure because the working methodology has not been fairly established or completely understood. For the confidence of the executives and the efficiency of the workgroup, it is most beneficial to establish a consistent methodology before the teams are assembled and implement this methodology across the entire corporation.

5) PROVIDE A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT OF EXPRESSION
Once the methodology is defined and communicated, it is essential to create a healthy operating environment. A workgroup where certain members do not fully and actively participate is guaranteed to fail. Team members must be comfortable in expressing their observations and views, no matter how different they may be from those expressed by others. A consistent methodology can help this process. Members will know that they are not only allowed, but also encouraged to contribute. Predictability in this case is a good thing. It makes people comfortable and less anxious. A wider breadth of contributions leads to increased diversity of thought and, ultimately, a better solution.

6) DISTRIBUTE THE POWER, INFLUENCE AND
IMPACT EQUALLY ACROSS ALL MEMBERS
The issue is not whether the workgroup wants to have an operating procedure that ensures equal power, influence and impact. The issue is whether the team actually has the ability to do it. The key ingredient, which will guarantee that the team adheres to their goal, is to have a methodology that removes the subjective application of rules. The methodology used by the workgroup must guarantee that the goal of equal power, influence and impact is achieved by following simple, non-interpretative and non-constraining guidelines.

7) DROP THE LABELS AND STEREOTYPES
When people of great diversity are formed into a workgroup, it is only natural that each member will make assessments of the others. This is not an issue, unless the assessments are made prematurely and stereotypically. During the collaborative process, the essence of each individual begins to be revealed and other members will respond to that individual in a certain way. That is okay!

Issues arise if the process is short-circuited by allowing team members to make pre-judgments of others before they have had an opportunity to interact and communicate with that individual. Applying labels and stereotypes to any person, based on some general assessment of the group or category in which the person has been placed, is destructive. Even if you believe that you are applying a positive stereotype to a person, it must be eliminated. Everyone is an individual and it is counterproductive to the team to label teammates.

8) ARGUE AND DEBATE—DON'T FIGHT!
BE PASSIONATE BUT NOT PERSONAL
Ideas and opinions are very personal. If a person is having his or her ideas and opinions challenged, then the individual is essentially being challenged. Therefore, in a team setting it is almost impossible to have a vibrant and passionate working environment because some members might feel that others are attacking them personally by attacking their ideas or opinions. One solution would be to define a code of conduct that eliminates passion from the operating environment of the workgroup. Such a proposal might sound quite proper and civilized but it would be stifling. Creativity and productivity would suffer.

The alternative is to keep the passion and eliminate the ideas and opinions. That sounds kind of crazy! It is not, and here is why. By moving the debate from opinions to observations, the sense of personal attack disappears. The principal difference is that if you attack my ideas or my opinions, you are, in effect attacking me. However, if you passionately and aggressively attack my observations or my insight I am not injured in the process. My observations are personal, and influenced by my viewpoint, but I have not made them a part of my persona.

9) CREATE COLLECTIVE CLOUT
WITHOUT SACRIFICING INDIVIDUALITY.
We have transformed the operating environment from one of ideas and opinions to one of observations and insight. In an idea-centric framework, the ideas of some individuals will be sacrificed at the altar of consensus. In an observation-centric framework, every individual can objectively relate to the observations of the others in a detached frame of mind. If one member of the workgroup has made a significant observation and the others assess it as being significant, it is quite easy to have the entire team embrace that observation. The team members are not changing position for the sake of a consensus recommendation. Instead, each member now sees the more compelling observation of another member and moves to that position.

The individuals have not sacrificed their individuality. Because of the diversity of the workgroup, one person may have had a rather unique insight or perspective to see what others could not. That is the power of individuality. Enlightening other members of the workgroup, and providing a change of perspective for them, is the power of team diversity. The team has created collective clout in the process and the individuals have expanded themselves. The operating environment of observation and insight is an additive process, not subtractive or compromising.

10) COLLABORATE AND FORMULATE CONCLUSIONS
Collaboration can be very efficient and productive if each member of the workgroup knows what is taking place and why. As stated in step #3, the team has not been following a leader in this methodology. Each person is working to gather information and making observations. The potential value of this data has not yet been determined and it will not until the members can collaborate. Each member will present his or her observations and information for the team to evaluate and assign relative importance and significance.

After that step, the elements will be combined in various configurations to determine whether some of these elements gain strength or become weaker when combined with other elements. Like a collection of magnets, some elements will be attracted to, or repelled by, others. The team can make assessments and judgments, culminating in a conclusion that is ratified by every team member.

11) PUSH THE LIMITS...
TAP THE UNIQUENESS OF THE INDIVIDUALS.
What comes naturally and instinctively to one individual may be difficult or impossible for another. Whether an organization is a corporation, university or government agency, if it has diversity it also has significant potential.

If Diversity Programs are to reach their potential, it is imperative that the corporation's diversity be given the opportunity to flourish and thrive. Let the unique talents, abilities and insights of the individuals reach their full potential and maximum impact. Utilizing the assets of diversity, CEOs can leverage them to create a company that is proactive with its clients and customers as opposed to reacting to competitors. This is accomplished by tuning the operating engines with the methodology that empowers the individuals and invigorates the corporation.

12) CREATE INNOVATIVE, EXTREME
AND REVOLUTIONARY RESULTS
It would be most effective if the team were given the assignment to produce three solutions. That would allow for a relative comparison of potential results, costs and tradeoffs. The spectrum of the three solutions should cover the range from "status quo" to "impossible" but not including those two. The designators that can be used to define this range will be Innovative, Extreme and Revolutionary. There is an added benefit to the executive who receives these recommendations and it may be more significant than the relativity that it provides.

Since CEOs are not in the habit of sharing sensitive information, there could have been some information that might have been beneficial to the workgroup in meeting its objective, but it was not shared. CEOs have greater risk in sharing sensitive information than they do in receiving a recommendation from a team that might not address the true magnitude of a problem or opportunity. The alternative approach is to push the workgroup to the limits on its recommendation without requiring the executives to provide sensitive information or insight. Utilizing a comprehensive and documented methodology that clearly defines the parameters for Innovative, Extreme and especially Revolutionary solutions, the CEO will have achieved the same objective.

Vincent M. Cramer is the author of Cramer's Cube. He is also the founder of Winchester Consulting Group, an Organizational Development and Training Company specializing in the principles of Cramer's Cube and its application to Diversity Asset Management™.