Change through the Lens of Inclusion

Opportunities come along in business all the time. The success of a business is defined by which opportunities are acted upon, and the way in which they are executed. When we look large scale change, that is change that impacts 50% or more of what a business does, it can be difficult to get our arms around the first step. The first rule of change says that an organization actually has to do something, other than identifying the change itself, to cause change to occur. This is not a chicken-or-the-egg question, action always precedes change.

Inclusion is a word that gets batted around like a batting practice pitcher. In our context, it means opening the door to as many customers as possible, while increasing profit margins. Nothing more, nothing less. If you’ve been selling cars to women, between the ages of 55-65, and your firm is seeking to widen its customer base, opening your door to another segment will accomplish this goal. Pretty simple implied math, no?

Some may be asking, isn’t this just marketing common sense? Yes, it is…with a twist. Typically, if you look at a market demographic layout, it includes age, gender and income. Within those segments, there are some unique populations who have certain desires that may not mesh with the population as a whole. If the target segment is large enough to add to marginal profits, those desires must be accounted for and projected in the strategy and tactics of the firm, both internally and externally.

The easiest way to start is internally. Firms have proven, over and over, in order to serve a new market, one needs to understand it. Whether the firm hires external portable knowledge, or builds from within, it is critical to have expertise in a new market to serve it. That could be product expertise, cultural expertise or external credibility. This author is convinced that one could sell hockey pucks in the wilds of Nepal, but he has no Nepalese expertise. He would need to acquire it by hiring it, or living amongst the locals for some time. Again, common sense is striking.

One of the interesting initiatives and outgrowths of this effort to Include is the ‘diversity’ movements within corporate entities. This author has spoken to many corporate leaders who look at ‘diversity’ and scratch their heads. Where is the imperative to be diverse? Why is it in shareholder’s interest to get to x% of this and y% of that? Diversity for diversity’s sake is a dead-end. It introduces a social agenda, but without the compelling link to returns.

When the benchmark is changed to Include, and the metrics are growth and profitability, leaders change their tunes. It is very difficult for an intelligent business leader to shun a material opportunity to grow both bottom and top lines.

According to Michael Feiner, author and Professor at Columbia Business School, real change happens through hand to hand combat, that is, concrete steps that happen at eye level, day-in day-out. Given that statement, Inclusion causes change by acting on the demographic reality of a global marketplace that is highly connected to messaging via technology.

What does that look like? While in the past, it was impossible to reach multiple segments with one message, in the on-demand world, targeted multiple messaging is both feasible and economical. Markets today are ‘self-selecting’. Consumers find their message, and drive it for you rather than being spoon-fed in prime-time. They often tell you their desires without prompting. As a firm, you just need to be listening.

Does it make any sense that ‘diversity’ efforts are parallel corporate programs, outside the mainstream? Rather counter-intuitive to stated goals of these programs, no? For firms starting to look at this space, the word ‘Inclusion’ must guide all activities. ‘Diversity’ tends to be a central, corporate function where ‘Inclusion’ needs to live in the field, and in the line divisions that drive results of the firm. If your firm is looking to Include, skip the central/parallel model and embed this into your line functions now.

Are current ‘diversity’ efforts wrong-headed? No. They represent pioneering steps of visioneer firms to serve broader markets, or more cynically, comply with regulation. Either way, firms doing this now, are ahead of the curve. They won’t be there for long. Overwhelming demographics, measurement and concrete metrics make Inclusion the next great catalyst in today’s global marketplace. With various cultures and markets coming online every day, the only constant in tomorrow’s marketplace is difference. Building an Inclusion-based framework now delivers outsized returns then.

Globalization is not an ivory-tower theory anymore, it is de rigueur. Giant firms are facing new and legitimate competition from upstarts that open their door to all potential customers, resulting in declining share and threatening what was once a comfortable market position. With less than 50% of the world’s population involved in today’s economy, firms are asking the question of how to create and capture new share. Inclusion is the answer.