During the mid-1980s diversity was becoming an industry of its own. If we go back to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, diversity was thought of only in terms of compliance to the law. Today the thinking is diversity is good for business or it’s the right thing to do.

In the year 2000 we started hearing “inclusion” being referred to as an extension or result of diversity. However, just because you have diversity doesn’t necessarily mean that you will have inclusion.

We believe that Oneness, though not a term that is used very much, has a similar impact on what we now call inclusion.

That is, it is intended for people to be who they are, bring all of themselves to work and then help both themselves and the organizations flourish. The distinction between Oneness and inclusion is that Oneness is a state of being, while inclusion can be thought of as the verb to create a positive workplace.

I’m not worried about Oneness being bumped for inclusion. What does intrigue me, however, is that we continually use words like leadership, team building, diversity, empowerment, change and innovation to position our organizations for business success. Actually the bottom line of all this is how can we help people from different backgrounds and cultures work collaboratively with each other. And therein lays for me a very important notion. With all the subtleties in workplace dynamics, it’s the little things and not just the big things that can help organizations be successful.

As I reflect upon twenty years of service I am mindful that the little things can serve to be the deal breakers or the deal makers. Often I hear people of color say that it is easier to deal with someone who is openly racist than it is to work with someone who appears to be nice, but underneath their niceness is a bundle full of prejudice and racist behaviors and comments.

Steve Hanamura, president of Hanamura Consulting, Inc., and author of I Can See Clearly: A Different Look at Leadership, has 30 years of experience working with organizations ranging from Fortune 500 companies to regional not-for-profit institutions. He is widely sought after in the areas of leadership development, building effective teams, leading diversity initiatives and managing generational differences.

He can be reached by phone at 503-297-8658 or by e-mail at sh@hanamuraconsulting.com