The chapter introduces Chobani’s founder Hamdi Ulukaya, who built the company on a foundation of dignity, fairness, and shared success, offering stock to employees, hiring refugees, and paying wages well above the federal minimum. Chobani’s purpose-driven model led to remarkable growth and brand leadership, demonstrating that ethical business practices can fuel profitability. Studies on diversity, employee ownership, and purpose-led companies reinforce the financial advantages of prioritizing people and mission. CGI is presented as another success story, where a clear founding vision, employee ownership, and feedback systems created a resilient, people-centered culture. The chapter emphasizes empathy as an active leadership skill, central to trust, innovation, and employee engagement. It concludes that culture must be continuously nurtured and adapted, serving as both the foundation and driver of sustainable business success.
This chapter uses Imani’s experience at a traditional professional services firm to reveal how rigid hierarchies and outdated gatekeeping can stifle innovation, collaboration, and morale—even for leaders within the organization. The author likens these barriers to a cultural “iceberg,” where visible values and mission statements are misaligned with hidden assumptions and behaviors that undermine employee empowerment. Culture, she argues, is not a side concern but a strategic asset that directly impacts retention, productivity, and agility, especially in the face of disruption. Generational shifts amplify this urgency: millennials and Gen Z demand transparency, flexibility, and genuine inclusion, and will reject workplaces that fail to adapt. A positive example is CGI, where authenticity, initiative, and diverse leadership styles are embraced, allowing people to grow on merit rather than conformity. The chapter warns that ignoring culture leads to stagnation and eventual failure, but intentional, empathetic leadership can build workplaces where all generations thrive.
This chapter highlights how Airbnb’s failure to build an intentional, inclusive culture led to public backlash and legal challenges over discrimination. Despite a mission rooted in connection, the platform enabled bias—particularly racial—due to unexamined design choices. Efforts like Project Lighthouse came too late to undo the damage.
The author contrasts this with values-driven companies like CGI and The Silverene Group, showing that culture must be deliberately built, not left to chance. She introduces four culture types—fear-based, get on board, NICE, and belonging—arguing that belonging culture is essential for trust, innovation, and long-term success.
Leaders must model empathy, foster inclusion, and hire for cultural add over fit. When culture is intentional, people thrive—and so does the business.
This chapter makes a compelling case that inclusion is essential to organizational success—not just diversity alone. Using the metaphor of fruit trees, the author illustrates how businesses, like orchards, thrive only when they receive a diverse mix of inputs, or in this case, diverse people with unique perspectives.
Key terms—diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and empowerment—are clearly defined, with emphasis on the lived experience of employees. Inclusion, the author argues, is an action, not just a value, and must be backed by structural change.
Examples from Uber, tech firms, and personal experience reveal the high cost of exclusion, from lost talent to public backlash. True inclusion requires leaders to foster belonging, share power, interrupt bias, and design workplaces where all employees can thrive. Without this, even diverse teams will fail to innovate or remain engaged. Inclusion is not optional—it’s the foundation for sustainable, human-centered success.
Chapter 5 explores how businesses must rethink leadership and culture to embrace diversity, inclusion, and the values of younger generations. Using the backlash against Anthropologie as a case study, it shows how vague responses to social justice issues and a lack of inclusive leadership can damage brand trust. The chapter emphasizes that a company’s culture starts at the top and must evolve to reflect the experiences of its employees and customers. Millennials and Gen Z demand purpose-driven work, flexible structures, and authentic, transparent leadership. They are entrepreneurial, socially conscious, and empowered to leave outdated systems behind. Leaders must shift from a judging to a curious mindset—asking questions, embracing humility, and building collaborative, people-first workplaces. The pandemic accelerated these expectations, proving that empathy, flexibility, and innovation are now essential to attract and retain talent. Ultimately, inclusion is not a side project but a fundamental driver of long-term business success.
This chapter explores how company culture must be actively shaped and lived, not just stated. From the Google walkouts to the #MeToo movement, employees have shown they demand alignment between values and actions—especially when leadership fails to uphold ethical standards.