Lean Blog Interviews - Healthcare, Manufacturing, Business, and Leadership
Business:Management
https://www.leanblog.org/380
Today's episode, #380, is very special to me for a number of reasons. For one, it's part of the #RootCauseRacism series that Deondra Wardelle has organized on my blog this week. Secondly, I'm joined by Dr. Randal Pinkett and Dr. Jeffrey Robinson to talk about important issues of race, diversity, and equity in organizations. Together, they are co-authors of the book Black Faces in White Places: 10 Game-Changing Strategies to Achieve Success and Find Greatness and the upcoming book (2021) Black Faces in High Places.
Randal Pinkett, Ph.D. is an entrepreneur, speaker, author, and community servant. Randal is the co-founder, Chairman and CEO of his fifth venture, BCT Partners, a multimillion dollar management, technology and policy consulting firm in Newark, NJ, a partner in Blackwell-BCT, a joint venture with Blackwell Consulting Services, and spokesperson for the Minority Information Technology Consortium. He is a Rhodes Scholar and former college athlete who holds five academic degrees from Rutgers, Oxford and MIT (including the Leaders for Global Operations program). He was also famously the first and only black winner of “The Apprentice,” something we will talk about today.
Jeffrey A. Robinson, Ph.D. is an award winning business school professor, international speaker and entrepreneur. Since 2008, he has been a leading faculty member at Rutgers Business School where he is an assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship and the founding Assistant Director of The Center for Urban Entrepreneurship & Economic Development. The Center is a unique interdisciplinary venue for innovative thinking and research on entrepreneurial activity and economic development in urban environments. He has an MS in Civil Engineering Management from Georgia Tech University and a Ph.D. in Management from Columbia University.
In the episode, we talk about workplace issues related to diversity and inclusion. Should we aspire to a “color blind” world or do we need to recognize and celebrate color? What can we do to turn “white places” into more inclusive places for all? How can the “innovation economy” be made more inclusive, and why is that important?
You'll also hear Randal talk about recently re-watching his season of The Apprentice online with his daughter. You can watch a separate 8-minute clip (an excerpt from the full interview) if you are particularly interested in his reflections about winning and being asked to share his win with the runner up. What did Randal learn while working in the Trump Organization?
I hope you enjoy the conversation, whether you listen or watch (or read the transcript below).
Discovering the Benefits of Data-Driven DEI: An Interview with Dr. Randal Pinkett on his New Book
CEO Gary Michel on Lean for the Enterprise and the Need to Decomplify Work
My Many Mistakes Related to Today’s Lean Podcast Episodes – Yup, Plural
What a Unicorn Knows: Authors Matt May & Pablo Dominguez Discuss Their New Book on Entrepreneurship
Jody Crane, MD: Lean in Emergency Medicine and Hospitals; 3 Big Issues Causing Tough Times in Healthcare
Unlocking the Power of Kata: Tracy Defoe on Adult Learning, Coaching, and Asking Questions
Billy Taylor Discusses His New Book, ”The Winning Link”
Tom Peters on His Compact Guide to Excellence – New Book
Katie Anderson Discusses Larry Culp’s AME Keynote and Their Fireside Chat
Jim Benson on The Collaboration Equation, His New Book
Professor John Grout, a Deep Dive on Mistake Proofing and Lean
Gauthier Duval on Kaizen Events, Organizational Development, and ”Veryable” Labor
Philip Holt on Leading and Living Lean, With Simplicity
Gerald Harris on Lean Leadership Lessons From Automotive Manufacturing, Consulting, and Healthcare
Damon Baker on Lean, Private Equity, and the Ownership Works Initiative
Sam Morgan on Being a ”Confident Learner” and a ”Light” for Others in Continuous Improvement
Jake Stiles on Lean Executives, the Recruiting Landscape, and a Coming ”Compensation Correction”
Ken Pilone, the Author of Lean Leadership on a Napkin; Toyota Says ”Lean” and More
Why Damon Baker Thinks Lean Has a Marketing Problem; the Need to Speak the CEO’s Language
Sarah Boisvert on New Collar Careers and the Need for 21st Century Apprenticeships