Steve L. Robbins - What If?: Short Stories to Spark Diversity Dialogue, 10th Anniversary Edition

This edition first published in 2018 by Nicholas Brealey Publishing

An imprint of John Murray Press

A Hachette UK company

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Copyright Steve L. Robbins 2008, 2018

The right of Steve L. Robbins to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

Author photograph on courtesy of Steve L. Robbins.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018908493

Paperback ISBN 978-1-4736-9054-7

US eBook ISBN 978-1-4736-9835-2

UK eBook ISBN 978-1-4736-9836-9

Printed and bound in the United States of America.

John Murray Press policy is to use papers that are natural, renewable, and recyclable products and made from wood grown in sustainable forests. The logging and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin.

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Dr. Steve Robbins will open your eyes to seeing things you may never have seen before, in a thought-provoking and creative way. His engaging, inspiring, and passionate energy will take you on a life-altering ride, from which you will walk away a more self-aware, accepting, and gracious individual.

Linda EsparzaArea Human Resources Manager, Parker Hannifin Corporation, Aerospace Group, Hydraulic Systems Division

From the first time I heard Dr. Robbins, I knew I could listen and learn from him over and over and over! The content he provides, along with his style and delivery, are nothing short of, simply put, amazing! His knowledge of the human brain, human behavior, and how it all works together to create inclusion is not only informative, its fun to learn! He has definitely changed mindsets all over my organization starting at the top with our senior level executives! Dr. Steve Robbins is a true ROCK STAR!

LaTricia Hill-Chandler, CDE, Office of Global Culture, Diversity & Inclusion, Walmart Inc.

Some people view life as a glass half-full. Some people view life as a glass half-empty. Dr. Steve Robbins will have you viewing the glass of life completely differently and from all angles by challenging you to think more lightly about yourself and more deeply about the world. His incredible sense of humor, exceptional storytelling, deep knowledge, and captivating personal story enable you to grow as a person, professional, and leader. He will compel you to rethink your view of the world. In the end, there is no choice but to become more enlightened by his teachings.

R. Matt Davis, President of Dow North America & Senior Vice President of Global Corporate Affairs

Dr. Steve Robbins is an artful storyteller who blends a witty delivery with compelling content to drop serious knowledge about the neuroscience of unconscious bias and its effects in an insightful and memorable way. Hes revolutionizing the way corporations approach inclusion and diversity programs by challenging us to rethink everything we thought we knew about this workultimately leading to a paradigm shift from compliance mandates to results-oriented transformational change. Through the power of curiosity, Dr. Robbins is helping us recognize and mitigate the negative effects of noise, outsiderness, and the social pain of exclusion by fostering a culture that is more empathetic and inclusive of all.

Kevin J. Frazier, Senior Director, Global Culture, Diversity & Inclusion, Walmart Inc.

Dr. Steve Robbins powerful message and storytelling reminds us of the importance of an inclusive work environment. Backed by a deep knowledge of behavioral science, he encourages us to always be mindful of our employees basic needsto be part of a team and to be valued. Failing to establish an inclusive environment threatens our ability to be innovative. In a very complex healthcare environment, innovation is the only way we can differentiate ourselves from our competitors and retain and attract top talent.

Karina Norr-McPhillips, MS, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, VP, Human Resources, Northwell Health

Dr. Steve Robbins is an inspiring and passionate man who delivers his talks with high energy. Through a combination of science, humor, and wit, he captivated over 200 attendees at our Global Sales Meeting and was given a 5 out of 5 star review. He is able to connect incredible insight on human behavior to practical examples in the workplace and demonstrates how being open-minded is central to supporting and benefiting from the diversity in our organization.

Kate McManus, VP Marketing, Delicato Family Vineyards

Wow! Its been 10 years since the original edition of this book made it to print. My publisher tells me the book has done very well. Maybe thats why this second edition gets a chance at making an impact on readers minds and hearts. Thank you to all who purchased the original and have supported me as I continue to do the work of inclusion and diversity. Right now, I bet some of you noticed I didnt write diversity and inclusion. Theres a significant reason for the switch. Some folks reading this will have a quick, involuntary negative reaction to the change. Many wont notice, and some wont care. There will be people who agree wholeheartedly with putting inclusion first and diversity second. Let me offer some of my reasoning for why inclusion should come before diversity.

A little background: Since the last edition, I have engaged with the work of inclusion and diversity through extensive study and exciting interactions with clients from all over the world. I have the benefit of coming at the work of inclusion and diversity from the perspective of a social scientist. Many of you know I am a big Michigan State University (Go Green!) supporter, having earned my masters and doctorate from its prestigious Department of Communication Science. Fundamentally, I was trained in the art and science of studying human behavior. If you know anything about the field of communication science, its a relatively new field that grew out of two better-known fields, psychology and sociology. It may be easier to understand if I say that I am a social psychologist who looks at human communication. Moreover, over the last couple of decades, beginning shortly after graduating Michigan State, I took strong interest in the study of the brain and how it processes messages. The catalyst for my interest in the brain grew from trying to understand the factors that may have led my mom to take her own life in 1991. Fundamentally I was asking, How did external and internal messages have such a negative and devastating impact on my mom? I have since accumulated a lot of knowledge in my brain about the human brain, and so I come at the study of human behavior (and inclusion and diversity) with the additional lens of a cognitive neuroscientist. The myriad perspectives that I bring to bear on inclusion and diversity have led me to believe that we put the proverbial cart before the horse. Inclusion necessarily comes before diversity.