Laura Kriska - The Business of We: The Proven 3-Step Process for Closing the Gap Between Us and Them in Your Workplace

The Business of Weis for anyone who is committed to creating a welcoming and productive work environment for all. With more than twenty years experience managing culture gaps in the workplace, Laura Kriska impressively offers practical steps for bridging these gapswhether theyre related to age, race, nationality, ethnicity, or any factor of identity.

Jenna Fischer Actor and Producer/Host of the podcast Office Ladies

There has never been a more important time for Laura Kriskas WE-building tools. As a leader in a global company, I have seen the positive impact these strategies have on promoting connection among people of different backgrounds. This is an important book for our increasingly diverse global marketplace.

Yasuyuki Sugiura, Former President of Mitsubishi Corporation America

As a biotech executive working across borders, I recognize the challenge of managing a culturally diverse workforce. Laura Kriska has nailed it with this timely book. Take the time to read, highlight, and dog-ear the wisdom of these pages. You will learn how to take simple actions to turn Us versus Thempeople into an enlightened team of WE!

Anthony Sun, MD, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Zentalis

I have watched Laura Kriskas career since she began working at Honda thirty-five years ago. I dont know anyone who knows more about building a WE culture than Laura.

Scott Whitlock, Former Executive Vice President of Honda of America Manufacturing, Inc.

I have known Laura Kriska for twenty-five years and watched as her curiosity and insights have built a purposeful career in bridging culture gaps. As a leader for a globally diverse company, I know that building connections across differences is a key factor for success in the twenty-first century.

Larry Fitzgibbon, Cofounder and CEO of Tastemade

I highly recommend The Business of Wefor any organization embarking on the thoughtful journey of self-discovery to strengthen its commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity, and access. Ive known Laura Kriska for more than twenty-five years, and she is a charismatic leader with outstanding international business and consulting credentials. These tools have been invaluable to me as the leader of a nonprofit organization focused on the double bottom line of financial sustainability and community impact.

Bruce A. Harkey, President and CEO of Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens

2021 Laura Kriska

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published by HarperCollins Leadership, an imprint of HarperCollins Focus LLC.

Any internet addresses, phone numbers, or company or product information printed in this book are offered as a resource and are not intended in any way to be or to imply an endorsement by HarperCollins Leadership, nor does HarperCollins Leadership vouch for the existence, content, or services of these sites, phone numbers, companies, or products beyond the life of this book.

ISBN 978-1-4002-1681-9 (eBook)

ISBN 978-1-4002-1680-2 (Paperback)

Epub Edition November 2020 9781400216819

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020944830

Printed in the United States of America

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To the original WE-builders who have supported

me on my path: Shige Yoshida, Sally and Brian

Kriska, and Masa Iino.

To protect my clients, I have changed names and masked industry-specific information. In some cases, I altered information by combining situations, condensing timelines, and modifying storylines to maintain confidentiality and to clearly express specific concepts.

Overall, weve managed to move toward a more inclusive understanding of ourselves and acceptance of each other. Historically, though, we have wavered and are currently at a crossroads: Are we going to advance toward a broader definition of we or will we retreat to a narrower one?