Cracking the Corporate Code: The Revealing Success Stories of 32 African-American Executives

303 Pages·2003·0.94 MB·English

by  Price M. Cobbs

Cracking the Corporate Code
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Cracking the Corporate Code
The Revealing Success Stories of
32 African-American Executives
Price M. Cobbs and Judith L. Turnock
American Management Association
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cobbs, Price M.
Cracking the corporate code : the revealing success stories of 32 African-American
executives / Price M. Cobbs and Judith L. Turnock.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8144-0771-4
1. African American executives--Interviews. 2. African American executives—
Case studies. 3. Success in business—United States. I. Turnock, Judith L. II. Title.
HD38.25.U6C63 2003
658.4'0089'96073—dc21 2002155253
© 2003, 2000 Executive Leadership Council
A private limited edition of this book was previously printed by the Executive
Leadership Council, 1010 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC, 20007
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
This publication may not be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in whole or in part,
in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of AMACOM,
a division of American Management Association,
1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.
Printing number
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To future generations:
Work smarter. Travel farther.
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Table of Contents
Foreword by Steve Reinemund, CEO, PepsiCo, Inc. ...............................ix
Introduction: Setting the Record Straight ...............................................xi
1. Ambiguity ......................................................................... 1
2. Managing Your Demons .................................................... 7
Race .........................................................................................................8
Gender ...................................................................................................18
Trusting Yourself ..................................................................................27
3. Fitting In ........................................................................ 37
Overcoming Isolation ...........................................................................38
Finding Your Place ...............................................................................47
Pushing Back ........................................................................................50
4. “Reading” Unwritten Rules ............................................ 55
Realizing ...............................................................................................56
Playing the Game .................................................................................69
5. Making Your Mark .......................................................... 75
6. Managing Relationships ................................................. 101
Start with Your Boss ..........................................................................106
Cultivating Support ...........................................................................115
Development Jobs ...............................................................................129
7. Understanding Power .................................................... 135
What Is Power? ..................................................................................137
Where Does Power Come From? ........................................................143
What Do Powerful People Share? ......................................................147
Ambivalence About Power ..................................................................149
Race and Gender Issues ......................................................................154
vii
8. Acquiring Power ........................................................... 159
Mapping a Strategy ...........................................................................160
Avoiding Race and Gender Sidetracks ...............................................166
Competing for Power ..........................................................................170
9. Using Power for Leadership .......................................... 177
Models of Leadership ..........................................................................179
Mergers Are Opportunities .................................................................185
Leading at Smaller Companies .........................................................191
Board Membership .............................................................................194
10. From Big Business to My Business .............................. 199
11. The Diversity Legacy I: Inside the Corporation ........... 213
12. The Diversity Legacy II: In the Community ................ 231
Appendix A:
Biographies of the Executives Interviewed ........................ 241
Appendix B:
Snapshot: Executive Leadership Council Membership ....... 261
Afterword ........................................................................ 267
Acknowledgments .............................................................269
Bibliography ..................................................................... 271
Index ................................................................................ 275
About the Authors ........................................................... 287
viii
Foreword
D
iversity is not a new topic for me. At PepsiCo we believe in
diversity and have struggled to understand and to respond,
with individual openness and corporate-wide programs,
with training from outside consultants and discussions among our-
selves. We know things are better and continue to improve. But why
does it take so long, and why is it so hard to achieve measurable
results? Cracking the Corporate Code: The Revealing Success Stories of 32
African-American Executives puts the issue into a complete context.
Cracking the Corporate Code’s lessons about thriving in ambi-
guity, "reading" unwritten rules, building a network of inside sup-
port, and acquiring and using power are necessary ones for all young
managers. But having to manage the demons of race and gender at
the same time makes the path more complex and often more
treacherous. Dr. Cobbs and Ms. Turnock make it all seem possible,
with insights and analyses that are direct in their simplicity.
Illustrating the lessons through the words of thirty-two very senior
African-American corporate executives makes understanding liter-
ally leap off the page and into our consciousness.
Young women and people of color can learn here how to build
their careers in the constantly shifting terrain of corporate America,
and they can also appreciate the battles that have already been won
for them.
Of particular interest to me, executives and senior managers
can finally “get” the subtle issues people of color and women face
every day in the workplace. We can see beyond the limited success
of early diversity programs to the next generation of diversity strate-
gies and goals, where we will succeed not only in retaining our top
talent but also in giving them the enormous satisfaction of seeing
their individual contributions valued.
All readers can begin to see how much we all share as
Americans—values like loyalty, determination, hard work, ambi-
ix