Many organizations are moving fast to develop Purpose strategies with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion.

This is good because organizations and society as a whole will benefit mightily when corporations and institutions eschew racism and embrace and advance diversity at all levels and from the inside out.

So why does it feel like it’s Black Friday and organizations are rushing the doors at Diversity and Inclusion shops – whose purveyors are scrambling to scale up and keep strategies on the shelves for customers, one and all.

I honour organizations’ good intentions and, with respect, make the following suggestion:

• Stop. Breathe. Reflect on the role you want to play in a just, equitable world.
• Crystallize this imagined Higher Purpose, consciously commit to it, and set out to embody it.
• Partner with your teams and give thanks for those brilliant souls whose hearts and minds hunger to help create a better world. Let go of low-value, misaligned work.
• Map strategies – both the overall, as-the-crow-flies way, as well as the distinct pathways of individual units. Embed benchmarks. Measure progress.
• Celebrate success and share openly and honestly about your journey, even the missteps – and there will be missteps. Apologize, adjust, reorient, and proceed.

The work never stops. It evolves continuously. It deepens and brings richer and more valuable rewards – for you, for your people, and for all.