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Should Kids Follow in Our Founder Footsteps?
The Evolution of Entry Level Workers
Assume Everyone Will Leave in Year One
Stop Listening to Investors
Was Mortgaging My Life Worth it?
What's My Startup Worth in an Acquisition?
When Our Ambition is Our Enemy
Are Startups in a "Silent Recession"?
The 5 Types of Startup Funding
What Is Startup Funding?
Do Founders Deserve Their Profit?
Michelle Glauser on Diversity and Inclusion
The Utter STUPIDITY of "Risking it All"
Committees Are Where Progress Goes to Die
More Money (Really Means) More Problems
Why Most Founders Don't Get Rich
Investors will be Obsolete
Why is a Founder so Hard to Replace?
We Can't Grow by Saying "No"
Do People Really Want Me to Succeed?
Is the Problem the Player or the Coach?
Will Investors Bail Me Out?
The Value of Actually Getting Paid
Why do Founders Suck at Asking for Help?
Wait a Minute before Giving Away Equity
You Only Think You Work Hard
SMALL is the New Big — Embracing Efficiency in the Age of AI
The 9 Best Growth Agencies for Startups
This is BOOTSTRAPPED — 3 Strategies to Build Your Startup Without Funding
Never Share Your Net Worth
A Steady Hand in the Middle of the Storm
Risk it All vs Steady Paycheck
How About a Startup that Just Makes Money?
How to Recruit a Rockstar Advisor
Why Having Zero Experience is a Huge Asset
My Competitor Got Funded — Am I Screwed?
The Hidden Treasure of Failed Startups
If It Makes Money, It Makes Sense
Why do VCs Keep Giving Failed Founders Money?
$10K Per Month isn't Just Revenue — It's Life Support
The Ridiculous Spectrum of Investor Feedback
Startup CEOs Aren't Really CEOs
Series A, B, C, D, and E Funding: How It Works
Best Pitch Decks Ever: The Most Successful Fundraising Pitches You Need to Know
When to Raise Funds
Why Aren't Investors Responding to Me?
Should I Regret Not Raising Capital?
Unemployment Cases — Why I LOOOOOVE To Win Them So Much.
How Much to Pay Yourself
Heat-Seeking Missile: WePay’s Journey to Product-Market Fit — Interview with Rich Aberman, Co-Founder of Wepay
The R&D technique for startups: Rip off & Duplicate
Why Some Startups Win.
Chapter #1: First Steps To Validate Your Business Idea
Product Users, Not Ideas, Will Determine Your Startup’s Fate
Drop Your Free Tier
Your Advisors Are Probably Wrong
Growth Isn't Always Good
How to Shut Down Gracefully
How Does My Startup Get Acquired?
Can Entrepreneurship Be Taught?
How to Pick the Wrong Co-Founder
Staying Small While Going Big
Investors are NOT on Our Side of the Table
Who am I Really Competing Against?
Why Can't Founders Replace Themselves?
Actually, We Have Plenty of Time
Quitting vs Letting Go
How Startups Actually Get Bought
What if I'm Building the Wrong Product?
Are Founders Driven by Fear or Greed?
Why I'm Either Working or Feeling Guilty
Startup Financial Assumptions
Why Every Kid Should be a Startup Founder
We Only Have to be Right Once
If a Startup Sinks, Founders Go Down With it
Founder Success: We Need a Strict Definition of Personal Success
Is Quiet Quitting a Problem at Startup Companies?
Founder Exits are Hard Work and Good Fortune, Not "Good Luck"
Finalizing Startup Projections
All Founders are Beloved In Good Times
Our Startup Culture of Entitlement
The Bullshit Case for Raising Capital
How do We Manage Our Founder Flaws?
What If my plan for retirement is "never retire"?
Startup Failure is just One Chapter in Founder Life
6 Similarities between Startup Founders and Pro Athletes
All Founders Make Bad Decisions — and That's OK
Startup Board Negotiations: How do I tell the board I need a new deal?
Founder Sacrifice — At What Point Have I Gone Too Far?
Youth Entrepreneurship: Can Middle Schoolers be Founders?
Living the Founder Legend Isn't so Fun
Why Do VC Funded Startups Love "Fake Growth?"
How Should I Share My Wealth with Family?
How Many Deaths Can a Startup Survive?
This is Probably Your Last Success
Why Do We Still Have Full-Time Employees?
The Case Against Full Transparency
Should I Feel Guilty for Failing?
Always Take Money off the Table
Founder Impostor Syndrome Never Goes Away

5 Ideas for Creating an Inclusive Workplace

Misti Yang

5 Ideas for Creating an Inclusive Workplace

Reflecting on building a diverse and inclusive workplace in the tech industry, Michele Perras, Director, Global Ecosystem and Alliances for Pivotal Software, looks back on what she has learned in her 15 years of personal experience as a woman in tech and her time on Pivotal’s Diversity and Inclusion council.

Here are a few things her experience has taught her:

5 Ideas for Creating an Inclusive Workplace

1. Have an evolving definition of diversity and inclusion

It’s important to recognize that the diversity and inclusion goals you initially address will change and evolve. “It is about making sure that everyone has an equal opportunity to excel and communicate in their role, especially over their time at your organization,” she says, noting that the mindset should include more than women and minorities to focus on the importance of intersectionality and complexity.

“Ensuring that you have a culture that is both representatively diverse, so people coming from different backgrounds and from difference essentially, and also inclusive, meaning that those people have the freedom and the safety to express those identities and how that expression shouldn’t be an obstacle to their success,” Michele explains.

2. Start with measurable goals

Companies often start working on diversity by organizing an event or announcing an initiative, but Michele points out that organizations are often missing a key element: “I think companies need to start somewhere, but sometimes those starting points do not necessarily have measurable impact behind them.”

When it comes to profits or user retention, leaders can often recite numbers with ease, but “having metrics, and being flexible around the point of those metrics, is something that companies may not always do” when working on diversity and inclusion, according to Michele.

Without a clear vision of the outcomes you’re looking to drive, metrics and key performance indicators, it is impossible to know if programs are helping you get closer to the goals.

3. Understand the data

Creating the right metrics, however, has to start with data about your organization. Michele recommends looking at quantitative and qualitative employee data where you can, such as hiring and attrition rates or employee sentiment and feedback.

Once in hand, companies need to analyze the data carefully and develop reasonable goals with feedback loops to ensure those goals are the right goals for your organization.

“Evaluate the data with a mindset geared towards learning and transparency. For example, evaluate not only the proportions of underrepresented minorities, but their levels in organizations, their promotion rates, or heavy groupings in one department versus another, and try to understand why that is” Michele points out.

Companies should strive to achieve diversity goals throughout their organization at every level and within every department.

4. Listen to your employees

It may sound simple, but Michele’s experience has taught her that this cornerstone of the Lean Startup methodology is crucial to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. And, when it comes to the workplace, your customers are your employees, who have valuable insights into your culture and company.

“Listen to them, ask why, and don’t assume to know what they need. Teams need to understand specifically what people are struggling with and recognize what they want to achieve,” Michele shares. “At Pivotal, we heard that employees were seeking discussion and connection locally. With 20 offices worldwide, we wanted to support bottom-up initiatives, and encouraged people to form Grassroots groups.

The Grassroots groups are regional in nature, funded by the Council, and led by local employees. The initiatives range from bringing in speakers, hosting book clubs, or workshops – all driven by the context and needs of that office. We tested this model with a few locations, gathered feedback, and scaled it based on what Pivots wanted.”

Here are 10 questions you should be asking your employees.

5. Get familiar with external resources

“There are so many resources available now,” Michele shares, and she suggests starting with Project Include. Another resource she recommends is Male Allies, which she thinks provides effective training for getting the entire company committed to diversity goals. “Find what works for your organization, given its size and scale, and what inclusion and diversity goals you want to accomplish,” Michele says.


Join Michele at Lean Startup Week October 30th-November 5th, where she’ll share more advice on creating diverse and inclusive work environments. She’ll talk more about getting commitment from your entire organization and explain how to avoid creating diversity debt. Register for your pass before Oct 15 at midnight PT to take advantage of the Fall Sale.

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