Review
------
2018 Gold Nautilus Award Winner in the Social Change
& Social Justice category.
“Our country’s divisive climate is stifling both our public and
private discourse. In Our Search for Belonging, Howard Ross
offers actionable steps on how we can begin to dismantle the
walls between us for the benefit of our workplaces and our
society. An inful read for all leaders.”
—Ron Shaich, founder and Chairman, Panera Bread
“This book is profoundly ‘for such a time as this.’ In the book
of Esther, we learn that as she contemplates the decision of her
lifetime she is reminded, ‘For all that you know, all that you
have has prepared you for such a time as this.’ At this time, we
need this body of work to help us lead, follow, listen, and
learn. Whether we are engaging in courageous conversations,
moving toward bonding and bridging, or seizing the rtunity to
recognize and reconcile our urgent need for difference and
belonging, this work is the go-to for the why and the how-to. We
must now admit that ‘The past is never dead. It’s not even past’
and that ‘We can continue on the pathway to separation or take on
the challenge.’ I will use this as my favorite and most
resourceful guide for content and context. Belonging is your
labor of love, and the timing is perfect. We need this now! God
bless you, Howard.”
—Wendy Lewis, Chief Global Diversity Officer and Vice President,
Community Engagement, McDonald's Corporation
“Howard Ross transformed our understanding of both bias and
unconscious bias with his wonderful book Everyday Bias. Now he is
transforming our understanding of why we have people in America
both tribalizing and too often fighting each other in damaging
and dysfunctional tribal ways. This book is a must-read for
anyone who wants to understand the mess we are in today and what
we need to do now to give us a better future for our
organizations, our communities, and even our nation. This will be
another iconic book.”
—George Halvorson, former CEO, Kaiser Permanente
“Our Search for Belonging is a powerful statement of hope in a
disquieting time. Our social divide is creating major challenges
on college campuses, in workplaces, and in society itself. By
helping us understand the reasons for the divide and the things
we can do about it, Howard Ross has provided guidelines for a
future that does not have to be limited by our past. A
must-read!”
—Dr. Kristina Johnson, Chancellor, State University of New York
“Our field has an abundance of talkers, folks who have an
opinion they feel obligated to share. We don’t need more of
either. We need more thinkers, more analysts of substance. In a
world where national and tribal boundaries impose a defensive
obsession with our differences, Howard has stepped in to fill
that void. Legendary IBM CEO Thomas J. Watson, Jr., said, ‘We
serve our interests best when we serve the public interest.’ In
my own work I have focused on the thought, ‘We talk to one
another, not about one another.’ In Our Search for Belonging,
Howard is connecting those dots at a time when our societal
survival is threatened. Global, national, local, or
tribal—connect and respect are challenges we seem unable to
execute. In this book, Howard is providing a mirror that makes us
confront that picture and frames how we can navigate a
treacherous road to higher, safer ground—a place where your place
is not a bad place, and my place is not the only place for me.”
—J. T. (Ted) Childs, former Chief Diversity Officer, IBM
“In a compelling narrative style that rests on a foundation of
cutting-edge research, Howard Ross describes a paradox of
belonging: a psychological need to be embedded in a group has
produced an ideologically segregated America. To erase those
tribal boundaries requires a deeper sense of belonging, which
Ross suggests we might first achieve in an unexpected place: at
work. At work, people see and experience difference as
beneficial. And at work, people can learn behaviors that produce
a more inclusive belonging.”
—Scott E. Page, PhD, Leonid Hurwicz Collegiate Professor of
Complex Systems, Political Science, and Economics, University of
Michigan, and author of The Diversity Bonus and The Difference
“Our Search for Belonging serves as a GPS for the human
condition and daily navigation of this thing called life. Howard
offers an empowered and emboldened perspective on how we can
simultaneously find ourselves and find ourselves within others.
This book has something to help all people where they are, and
there’s not a person out there who wouldn’t benefit from the
guidance this book provides.”
—Caroline A. Wanga, Chief Diversity Officer, Target
"The increasing polarization that exists in our society today
can be a real impediment to producing the results we need and
want in business and in politics. In this book, Howard Ross helps
us understand the importance of breaking down those barriers and
provides powerful tools for how to do it."
—Manny Chirico, Chairman and CEO, PVH Corp.
“In a nation with so much division, Our Search for Belonging is
a much-needed read to educate us all on the importance of the
inclusion of women and men across all distinctions of diversity
both personally and professionally. Howard Ross explores and
captures a broad range of topics and issues that I believe is
crucial to uniting humankind and our divided nation.”
—Dr. Sheila A. Robinson, Publisher and CEO, Diversity Woman
Media
“Our Search for Belonging is a timely and wonderful gift to our
national community as we struggle to find connection in the
disparate views and feelings that divide us. It offers a guiding
light of innovative and creative thinking grounded in impeccable
research and scientific observation. This book is a necessary
must-read to those wishing to further connect with the better in
themselves regarding the isms and biases that we all carry as
baggage in our lives. Our Search for Belonging is beautiful,
powerful, and uplifting as it shares that goodness is latent in
us all and how to achieve it.”
—William H. “Smitty” Smith, EdD, Founding Executive Director,
National Center for Race Amity
“If you are at all concerned about how we can pull our polarized
nation back together, buy this book. Get copies for coworkers,
friends, and especially your children. Howard Ross illuminates
practical pathways for courageous leaders to shape a better
future for us all.”
—Bonnie St. John, Paralympic medalist and CEO, Blue
Circle Leadership Institute
“Howard Ross has done it again! In Our Search for Belonging,
Ross puts a human face on America’s 21st-century conundrum and in
doing so shows a path out of our current quagmire. He delves
deeply into our psyche and neurobiologic drive to connect and
shows how that drive to belong overshadows political or other
external realities dividing us as a country into warring
factions. And he shows us pathways toward healing the divide.
This is must-reading for everyone across the political spectrum
who really wants to make America great again.”
—Robert Wm. Blum, MD, MPH, PhD, William H. Gates Sr. Professor,
Department of Population, Family and Reproductive , Johns
Hopkins University, and Director, Johns Hopkins Urban
Institute
“Once again, Howard Ross has tackled the thorny divisive issues
of our day--demographic diversity, politics, social justice--by
shining the light of humanity on them. Through solid examples, he
gives the reader space and context for understanding how and why
we all have the potential to create ‘us versus them’ dynamics.
His book serves as a road that takes the reader on an
empowering journey toward owning our part in creating inclusive
cultures and helping others to belong.”
—Natalie Holder, diversity executive of a federal law
agency
“In this thought-provoking book, Howard Ross delves into one of
the most important issues of our time, namely, how the human
yearning for belonging can paradoxically sow the of
division. Drawing on evidence from a wide range of disciplines,
the book delivers potential solutions for mending our fractured
society. This book should be required reading for anyone wishing
to chart a better course for humanity—in this regard, it could be
one of the most important books of the year.”
—Sukhvinder S. Obhi, PhD, Director, Social Brain, Body and
Action Lab, McMaster University
“Many people know Howard for his research-based approach to
implicit bias and his national and international work helping
organizations better manage this unconscious human process.
With Our Search for Belonging, he combines research, philosophy,
and the ins of current and past leaders into a powerful
analysis of the current political, sociological, and
psychological forces that have contributed to the polarization
that so many of us experience in this current national climate.
With stories and evidence-based examples, Howard helps us better
understand the powerful role of the human drive for that sense
of belonging . . . that deep connection that is essential to
human survival. He shines a light on ways that belonging has
contributed to negative, even violent, movements in our history,
but more importantly, he helps us appreciate the deep wholeness
we experience when we truly connect, engage deeply with
individuals, within our family, workplace, or country. With
specific, ‘pathways to belonging,’ he charts a way forward for
individuals, leaders of organizations of all types, and
hopefully, those elected to represent our interests.”
—Benjamin D. Reese, Jr., PsyD, Vice President and Chief
Diversity Officer, Duke University/Duke University System
“In this groundbreaking book, Howard Ross uses his keen in
and decades-long experience in the field of diversity and
inclusion to explore how the human tendency to belong and include
also leads to tribalism and exclusion. Calling the latter
‘bonding against,’ Ross uses research in behavioral and cognitive
science to show how these ‘us versus them’ tendencies spring from
our evolutionary heritage; in the modern world, they gravely
threaten our civic and faith communities, our workplaces, our
information ecosystem, and our politics. Unlike many books that
diagnose the problems without providing solutions, Ross spends
two chapters on how we can bridge our divides by focusing on
mutual understanding and coexistence, both as individuals and,
perhaps even more importantly, within institutions. From my
perspective both as a scholar and consultant on emotional and
social intelligence and effective decision-making, this book is a
must for leaders who want to ensure that the institutions they
lead avoid the disastrous consequences of bonding against.”
—Dr. Gleb Tsipursky, author of The Truth-Seeker's
Handbook; President, Intentional Ins; cofounder of the
Pro-Truth Pledge; Assistant Professor, The Ohio State University;
and speaker
“Once again, Howard Ross has clearly illuminated the details of
an incredibly important conversation. This book is a creative and
compelling explanation of why and how we connect, and don’t
connect, as people; great depth will be added to the
institutional and professional legacies of those able to
effectively develop pathways to belonging in the places where we
engage every day. Howard offers the keys to maximizing
collaboration, innovation, productivity, and effectiveness in an
increasingly complex world.”
—Chevy Cleaves, inaugural Chief Diversity Officer, US Air Force
“This is what the world needs now. Howard Ross articulates what
many in the medley of humanity are feeling but struggle to
process coherently—or, most importantly, act upon. I hope that
the sound research and suggested action plans found in this book
will inspire millions of butterfly wing flaps that generate a
gentle wind bringing higher levels of harmony for generations to
come.”
—Dennis W. Quaintance, cofounder and CEO, Quaintance-Weaver
Restaurants and Hotels
“Our contemporary conversations about discrimination often focus
on individual bias but fail to show how those biases relate to
our need for belonging. Howard Ross’s accessible book makes this
important connection. He examines current events, social science,
and neuropsychology to explain this irony—how our 21st-century
quest for community separates us from each other. But this isn’t
a dry academic survey. Ross offers in gained from his rich
experience, candor, awareness, and most importantly, realistic
solutions for ourselves and our workplaces to address this
paradox. This book should be read by organization leaders,
professionals concerned about human relations, and anyone
interested in building community consciously and carefully.”
—Atiba R. Ellis, Professor of Law, West Virginia University
“Deep knowledge of the science behind unconscious bias and a
rich tableau of experience working with the world’s leading
organizations leads to remarkable practical in! That is the
essence of this much-needed and timely new book by Howard Ross. A
must-read for all of us as individuals who increasingly need to
decode the complex implications and unintended consequences of
our obsession with social media connectivity and for leaders and
businesses seeking to build inclusive flourishing cultures that
bind rather than divide us.”
—Shubhro Sen, PhD, Director, School of Management and
Entrepreneurship, Shiv Nadar University, and cofounder of
Conscious Capitalism Institute
“The economic and political middle have been carved out of the
United States. Now the cultural middle (the values and norms that
hold us together as a society) is threatened. Howard Ross offers
a compelling observation of how we associate with those most like
us and how it’s created a dangerous polarization. More
importantly, he offers a different path forward.”
—Brian A. Gallagher, President and CEO, United Way Worldwide
Read more ( javascript:void(0) )
About the Author
----------------
Howard J. Ross is a lifelong social justice advocate
and the founding partner of Cook Ross, Inc. He has consulted on
the areas of corporate culture change, leadership development,
and diversity and inclusion. His work has been published by the
Harvard Business Review, the Washington Post, the New York Times,
and Forbes, and he has worked with Fortune 500 companies across a
variety of industries. Cook Ross programs have been taught at
Harvard University Medical School, Johns Hopkins University, Duke
University, and over twenty other colleges and universities. Ross
is also the bestselling author of ReInventing Diversity and
Everyday Bias.
JonRobert Tartaglione is a behavioral scientist and the CEO of
Influence 51, a consulting firm that teaches its clients about
the neuropsychology of influence.
Read more ( javascript:void(0) )