Too much Diversity Talk (or: Deeds, not words shall speak me.)

Which real estate course is the easiest to take and pass without problem? For me it’s the ethics course. Quick and easy clock hours. What they should have told you in Kindergarden. You can also read about it in Exodus, Chapter 20. I took the RESPA quiz online and scored 100 percent. None of this makes me a good person.

Diversity Expertise

Now the watchword is diversity. There are diversity experts. They eat once a week at Taco Bell, I suppose. The problem is not with the knowledge or the words. We’ve taken to policing the language instead of the behavior. That’s the easy way out.

As per a recent Inman News story, NRT, the so newly named parent company of some of the largest national real estate companies (Coldwell Banker, ERA, etc) was being cited by a national fair housing organization for "egregious discrimination at every NRT company…” According to Inman, the CEO of NRT defended the accusation by pointing out the education his company provides. "I think NRT's record on diversity education and training speaks volumes for our corporate culture for our employees as well as the ethical standards to which we hold our sales associates accountable."

Words Substitute for Deeds.

I am not in the position to judge but I suspect this: the more talk there is about something being the “correct” thing to think and say the worse the actual behavior. Most of us know this instinctively. That’s why we need to say more often what is right and what is the right way to say it. That’s why we need to train and educate so we can say we did all we could do.

In the business world, pronouncements like “employees are our greatest asset” are made more often by companies who aren’t so sure how their employees feel about the company.

On a personal level, I am always suspicious when someone claims just one particular character trait. “I don’t mind burning the midnight oil” usually means the person is concerned about being called lazy – and probably is.

"Deeds, not words shall speak me."

John Fletcher
English dramatist (1579 - 1625)
 

© 2006, Gerhard N. Ade