Dirty Laundry

I was speaking to a leader in the minority business community recently who (with great pain) told me the story of how he'd stepped up to help a few MBEs that needed guidance with regard to building their businesses. My friend gladly scheduled meetings with these MBEs - I believe there was three of them - and to his great disappointment, not one of them showed up, or even called!

This is much like the stories I've heard from Supplier Diversity executives or Minority Council staff members who tell of the frustration of putting on programming, setting appointments, or even scheduling one-on-ones for MBEs who fail to appear, without justification and without professional courtesy. This is a cancer that must stop. There are too many people who are working extremely hard to provide opportunities for minority-owned businesses. When those opportunities materialize, we cannot repay that hard work with indifference.

Minority businesses that conduct themselves in this fashion hurt more than their own reputations. They hurt every minority business. The struggle for economic parity and empowerment for minorities is an uphill battle, laden with misunderstanding and stereotypes. One huge stereotype is what I call the Minority Myth - the idea that somehow minorities produce inferior goods and services or are unprepared for success and are unprofessional.

Minority companies that fail to show up for appointments and events long planned for their benefit reinforce the Minority Myth, erode trust for minority companies, in general, and hurt the cause. I understand that this is a small "minority" of MBEs that engage in these practices. The overwhelming majority of MBEs are outstanding business-people who prove their professionalism every day. These MBEs appreciate the value of people's time and the stakes involved for their companies and the MBE community.

Nevertheless, the offenders should be confronted (professionally of course) and instructed in the art of professionalism and the ramifications of their bad behavior. I want to encourage anyone reading this to have the courage to address this issue wherever encountered. And if you don't know quite how to then talk to someone who can and will.

How can MBEs complain about lack of communication and commitment from mainline corporations when we do not demonstrate those values? There should be no double standards. We should hold ourselves to the same standards that we hold others. If we don't clean up the dirty laundry, who will?