Date posted: 10/14/2008*

Raytheon was featured in chapter on Influence and Mentoring

In his new book: Saving the World at Work, bestselling author Tim Sanders makes a compelling case for a responsibility revolution in corporate America.

Drawing on extensive interviews with employees and CEOs, he concludes that the actions of a single person can make a tremendous difference in the workplace. One reviewer, Daniel Pink, said, “Being great now depends on being good.”

For his chapter on influence and mentoring, Sanders told the story of how Raytheon came to offer a liberal domestic-partner benefits policy. In his case study, he spoke with Chairman and CEO William H. Swanson and Louise Young, senior software engineer and president of the company’s Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Allies (GLBTA) advocacy group. Sanders highlighted that during a presentation at the first RDiversity Summit in 2001, Young connected with her audience by targeting the company’s values and by getting personal.

To illustrate her point, she asked them how they would feel if they couldn’t wear their wedding rings to work or display family photos. She spoke about having to essentially remove all symbols of one’s personal life from the office out of fear. She concluded by suggesting that if you couldn’t bring 100 percent of yourself to work, how could you be expected to give 100 percent to Raytheon?

The results of her presentation were swift. Several members of the leadership team signed up to be mentored by Young. By late 2001, the company unanimously changed its policy forcing others in the competitive peer group to follow suit.

During his interview with Young, Sanders told a story of how his MBA professor-friend encouraged his students to ask prospective employers whether or not they offered domestic partner benefits regardless of their orientation. He urged them to consider it as a litmus test and a way of differentiating between the Fortune 500 companies. Are you one of the 235 companies that offer domestic partner benefits or are you lumped in with the rest?

A recent study suggested that 66 percent of college graduates will not work for companies with poor social values. So doing the right thing is ultimately good for the bottom line. Sanders is also the author of Love is the Killer App. He was chief solutions officer at Yahoo! Inc. from 2001 to 2005, where he worked on next-generation business strategies.

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