Building a House of Diversity: The Fable of the Giraffe and the Elephant.

In a small suburban community, a giraffe had a new home built to his family’s specifications.  It was a wonderful house for giraffes, with soaring ceilings and tall

doorways. High windows ensured maximum light and good views while  protecting the family’s privacy. Narrow hallways saved valuable space without compromising convenience.

So well done was the house that it won the National Giraffe Home of the Year Award.  The home’s owners were very proud.

One day the giraffe, working in his state-of-the-art wood shop in the basement, happened to look out of the window.

Coming down the street was an elephant. “I know him,” he thought. “We worked together on a PTA committee. He’s an excellent woodworker, too. I think I’ll ask him in to see my new shop. Maybe we can even work on some projects.” So the giraffe poked his head out the window and invited the elephant in.

The elephant was delighted; he had liked working with the giraffe and looked forward to knowing him better. Besides, he knew about the wood shop and wanted to see it. So he walked up to the basement door and waited for it to open.

“Come in; come in,” the giraffe said. But immediately they encountered a problem. While the elephant could get his head in the door, he could go no farther.

“It’s a good thing we made this door expandable to accommodate my wood shop equipment,” the giraffe said. “Give me a minute while I take care of our problem.” He removed some bolts and panels to let the elephant in.

The two acquaintances were happily exchanging woodworking stories when the giraffe’s wife leaned her head down the basement stairs and called her husband: “Telephone, dear; it’s your boss.”

“I’d better take that upstairs in the den,” the giraffe told the elephant. “Please make yourself at home; this may take a while.”

The elephant looked around, saw a half-finished piece of work on the lathe table in the far corner, and decided to explore it further. As he moved through the doorway that led to the shop, he heard an ominous scrunch. He backed out, scratching his head.

“Maybe I’ll join the giraffe upstairs,” he thought. But as he started up the stairs, he heard stairs begin to crack. He jumped off and fell back against the wall. It too began to crumble. As he sat there dishevelled and dismayed, the giraffe came down the stairs.

“What on earth is happening here?” the giraffe asked in amazement. “I was trying to make myself at home,” the elephant said.

The giraffe looked around. “Okay, I see the problem. The doorway is too narrow. We’ll have to make you smaller. There’s an aerobics studio near here. If you’d take some classes there, we could get you down to size.”

“Maybe,” the elephant said, not looking very convinced.

“And the stairs are too weak to carry your weight,” the giraffe continued. “If you took a ballet class at night, I’m sure we could get you light on your feet. I really hope you’ll do it. I like having you here.”

“Perhaps,” the elephant said. “But to tell you the truth, I’m not sure a house designed for a giraffe will ever really work for an elephant, not unless there are some major changes.”

(from R. Roosevelt Thomas, (1999) Building a House for Diversity. New York, et.al.: American Management Association, pp. 3-5.)

The question in Diversity Management is: How can we build together a house – our company – where all diversity is respected, finds its space and is actively used?

Much can be derived concerning our understanding of diversity management from the R. Roosevelt Thomas’ fable about the giraffe and the elephant concerning diversity and diversity management.

Photo Credit: A giraffe at the Nairobi National Park.