Cracking the Corporate Code: By Price M. Cobbs and Judith l. Turnock, Amacom, 2003, 285 pages list price: $24.95, ISBN: 0-8144-0771-4 - Books in brief - Book Review

HR Magazine, Oct, 2003

Drawing on interviews with 32 black executives at companies including Kraft, J.C. Penney and Polaroid in Cracking the Corporate Code, Price M. Cobbs and Judith L. Turnock weave anecdotes into advice not only for blacks in the corporate world but also for anyone who aspires to lead a large organization.

"Blacks in corporate America always have a second job, one that is intensely personal and never completed," Cobbs and Turnock write. That job is dealing with ambiguities, "forever reading and interpreting unspoken messages" to try to get the resources they need and the advancement they want.

Frank Fountain of Daimler-Chrysler advocates focusing on the business, not on your own-or others'-concerns about race. Race "doesn't change how you analyze the situation" in business, he says. "You've got to focus on the issues and the problems, and you can't let the race issue stop you."

Cobbs, an author and executive leadership expert, and Turnock, an attorney and executive coach, give a brief framework to help readers step back from emotionally charged situations. Examining each interaction, identifying what pushes your "hot buttons" and why, and deciding on several potential appropriate responses are among the steps they recommend.

Heavily laced with executives' personal experiences, the book discusses:

* Improving self-confidence despite the "barely veiled negative assumptions" that blacks in business won't be as well-trained or as smart as whites.

* Turning feelings of isolation into a competitive advantage.

* Pushing back against racism.

* Making sure you get the credit you deserve and seeking out assignments, even problematic ones.

* Cultivating relationships with people who give honest feedback about the company's culture. For black executives, one aspect of relationships is "learning to trust against a backdrop of insensitive comments," Cobbs and Turnock note.

Blacks may have an advantage in today's global economy, the book states. David Hinds, a retired Deutsche Bank executive, says blacks can communicate across cultural barriers because they have "navigated many systems that were not necessarily hospitable."

Buy the Book

This book can be purchased through the SHRMStore. Visit www.shrm.org/shrmstore and search for item number 48.12505. Members receive a discount off the list price.