Includes bibliographical references (pages 141-151) and index.

Part 1. Introducing multiculturals : the multicultural mind and innovation. -- A resource hiding in plain sight : multiculturals and innovation -- Why mexicans speak Spanish : sources of cultural identity -- "Sometimes I feel like a motherless child" : how confronting cultural differences results in a multicultural mind -- Part 2. Understanding multiculturals : their skills and how they see themselves and the world. Neoricans, Mexican-Americans and Catalan Spanish : the many ways in which individuals experience and manage their multiculturalism -- Singing sea chanteys does not make you a sailor : language and multiculturalism in an organizational context -- "Where are you from -- really?" : observable differences and developing a multicultural mind -- Part 3. Leveraging the multicultural mind : creating an innovative organization. "I am feeling very olympic today, how about you?" : the influence of the situation on multiculturals and innovation -- "I get by with a little help from my friends" : multiculturals' roles and teams in organizations -- "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" : leveraging the skills of multiculturals and building an innovative organization.

"In The Multicultural Mind: Unleashing the Hidden Force for Innovation in your Organization ($24.95, 176 pages, 6" x 9", ISBN 978-1-62656-101-4), releasing January 2016 by Berrett-Koehler Publishers, author David C. Thomas looks at how to establish the organizational conditions under which multiculturals can flourish and shows how even the most monocultural among us can gain the advantages of a multicultural mind. Thomas cites extensive research and examples showing that multiculturals--people who have deep experience in more than one culture--have developed skills and abilities that organizations can leverage in the service of innovation. They have a broader worldview. Having to integrate different cultural values has forced them to develop more complex ways of thinking and makes them better able to see new patterns and connections. Their heightened empathy, the result of learning to adapt to sometimes wildly different locations, customs, and beliefs, helps them build support for their ideas and work effectively on the teams that implement those ideas. This book makes a powerful business case for recognizing and cultivating a new dimension of diversity--the diversity within individuals!"--The publisher.

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