By Victor Crawford, Chief Executive Officer, Pharmaceutical Segment, Cardinal Health
In early 2020, I was fortunate to join a cross-functional group of my Cardinal Health teammates on a trip to Montgomery, Alabama – an epicenter for significant milestones in African American history.
Prompted by an impactful conversation with Bryan Stevenson – the Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative – our CEO, Mike Kaufmann, took swift action and made the decision to organize the trip to develop a deeper understanding of racial injustice from a very real lens. We visited the National Memorial for Peace and Justice first. For all of us, it was eye-opening. For some of us (myself included), it hit much too close to home. As we walked past the many columns baring the names of terror-lynching victims, three of us stopped to find our own history. Our last names displayed – and a very personal discovery for each of us. Next, we moved on to the Legacy Museum which once again shed a harsh light on perspectives of those who have directly experienced racial injustice.
I share the story of this trip not only because of its impact, but also because of its telling timing. It was February, and in the months that followed, our country witnessed the heartbreaking deaths of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and far too many like it since.
We didn’t go to Montgomery because racial equality was a “hot” topic. We went because our leader was genuinely interested in learning how to be better. It’s just one of the many examples of how our company has for years, dedicated time and resources to improve equal opportunity both within the walls of our business and in our communities. As an African American man, this historical commitment is not only meaningful to me, it’s imperative. Our Cardinal Health values are made up of what we call “I AM” –Inclusive, Integrity, Innovative, Accountable and Mission-Driven. And while the other four values are just as critical — it was our inclusive culture that greeted us at the door when we returned to the office. We were reflective and ready to act. Taking the trip was one thing – but more importantly, we needed to focus on our “now what?”
It takes a village.
Really, it’s true. If we relied solely on our leadership to implement action and drive inclusion – we would fail.
The efforts have taken, and will continue to take, all of us. We are lucky to have organized constituencies including employee resource groups, our Diversity & Inclusion Steering Committee, and our newly formed African American and Black Racial Equity Cabinet, to help foster dialogue and encourage change – but, it is also the effort and expectation we have of every employee, that is making the difference.
Recently, we’ve taken actions to further engage our employees including:
- Hosting multiple VP+ meetings and all-employee town halls for honest D&I conversations.
- Implementing mandatory unconscious bias training and embedding D&I and culture metrics in annual incentive plan goals for all VPs and above.
- Setting incremental D&I and culture incentive plan goals for all leaders across the company.
- Establishing a corporate holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr. for U.S.-based employees.
These aren’t just “one and done” items. The foundation for our success in driving an accepting culture is that it is never-ending. It’s the loud declaration from our CEO and other leaders, that we always have room to improve, and that it will take the intersectionality of individuals and perspectives from across our company to get it right.
So, what’s our “now what?”, now? It’s continuing the effort to get comfortable with the uncomfortable. It’s asking the tough questions and being vulnerable enough to say, “tell me more.” It’s remembering that this work is both the right thing to do, AND the smart thing to do – for our people, our business, and for our society’s collective future.
I’m proud that today, Cardinal Health is doing a great deal to advance our D&I initiatives and enable a place where every one of our employees can bring 100% of themselves to work. But what makes me even more proud? The certainty that we’ll continue to do more.
