NBWA prexy Craig Purser delivered one of his most topical and urgent presentations at this year's NBWA convention, addressing declining beer category and what he called "the elephant in the room." Tho not named specifically, Craig clearly referred to the ongoing Bud Light controversy and the massive declines in AB system. "I know many of you have been hurting the last 6 months or so and I wish there were a simple solution to fix it," Craig said. "Some of you are selling more beer than ever, while someone sitting behind you is facing dramatic declines that have nothing to do with anything they did or didn't do."

By focusing on “diversity,” organizations emphasize an “outcome” rather than the work needed to achieve it, explained J Jackson-Beckham during the Sovos ShipCompliant virtual Beverage Alcohol Summit late last mo. As the equity & inclusion partner for the Brewers Assn and the principal of consulting firm Crafted for All, which is focused on “building opportunities for traditionally underrepresented or marginalized groups” in the craft beverage space, Dr J (as she’s often called) refocuses attention on “the work.” And in shifting the emphasis to the means, J also reframed the ends as not just more “diversity,” but stronger, more resilient, profitable and productive organizations. 

Means Over Ends “I sort of go out of my way to not use the word ‘diversity,’” J confessed while kicking off her presentation. It’s a confession she’s made before but can still be surprising to hear from someone in her line of work. “The word ‘diversity’ focuses our attention on the wrong part of the work,” in J’s view, focusing us “on the ends rather than the means.” She urged folks to “fix the plumbing now; worry about the window dressings later.” In other words, how the house works, not how it looks: “infrastructure” is “much more important” than “splashy programs that are publicly facing.” 

Productive Questions: Inclusion, Equity & Justice J moves emphasis toward 3 other words that lead to “productive questions” designed to elicit answers that can guide processes and strategies. Inclusion invites the question: “have we made sure that everyone knows they are invited to come into the room?” Equity involves asking “is everyone in the room able to have the same quality of experience?” And justice asks “can we eliminate the barriers people are experiencing that keep them out of the room or inspire them to leave too soon?” In her experience, “if you are being as inclusive, equitable and just as possible, diversity will come,” and it will come alongside “other positive outcomes as well.”

Clear Imperatives: Innovation, Culture and Profit For those still wondering “why” to put resources toward DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion; or conversely, IEJ) work, J offered 3 imperatives that build a clear business case. “Being innovative and nimble is more important than ever,” especially in the modern US alc bev industry. And an “innovation mindset” is 11x more common in “the most equitable and diverse cultures,” according to research by IT and consulting firm Accenture, J shared. 

So there’s an “innovation imperative” as well as a separate “culture imperative.” Not only is a positive culture more likely to be productive and profitable, it also “differentiates you from your competitors in really meaningful ways,” J shared. Factor in the cost of turnover, too, J urged, let alone the legal risks of “strained and stressed cultures,” which also tend to struggle to embrace change. Finally, McKinsey & Co has repeatedly shown that companies with more diverse executive teams, in terms of both gender and ethnic/cultural diversity, outperform the profitability of less diverse peers. 

Culture Pay Cuts and Majority Minority Drinkers Companies looking to recruit and retain younger adult workers need to pay particular attention, J suggested, as younger adults report drastically different priorities from older adults. Asked “would you consider taking a pay cut to work at a company whose mission and values align with your own,” 90% of 54-72 yr olds said “no,” J shared citing a recent McKinsey survey. But it was the precise reverse for 22-37 yr olds, 90% of which said “yes.” 

Meanwhile, alcohol’s customer base is getting more and more diverse, whether companies follow or not. The number of Latina, Black and Asian women who drink already grew by 70-100% between 2004 and 2019, according to a 2020 Rabobank analysis of NSDUH results, J showed. And the US is “estimated to be a majority minority country by 2050,” she reminded, pointing to opportunities to attract women and BIPOC drinkers “in all segments” of the alc bev biz. 

Strategic Alignment & Practice Makes Perfect DEI or IEJ work needs to be “radically aligned” with core business goals, J asserted. Throughout a series of suggested strategies, she pointed to the importance of linking these goals with more fundamental practices and processes. While working to build inclusion & equity into organizational systems and structures, “you can leverage your DEI solutions to help ease an organizational pain point generally,” she said. 

For instance, a relatively large regional craft brewer faced difficulties with “pipeline building and recruitment,” including challenges with the “cadence” and flow of hiring and on-boarding. J helped the co build a hiring kit that was “specifically meant to help them with things like bias.” But it also “made the hiring process, in general, more efficient for the organization.” That’s the kind of “win-win strategy” that should always be the goal as “there’s little sense in implementing DEI systems that don’t address your existing challenges,” J summarized. 

Inclusion & equity work requires practice, too, J reminded, likening it to any learned skill, like perfecting a golf swing. That means “you’re going to suck at it for a while, but if you keep investing” time and energy, “you will eventually suck a lot less.” And crucially, this kind of work is “not about ‘special programs for special people,’” J reminded, concluding that “great DEI strategy improves the employee and customer experience for everyone.” 

Cheers,