Minority Rules: Turn Your Ethnicity Into a Competitive Edge

Kenneth Arroyo Roldan

In his new book, Minority Rules: Turn Your Ethnicity Into a Competitive Edge (Published by Collins), Ken gives real-world advice for accelerating your career. His book is focused on women and people of color trying to navigate the Fortune 500, but his advice can be put to use by anyone trying to move up the corporate ladder. As most women and minorities know all to well, an MBA alone is not a ticket to success.

In a perfect corporate world, intellect, hard work, and professionalism would be recognized and rewarded regardless of the color of your skin. Kenneth Arroyo Roldan is here to tell you that nobody works in a perfect corporate world. Stellar performance and leadership skills alone will not determine corporate advancement—minorities need to learn and follow the rules of corporate politics. As one African American employee who started as a systems analyst at Xerox observed, "The reality was that despite your ability, if you weren't playing politics correctly, you would be derailed."

In Minority Rules, Roldan gives a dose of tough love to minorities in corporate America while educating their majority counterparts. As the CEO of the top U.S. head-hunting firm specializing in placing minorities in fast track jobs, Roldan watched as minority superstars hired at Fortune 500 companies bailed out, disappointed and rejected after only a few years. The problem, Roldan says, is that minorities are not adequately prepared psychologically or culturally for corporate careers. In a six-step plan, he explains how to surmount the obstacles, play corporate hardball, and succeed as a minority in the workplace. Corporate culture is unforgiving to minorities, but it is possible to rise to the top with Roldan as your guide.

With refreshing candor, Roldan prepares minorities both psychologically and culturally for corporate careers. Forget about using affirmative action and discrimination lawsuits to level the playing field. The only way to win is to know the landscape and master the rules of the game—from finding the right mentor to learning the art of networking to focusing on self-reliance, patience, and most of all, performance. Roldan shows minorities how to climb to the top jobs—and keep them.

Kenneth Arroyo Roldan, Chief Executive Officer, Wesley, Brown & Bartle

Kenneth Arroyo Roldan has dedicated his entire life to helping minority professionals and women advance in the corporation, fight for their rights, and create a level playing field where candidates can rise to their natural ability.  As Chief Executive Officer of Wesley, Brown & Bartle (WB&B), Mr. Roldan leads one of the nation’s leading executive search firms dedicated to the recruitment, retention and professional development of women and people of color.  In that capacity, he has become one of the country’s reigning experts on diversity.

With a BS from Cornell University and a law degree, Kenneth Roldan has been in the forefront of developing and ensuring equal employment opportunities for non-traditional candidates.  Following a career in shaping and enforcing EEO legislation with the Civil Rights Bureau of New York State Attorney General’s Office, Kenneth joined Wesley, Brown & Bartle as General Counsel and Managing Partner.   

At WB&B, Mr. Roldan works with top corporations such as Microsoft, Tyco, BP, Northrop Grumman, Wachovia, HP, OfficeMax, CA, AstraZeneca, Cox Communications, and Meijer to create formal strategies to bring talented minorities professionals into the company.  Moreover, he works with companies to ensure that minority professionals embark on a career path, are mentored, and fit into the company’s overall culture.   As a pioneer in diversity management recruiting for over three decades, WB&B’s innovative strategies for diversity staffing, succession planning and retention have made a difference to the ethnic, gender and cultural diversity in America’s corporate structure.
 
In May 2001, Kenneth was selected as WB&B’s new Chief Executive Officer – becoming the first Hispanic CEO of a national search firm.  WB&B has advised The White House and the Conference Board as the nation’s leading diversity search firm with the highest record of diversity management placement amongst the Fortune 500.  Considered an expert in minority hiring, Mr. Roldan has been interviewed by Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, Crain’s New York Business, and Hispanic magazine.  In 2002, Kenneth was nominated to serve on Cornell University’s prestigious Trustee Council. 

In his speaking engagements, Mr. Roldan has discussed a variety of topics such as  “How Minority Professionals Can Take Control of Their Career and Succeed,” “Four Keys to Rising in the Corporation:  Mentoring, Networking, Performance, and Learning to Master Corporate Politics,” “How HR Departments Can Level the Playing Field,” “Keys to Strengthening Performance,” and “Overcoming the Old Boys’ Network.”

He is currently working on assembling an advisory council of notable Hispanic corporate executives with an underlying mission of increasing the representation of Hispanics on corporate Boards. 

Resources
Wesley, Brown & Bartle
Catalyst

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