Social Innovation Through Capitalism | Adam Goodman, Goodman Interior Structures

Adam Goodman, CEO of Goodman’s Interiors, joined the Imagine a Place podcast to discuss his company’s efforts to address systemic racism.

A wakeup call led to hard questions
The Black Lives Matter movement created a moment of deep reflection for Adam Goodman.  He needed to know whether systemic racism could exist undetected at his company, so he dug deep to learn more.

In our conversation, Goodman noted that we all have unconscious biases that influence our decisions, so confronting this truth and naming bias openly is an important first step to take.

Going beyond numbers
Goodman has been aiming to disrupt systemic barriers to potential, not just hit representation targets. He shared how systemic racism can show up in a company through occupational sorting which is often not reported in the metrics.

Using assessments to neutralize bias
To remove bias from performance and potential, Goodman benchmarks roles through assessment tools. Stack-ranking against composite profiles identifies strengths over assumptions. He can then guide ambitious employees toward best-fit opportunities.

Purpose-driven capitalism as a change agent
Goodman believes capitalism aimed at stakeholder wellbeing can address societal issues. He hopes that his openness and dedication to this change will inspire other organizations to dig deeper into their own practices.

Learn more about Adam Goodman.

Listen to the full podcast below.