As a businessman knowing a race likes/dislikes would also be useful as I can target my product specifically or the majority of them to make the most profit.
As a leader of a country knowing more about each of the races living in my country will be extremely useful to maintain harmony.
Nyet!, and profoundly so. Both of these represent
cultural, not physical or biological, differences. As a businessman knowing what sells in a particular cultural context is of key importance. You can't sell non-Kosher meat to a Hassidic Jew, but can sell it to his next-door neighbor who's Eastern Orthodox Christian. Knowing that the color blue signifies death to a particular culture means you don't want to try and sell blue golfballs to them.
Understanding the cultural backgrounds and sensitivities of the different populations within your country is critical to effective national leadership. Knowing how different cultures perceive problem/solution and cost/benefit analyses is necessary for any policy on which you expect buy-in from the local population. Roma don't react the same way as Greek Orthodox Christian Macedonians who don't perceive things the same way as Moslem Macedonians. And they all live in the same village. Moreover, they're all "caucasian". So much for "race" being a useful distinction in this context.