FountainBlue's November 9 When She Speaks, Women in Leadership Series event, on the topic of The Business Case for Diversity. Below are notes from the conversation. We were fortunate to have a wide range of perspectives on our panel, and that our panelists shared their insights, suggestions and advice with poignant humor and candor. Although each panelist spoke with a different viewpoint and perspective, and approached diversity from a different angle, they shared many common traits: early experiences which helped them think more broadly about people and about the world; ongoing exposure to a wide range of environments throughout their professional and personal careers which exposed them to diverse settings, people, perspectives, situations and companies; successes and failures in a business setting, working with people, teams and management who did not think just like they did; and the desire to continually learn and grow, embracing new thoughts and perspectives for themselves, their teams and their companies. Our panelists agreed that diversity was a business advantage for many reasons. First and foremost, welcoming people of different backgrounds into a team, into a business relationship as a partner, customer, or other stakeholder, or otherwise into the business ecosystem will in the end foster momentum for the organization, through sales, marketing, relationships, etc. Secondly, with the inclusion of people with different perspectives into the team, an organization is much more likely to create solutions which meet the needs of its diverse partners, customers, investors, etc. Thirdly, a person, team, or organization which truly embraces diversity in words and deeds, in general have a more resilient culture, a more tolerant mind-set, and can attract and retain the most prized and talent employees. Fourthly, as a company, the broader your perspective, the larger the market opportunity. Below are some guidelines they suggested, to help embrace diversity for yourself, your team and your company:
The Business Case for Diversity
The Business Case for Diversity
The Business Case for Diversity
FountainBlue's November 9 When She Speaks, Women in Leadership Series event, on the topic of The Business Case for Diversity. Below are notes from the conversation. We were fortunate to have a wide range of perspectives on our panel, and that our panelists shared their insights, suggestions and advice with poignant humor and candor. Although each panelist spoke with a different viewpoint and perspective, and approached diversity from a different angle, they shared many common traits: early experiences which helped them think more broadly about people and about the world; ongoing exposure to a wide range of environments throughout their professional and personal careers which exposed them to diverse settings, people, perspectives, situations and companies; successes and failures in a business setting, working with people, teams and management who did not think just like they did; and the desire to continually learn and grow, embracing new thoughts and perspectives for themselves, their teams and their companies. Our panelists agreed that diversity was a business advantage for many reasons. First and foremost, welcoming people of different backgrounds into a team, into a business relationship as a partner, customer, or other stakeholder, or otherwise into the business ecosystem will in the end foster momentum for the organization, through sales, marketing, relationships, etc. Secondly, with the inclusion of people with different perspectives into the team, an organization is much more likely to create solutions which meet the needs of its diverse partners, customers, investors, etc. Thirdly, a person, team, or organization which truly embraces diversity in words and deeds, in general have a more resilient culture, a more tolerant mind-set, and can attract and retain the most prized and talent employees. Fourthly, as a company, the broader your perspective, the larger the market opportunity. Below are some guidelines they suggested, to help embrace diversity for yourself, your team and your company: