Assemble six men in a room and give them a problem to solve. Now gather six women in a room and give them the same question to address. Then, mix the room with three women and three men and see what happens. Now mix in gender, age, race, ethnicity, experience, and ableness, and you’ll find a much better solution to the problem at hand. Diversity of thought is missing in most business settings.
Diversity is Under-Utilized and Misunderstood
Divergent paths of thought can spark ingenuity. When everyone comes to a meeting with the same framework and perspective in mind, the outcome is predictable. Common backgrounds will lead to common ideas.
But add a mixture of gender, age, race, ethnicity, culture, experience and industry knowledge, and the thinking is more imaginative.
People from different walks of life will view a challenge with fresh perspectives. Assumptions quickly get examined. An older black man will view a problem differently from a younger, white male. Someone who has a disability might bring a new issue to the mix that no one else sees.
Diversity of people leads to diversity of thinking – not the mushy consensus of thought that typically occurs.
Problem Solving
If given a task to solve with a team, I’d start by ensuring that the participants will come at the problem from different viewpoints. No matter what the issues, conformity of thought breed weak ideas.
- Women-led companies perform three times better than the S&P 500.
- Ethnically diverse companies, according to McKinsey outperform the median by 35%
- Workplace diversity brings a staggering 15 times more sales revenue than those with less variety.
In my experience, companies with homogenous workforces tend to produce average results. They don’t anticipate competitive challenges effectively and the problems with changing demographics or market shifts. Brainstorming sessions I have led, are always more productive with a mix of people with divergent thinking, who can challenge each other.
If you look around your workplace and everyone looks like you, it might be time to dust off the resume and start searching for an opportunity that looks more like the real world.
Diversity can be a foundation for business of strength, success and superior workplace performance.
Does your business need a marketing coach, guide or sherpa? Are you generating enough leads? Is your marketing underperforming? I can help.
You can set up a time to chat with me about your marketing challenges using my calendar. Our initial conversation is free. You talk, I listen. Email me jeffslater@themarketingsage.com or call me. 919 720 0995. Visit my website at www.themarketingsage.com Let’s explore working together today.
Photo by Brittani Burns on Unsplash
This blog post was inspired by an article from Smarp, an employee communications company focusing on employee-based connectivity.
