Diversity is about maximizing wealth & strength

To whom it may concern:

Despite the risk of having my country club membership revoked, I've decided to reveal that I am, in fact, over 50% of African descent; (in case you couldn't tell from my dark skin, black hair, brown eyes and larger nostrils). Admittedly, I am still waiting for the Maury show DNA results in order to reveal which country exactly. I would further like to admit I have been secretly working in IT departments of various companies all over the nation posing as an American who has tremendous value to add. Albeit, in colors not vividly present in the rainbows of said companies.

Thank you and I would appreciate the respect of my privacy during this difficult time.

Signed,

"Black guy who didn't know it mattered".

That facetious opening paragraph is about as appropriate and relevant as are the details of my digestive cycle yesterday. Nonetheless, it's my obtuse attempt at overstating a point:

Diversity is not about spreading the wealth - it's about maximizing it.

It's also not about race or gender...it's about building the best teams possible.

To the credit of my many employers, partners and friends - I have never bumped my head on a glass ceiling of racial bias. In fact, I have been promoted faster than most of my white peers, offered executive positions of start-ups funded by "white money" and I have even been mistaken for a white guy once or twice over the phone. 'How can such madness occur?!?', you might ask? Because frankly no one gives a flying ferret.

Again, possibly overstated.

There have been several times when I've walked into a job after a phone interview and the greeting party was less-than-skilled at hiding their shock. One time, a candid young manager said to me, "I thought - from your voice and technical skills you would be a short Russian dude." In lieu of truly surprising DNA results. I am not.

If you're wondering where all of this is coming from, it's because I was utterly shocked to find out 10 of the worlds largest tech companies are largely dominated by white males. But then I was comforted in knowing that at least I sound white over the phone. So, given a good work-from-home policy I can work almost anywhere in Silicon Valley!

Kidding.

Let's get back to the point.

Somewhere between two extreme ideas is the truth. And in truth, people do care. However, I would argue, despite our nation's deep racial scars these days - it is less about malicious racism and more about our tendency to gravitate to what we know. To be sure, there is also the equally compelling "fear of the unknown".

Nonetheless, as business leaders we often have to resist the gravity of what comes natural & easy in the form of human nature. Instead we strive towards greatness, rebuking gravity in the process. Of the many challenges this applies to, the topic of diversity is no exception.

As enterprising individuals we have historically been the trend-setters and trailblazers of societal paradigm shifts because we are in positions of tremendous influence. We also have the autonomy and leverage to act with courage.

So, how do we do it? Well, there are far two many past forces contributing to the lack of gender and racial diversity in our nation's greatest companies. Such debates will go on for decades. Personally, I'm not interested in past forces as much as I am in future ones.

Here is what I do know:

• Yes...there is a tremendous sourcing problem of talent-diversity in tech. But IT's inherent meritocracy makes it an ideal place to incubate deep diversity.
  
  
• It's simple economics. Wealth requires diversification in order to manage risk. Cultures are our greatest source of wealth creation and they are no exception.
  
  
• "A's hire A's [in every shape, color, gender & religion...without bias]" because they have the right priorities and confidence to do so. So hire more A's.
  
  
• Sameness cannot compete with diversity. (Ask any professional sports team.)

These somewhat jagged thoughts of mine all stem from the same motivations. I want to encourage minority talent to resist internalizing the lack of diversity. It has nothing to do with you - unless you do nothing about it. The best way to influence diversity is to be remarkably good at what you do (and how you do it). For every person in our nation who doesn't hire you because of bigotry, there are 1000 people who will. Also, please do not co-brand your lack of skill with your race or gender. If you're not good at what you do it is probably the main reason why you didn't get hired. Not because you're a single black female being held down by the man. Excellence goes a long way. It's not about what you're not. It's about what you are.

Secondly, I want to encourage the myriads of white-male leaders, investors and employers to ignore the consensus that your responsibility is to hire more minorities and spread the wealth. I reject that notion. It's not charity. It is your responsibility to hire the best talent you can find and maximize the wealth. It just so happens that to do so, you will need to diversify.

The world is quickly changing. Talent acquisition is competitive and those precious stones of talent are in short supply. The proactive companies who make diversification a priority will sustain a competitive advantage over their competitors for years to come.

We are all a part of everything.