According to a recent NBC/WSJ poll, 63% of Americans say race relations have stayed the same this year since President Obama's election. It is interesting that one could, for a minute, suggest that one man could change our attitudes about race and each other---something that requires change within our minds, hearts, and intellect.
The discussion about the poll included opinions on how "Obama hasn't delivered on promises" in his first year in office that impact race relations. People are disappointed about a lot of things. This is understandable based on the state of the economy and other sorrows that have brought real difficulties for many citizens. However, what I remember most about President Obama's call-to-action to us all was that he admitted that he alone could not bring about the change we wanted. He asked us all to stand with him --- to stay with him. To stay involved. Have we stayed involved? I ask myself this question often as the many unexpected "curve balls" have been thrown at him and imperfections perhaps in some strategic moves have surfaced. What I can't help sensing is that it appears that President Obama seems sometimes to be standing very much alone. What I know for sure is that mounting anger and hate, political games, and a constant tapping of negative ideas through our media, aren't the ingredients to solve our most pressing problems.
Where can we begin positive change?
To change our attitudes about race and solve almost any other issue, one action we can take is to begin by learning to see ourselves and others differently. We need to empty out our notions of race and take another look at one another for some compelling reasons. In the discussion of the referenced poll, I heard an news anchor (White) ask an African American leader what he thought it would take to have a "color-blind" society. Really in 2010? In a global workplace, marketplace, and community? When we continue to ask this question --- consider it or even answer it, it shows we haven't been paying attention. Our DIVERSITY matters in more ways than we are taking time to realize; ways that could improve our attitudes about each other and solve many of our most pressing problems, if we channeled our energies into putting our differences to work.
The evidence has been mounting for some years and it is convincing. Organizations and individuals all over the world are discovering that putting our differences to work is the most powerful accelerator for generating new ideas, creating innovative solutions, executing organizational strategies, and engaging everyone in the process. I wrote my book to help people make their own discovery of this truth and filled it with everything you need to get started right where you are.
The breakthrough is the essential ingredient of diversity, in its broadest sense. Real value lies at the intersection of our differences. This encompasses everything from our thinking styles, problem-solving approaches, experiences, competencies, work habits, and management styles to our ethnic origins, cultural backgrounds, and generational insight (see the Dimensions of Difference illustration). All our differences give each of us a unique perspective from which to draw, including gender, race, physical abilities, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, age, and everything that makes us who we are as individuals. The magic begins when we come together. The secret is learning how, when, and where to tap into all the wealth of insight, wisdom, and new thinking to solve problems, create new products and services, and build stronger communities with benefits for everyone.
Perhaps, one of the most important messages we all need to absorb is seeing DIFFERENCES differently, in others and ourselves. This notion flips everything we have been conditioned to believe. You know, let’s put our differences aside, we are more alike than we are unalike; look at all we have in common. These remain valuable truths, but when we stop there or reach to make everyone the same by our blindness to what makes us unique and different, our differences are made secondary, sometimes brushed away as if they don’t matter. The bigger oversight is that they aren’t even recognized as an advantageous stockpile of kindling to ignite for new ideas, breakthrough thinking—the drivers of creativity, innovation, and invention at any level, in any organization or community.
There have been a growing number of studies. The following study is one that I personally collaborated on--it supports the idea that our DIVERSITY matters big time! In 2000, futurist, filmmaker, and author Joel Barker shared what he termed a “surprising discovery” as he searched to find the connection between wealth and innovation. I worked with him collaboratively on his groundbreaking film, Wealth, Innovation and Diversity. In it, he presents a compelling business case that “societies and organizations that most creatively incorporate diversity will reap the rewards of innovation, growth, wealth, and progress.”
Having a diversity initiative is important, and great organizations have them in place today, but the integrated approach Joel Barker’s discoveries suggest—with direct links to INNOVATION and GROWTH—reaches way beyond the best in traditional diversity and inclusion initiatives and programs. His findings note measurable benefits, including producing new kinds of wealth, like the wealth of sustainability,
reduced risk, predictability, and innovation in addition to economic wealth.
I highly recommend you invest in mastering how to see DIFFERENCES differently. It is a skill we all need in order to produce the INNOVATIONS that needed to solve problems in our organizations and at all levels of society. My book, Putting Our Differences to Work is a is guidebook to help you. Here is PDF Book Overview to introduce you to its premise and contents. Why to you need to be personally involved? I've always loved how Joel Barker states the most compelling reason...
"You can and should shape your own future, because if you don’t, someone else surely will."
What thoughts would you add?
Have you seen our 2010 INNOVATION newsletter?
INNOVATION TIP #1from futurist Joel Barker & Debbe Kennedy - practical how-tos for leaders and innovators. http://tinyurl.com/yjorg9m Learn more... www.howtogetbuyinfornewideas.com
Warm regards to all!
Debbe
Debbe Kennedy
founder, President and CEO Global Dialogue Center
and Leadership Solutions Companies
Twitter @debbekennedy author, Putting Our Differences to Work
The Fastest Way to Innovation, Leadership,
and High Performance (Berrett-Koehler 2008)
Buy a Copy at Amazon.com
Downloadable DISCUSSION GUIDE
for teams, training, reading groups
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