Your Success Begins With Diversity.....
The LaPonda J. Fitchpatrick Philosophy
America was established on the proposition that all people are created equal. This belief is built on the foundation that we are all equally human. Although we may not be entitled to the same success, we are entitled to the same opportunities to succeed. We have a fundamental right to dignity, respect, and the chance to realize our potential. America’s organizations, institutions, governments, and companies have been working to implement that primary belief since our founding. It has been a struggle… because they employ us, humans.
To succeed, companies must be committed to integrating cultural awareness, equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility throughout its management structure and business model. Businesses that only utilize the “mirror approach” to management, that is, only seeking people, ideas and reviews from those that look and think most like them cannot develop a solid and sustainable business practice. This "mirror approach" does not yield the best results and will inevitably cause a loss of support and faith from constituents, business partners, and employees not to mention those potential customers that will never cross their thresholds. In McKinsey & Company's latest research on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), the return on investment (ROI) when companies implement these strategies throughout their organizational structure "...found a positive correlation between gender diversity on executive teams and both our measures of financial performance: top-quartile companies on executive-level gender diversity worldwide had a 21 percent likelihood of outperforming their fourth-quartile industry peers on EBIT margin, and they also had a 27 percent likelihood of outperforming fourth-quartile peers on longer-term value creation, as measured using an economic-profit (EP) margin." And, for ethnic diversity, ROI was even greater. "As in 2014, we found that companies with the most ethnically diverse executive teams—not only with respect to absolute representation but also of variety or mix of ethnicities—are 36 percent more likely to outperform their peers on profitability. That’s comparable to the 35 percent outperformance reported in 2014, with both figures being statistically significant." Failure to have D&I as a prominent element in your business strategy is like throwing money away into a landfill!
Attracting and retaining the best and the brightest employees and providing quality service to your customers, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, race, etc., are critical to your company's continued success. As stated by the artist India Arie, we are no longer just our hair, or our skin, and neither are our employees, business partners, or our customers. Practicing EDICT© daily will make your organization stronger and help attract and maintain top-tiered talent!