Susan Boyle

What does Susan Boyle, a middle aged white woman from Scotland, who has catapulted from obscurity to fame overnight, have to do with diversity and inclusion? Seven weeks ago the judges and the audience on Britain's Got Talent all rolled their eyes and laughed as she stood on stage. No one believed she had talent. They stopped laughing when she started to sing. They rose to their feet in wild applause as her dulcet tones raised the roof of the theater. The judges eyes were wide with delight and amazement and they told her that they had misjudged her. 150 million You Tube clicks later she is a household name around the world. We all know the old adage "Don't judge a book by its cover", but how often do we judge others based on what we see, without taking the time to know who they are? How often do we make assumptions about someone based on their appearance, skin color or group membership, without exploring our own biases and closed mindedness. What you think you see is only part of the story. Read more on the article below "Washing your windows?".........

Washing your windows

Someone recently sent me an email with a morality story....you know, the ones that you have to forward to seven people within seven minutes. I usually don't pass them on, but I liked the message in this one so I thought I would share it with you. A recently married young couple move in to a new neighborhood and the wife notices the neighbor's laundry hanging outside in the breeze. She comments to her husband that someone needs to teach her neighbor how to wash clothes as her laundry is not clean enough. Her husband says nothing. Each week the wife complains about the neighbors laundry until one day she comes down to breakfast and notices a change. She tells her husband that "finally, someone must have taught her how to clean her clothes properly". Her husband looks up from his newspaper and says "I came down early this morning and washed the windows". When did you last wash your windows? What we think we are seeing is merely a socially constructed story that we convince ourselves is correct. Valuing differences is a living, breathing ongoing challenge, not a conceptual theory. We need to constantly check our attitude towards others. What is your inner voice telling you and is it congruent with what is coming out of your mouth? Do you say one thing and think another. Are you judging people based on their appearance? Do you favor people who look and think like you and not give others a chance. Who is on your radar screen and who is on your peripheral vision? What stories do you tell yourself about those on the periphery? If you washed your windows and looked again, would the view be different?

Millenial matters...

Much has been written about the Millenials and their strong desire to be independent. It is said that they are only loyal to themselves, self absorbed, entitled and challenging to manage. They have a short attention span, are looking to be entertained while at work and have a high need for power, while at the same time demonstrating an equally high disregard for authority. Millenials are said to suffer from ADS - Attention Deficit Syndrome. If you do not capture and hold their attention in the first few mintues, or maybe seconds, they are on to the next adventure. Their thumbs do the talking and they send text messages faster than you can think. The Blackberry Prayer is their constant companion and asking them to switch off their phones is like asking them to cut off their right arm. This description leaves many Baby Boomers shaking their heads in despair. What is the world coming to?

Technology is advancing exponentially and Baby Boomers who hope (or need) to survive in today's business world will require to not only come to terms with twittering, tweets and what having a second life means, but also to rise to the challenge of creatively partnering with the next generation. America stands at a critical crossroads - we have all but lost our manufacturing base, the recession is eating our lunch, world demographics are shifting the power bases, globality and all that it means is upon us and we need all hands on deck, pulling in the same direction. This is not the time to lament our generational differences, but rather it is the time to team up and synergistically work out how we can be the best we can be, despite our age differences.

La diversidad esta por todas partes, pero la inclusion no esta

For those of us who are not bi-lingual or multi-lingual the headline reads "Diversity is everywhere, but inclusion is not". We only have to watch the constant Cable chatter to know that we are a LONG way from being an inclusive society. The nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court this week has unleashed a veritable tirade of racist comments from some predicable and not so predictable sources.

It is the 21st Century; we are the most advanced and the most diverse society in the world and yet we are deluged daily by the espousal of divisive rhetoric in the interest of publicity and television ratings. Being inclusive does not always mean we have to agree with each other, but it should mean that we can come to the table in civilized and respectful dialog without the need for negative labels and name calling.