Isn't Everyone Gifted?

Meet Ngoc.  Her job is doing handwork in a lettershop, which often involves tasks like stuffing thousands of envelopes.  It is something I would not last doing for more then 30 seconds before my mind would go numb.  Yet she has the patients of a saint, manual dexterity of a surgeon, and can carry on such tasks for hours on end, all the while smiling and enjoying her work.

At another time at another place, I had the pleasure of talking with and closely observing software developers and engineer types.  While people skills as well as their comfort level in people dealings wasn't their primary gift from what I could observe, when it came to sitting in front of multiple computer screens for long periods of time coding software and solving very complex technical issues, they rocked. 

Then there is my good friend Samantha.  If she had to write and code software, I am sure that would drive her up the wall.  But when it comes to driving business deals, she has the tenacity and the drive like no one else I know. She is simply one of the best when it comes to making the sale, and she absolutely loves it. 

As I move around, I observe every single day that each and every person on this earth has their own unique blend of talents and abilities.  Each is special in their own unique way and each and everyone adds value in some shape and form.

So whenever I see a sign like the one above, or I hear talk of some gifted individuals, I am left wondering what exactly does being gifted mean.  Afterall, isn't everyone gifted?

What do you think?

Diversity: People of Color

The other day, I was at an association meeting where someone made a statement about 10% of their membership consists of people of color. At the time, didn’t think much of it. Then over the weekend, in a Washington Post article by Michele Singletary, again reference was made to “people of color”. This got me wondering. Who exactly are these people of color. I decided to spend time doing research, looking into several factors.

In case anyone else also is wondering about this, let’s me share with you what I found and who exactly these people are. It was quite enlightening.

First, I looked up definition of White, Black and Brown on dictionary.com-the commons "colors" of people I tend to run across in my daily life. Here’s how black, white and brown are defined:

Black: The color at one extreme end of the scale of grays – opposite to white, absorbing all light incident upon it.

White: A color without hue at one extreme end of the scale of grays, opposite to black.

Brown: A dark tertiary color with a yellowish or reddish hue.

OK, I was stumped because they all use the word color in their definitions. So I continued to dig.

I then looked up some medical sort of stuff and here’s what they had to say:

In humans, the degree of darkness of skin depends primarily on how much Melanin is present. In addition, the presence of Hemoglobin and Carotine in the blood also contributes to skin color.

Still, no clarity.

Finally, I went to the big boss, at home. Yes, my wife. Yes, she is in charge, without a doubt, whether I accept it or not. Even my two daughters remind me of this every time they get a chance. But that’s a different conversation. :) In any event, as she is a medical doctor I figured she’ll know something about this.

She explained to me that with the exception of Albinos (which is a rare situation and very few true Albinos are present on this earth), every living human being on this planet earth has Melanin (and Hemoglobin and Carotine) and it is these elements that contribute to color.

Hmmmm….still no clear answer as to who are these unique individuals we refer to "People of Color". From all the research I have done, the way I see it, are we all not people of color? The only people who are technically not of color are Albinos. And I honestly can’t seem to recall the last time I saw an Albino.

Perhaps we need to have another measure—please indicate your Melanin content level and we can be grouped by this measure.

Check here: A. 0-10%
B. 11-20%
and so on….

This reminds me, I also learned that every human being also has a human heart. Honestly, I just can’t seem to find anything that really separates us. Everywhere I look, I seem to find only similarities. The search goes on…for these People of Color. If you find out, won't you please let me know. Thank you.

Diversity: My Confessions, Observations, Thoughts & Feelings

What I have been realizing that I have for the longest time I have
misunderstood, or rather more confused, by the word diversity.

I immigrated to this country back in December 1969. As I was growing
up, I used to read about how there used to be segregation, where
blacks had to sit in the back of the bus, had different water
fountains, etc. While I was never directly affected by it, the
thought of another human being treated so inhumanly as such used to
pain me. I mean, why should a human being who is no different then
anyone else be treated differently due to the color of the skin, and
that too in this manner? Therefore, I began to associate diversity more
as a race issue, more about about integration. I believed that we
should look beyond the surface and value and appreciate each other
based on what's inside, not outside. This doesn't mean I didn't
notice the surface differences for it's so obvious. But I didn't
treat, and still don't, another differently simply cause someone is
black, white, brown, yellow, purple, green, and so on.

Furthermore, when I was growing up, I recall many of my cousins
immigrating to this country. Some of them, before they even got off
the plane, they tried to put their Indian-ness behind them and started
to act and appear to be more westernized then the folks here. In
those early days, they tried to cover up their Indian-ness, rather
then be proud of it. For what reason, I still don't understand cause
I too am an Indian and not for one single moment have I ever felt
unaccepted or that I don't fit in. NEVER!

The net result of all this was that I just felt very confused. While
I appreciate everyone for who they truly are as individuals, I never
knew and know even today how to react to one's surface differences,
cause I don't know where they are coming from. Are they proud or are
they trying to cover it up. So I just don't say a lot. This doesn't
mean I don't value or that I don't appreciate one's color,etc. It's
just that I don't know where the other person is coming from and how
they might react. And I don't want to hurt someone for I fear what if
I say something "wrong". So I tend to avoid the topic.

In the end, the way I see it, beyond the obvious surface differences,
we have nothing but diversity. Think about it. Starting with some
thing as basic as our finger prints, there are no two human beings who
have the exact same pattern. Each is unique. Add to this one's
thoughts, upbringing, experiences, and so on, we each are unique and
we each have something to offer. Since no two human beings are
exactly alike, we truly are a 100% diverse population. And we all are
surrounded by 100% diversity, truly.

Having said that, there are certainly what I would refer to as
segments of population when we look at broad stroke differences. And
the following is and example, as a way of a metaphor, why I see it's
so important to recognize everyone and have a seat for everyone at the
table.

There is an old saying that goes something like this. When you're a
hammer, everyone is a nail. So if we gather all hammers, all we end
up is seeing all non-hammers as nails. But when we bring together
hammers, nails, saws, paint brushes, paint, chisels, etc. we build a
Sistine Chapel. In other words, when we all come together and bring
our uniqueness and mix it all together, we end up with something so
truly delicious.

Another way to view this is that everything we are and what we have,
it's all a manifestation of our individual and collective thoughts.
So the more variety of folks that come together, the more variety in
thoughts. And from that mix of thoughts and creativity, newer and
newer possibilities emerge. With all this in mind, it's becoming
increasingly important that we all come together and value, cherish
and appreciate each and every individual on this planet for each and
every person comes to this planet with their unique gifts and they all
are important for this collectiveness brings richness to our lives and
helps all of us move forward. Without it, we limit our growth
and life becomes rather dull and boring.

Diversity: The Missing Ingredient & It's Competitive Advantage

It has been several months since I attended ASAE's Diversity Conference in Baltimore. Since then I have spent quiet a bit of time in silent contemplation and reflection on this topic of diversity. I have also spent significant time in various organizations observing people at work and having discussions. While we have made significant strides towards valuing our surface differences, I also believe that we really have not done as effective of a job when it comes to truly understanding and leveraging "real" diversity to achieve a competitive advantage and drive organizational performance.

To better convey my thoughts, please allow me to use the automobile as a metaphor. While they come in various shapes, sizes and styles, at the core of each and what powers each automobile is the engine. That engine is a very complex machinery with numerous moving parts (again of various shapes and sizes) and it is the lubricant that is a very key ingredient ensuring the engine runs smoothly. Without it, significant friction would be created, components would begin to malfunction and eventually the engine would seize and perhaps even results in a violent and dangerous fire situation.

When it comes to diversity in the business environment, the situation is very similar to that of an engine and as the lubricant is to the engine, real human understanding of each other is to organizations. Yet, here is where I see the breakdown and what I observe and hear about on an ongoing basis, and associations are by no means except nor immune to this phenomena.

As we go through life, we take all types of subjects including math, sciences, arts, and so on. While they are very important indeed, what we don't learn enough, if at all, about is human behavior and lack of this understanding creates the effect similar to that of running an engine without sufficient or appropriate lubricant. Please allow me to expand my thoughts here.

In the workplace, there are always several different styles at work and each individual has his/her own inner motivations that serves as the fuel to power the engine. Let me present two of the styles here for discussion sake.

One style is what I refer to as "Drivers". They are self-assured, competitive, results oriented, fearless, confident, driven to win, fast paced and they love to take charge. These people have immense value to add to every organization. Yet due to lack of understanding of human behavior, they are often, specially under stress, perceived and mislabeled as bossy, jerk, autocratic, pushy, stubborn, confrontation, hostile, forceful, dominating, aggressive, blunt, intimidating, dictatorial, difficult....you get the idea.

Then there are those who I refer to as "Conscientious". Their strengths are they are critical thinkers, detail oriented, precise, accurate, meticulous, logical, task focused. Yet these very same people who add so much value to organizations, by those who don't recognize and understand them, these people are too often labeled as
perfectionists, picky, fussy, cold, pessimistic, strict, defensive, hard-to-please.

Then in add'n to styles, there is the question of inner motivations. One can have very similar behaviors but very different motivations that drive their behaviors. Some are driven to lead, others who drive for results, those whose mission is to serve, and so on.

While my purpose here is not to give a discourse on behaviors and motivations, what I am trying to convey is that if we truly want to leverage diversity and turn that into our competitive advantage, we MUST spend the time and resources to better understand each other at our core. As that is done, that will be similar to adding fresh
lubricant to an engine. And that will lead to each higher performance and greater success in the long run.

But here is the resistance that often comes. We don't have the time. That is like cutting a tree with a dull saw. We work hard but progress is slow and work frustrating and de-energizing. As the javelin thrower, at times one has to take several steps back before being able to gain enough speed to jump over the hurdle. It is similar with diversity. We must take the time to truly understand each other at a much deeper level and then engage in a heartfelt dialogue and from that actions will emerge that will result in greater human understanding and truly turn diversity into a business competitive advantage. As that is done, diversity will naturally begin to be further understood, valued and actually even sought out for diversity leads to better decisions, more creativity and stronger organizations.