Deliver Me Diversity!
From Day 1 I have deliberately tried to connect with a diverse set of leaders, be it race, age, occupation, gender etc.
Why?
For starters, let’s face it — appeal to as many groups of people and more people will listen (duh).
But on a deeper level, when you’re seeking an open exchange of ideas you MUST have a diverse set of opinions in the room to capture the very essence of what happens in the real world and to be able to innovate.
In this episode, respected small business champion Kerry-Ann Powell spoke extensively about the concept of not existing in an echo chamber.
In a business context, this refers to opening up your business to new ideas — be it through a partnership, consultation with customers or even letting in other parties to bounce ideas off.
Interestingly, Kerry-Ann used the word ‘partnership’ a few times.
To most this would involve bringing someone in as a co-shareholder or director of a business. Importantly, however, a partnership doesn’t need to involve giving away shares or control. It can just be a trusted voice, like a friend or family member, that you can use as a sounding board.
It’s a great idea and has legs, not just in business.
After all, barring self-confidence issues, you’re normally inherently biased towards your own awesomeness — which can lead you down paths that won’t serve your level of sales, your listeners or your followers.
In my experience living as an immigrant surrounded by other immigrants (my high school was 50% Asian, 30% subcontintental, 20% other), this has led to a fabulous melting pot of ideas, viewpoints and styles.
Purposefully living like this has have held me in great stead in the business world and the 55-odd countries ive visited.
Bringing this back to the podcast, what a joy and experience to have caught up with Kerry-Ann!
I’ve never really properly spoken to or connected with an African American person, let alone a successful African American woman business leader! So yes, the business advice and professional exchange of ideas was valuable, but there was a deeper connection and inner learning that transpired.
We may sometimes forget that we’re from the earth and of the earth.
We’re living creatures that at birth, are all the same — flesh, blood, skin and a few hairs on our head. Family, traditions, society and conditioning takes over but we’re fundamentally all the same — let’s remember and celebrate this, because our differences are truly our strengths and just as we grew stronger as a tribe than as individuals, so too can the world in 2023 and beyond.
It is a beautiful thing and you will learn things that go way beyond the intellectual.
So go find a type of person you’ve never connected with and try it sometime!
This is the human experience, dear listeners.
September Addition
A few days ago I went out with some colleagues. We had a merry night and as many merry nights go, it ended up in McDonalds to soak up all that sweet wine.
As I sat down to munch on my midnight Big Mac, a 40-something year old visibly homeless lady approached and asked if she could sit next to me.
Now, I’ll admit that i’ve never really taken the time to connect with a homeless person.
My conditioning and initial reaction is to avoid eye and physical contact. This automatic response is shameful and I know it, and i’m probably not alone here.
Anyway, this lady’s name was Jasmine. She was in her mid-40s, had a son and daughter, used to have a respectable job in country Victoria but hit some seriously rough times in her life.
Jasmine explained she’d lost her job due to substance abuse, lost her home, lost custody of her children and to top it off, had been bashed by her abusive partner more times she could remember.
Harrowing stuff.
But Jasmine didn’t want pity.
She didn’t want money.
She didn’t even want me to buy her a feed.
She just wanted to feel noticed. Feel a connection with a human being.
Just have a yarn and feel like, at least for a few minutes, everything is ok, she’s appreciated and not invisible.
We spoke for about 15 minutes about life, about how amazing Melbourne is even if you’ve hit rough times, about how the melting pot of this city makes everyone feel at least a little (ok, a lot) more welcome than, say, Sydney, and about how one should NEVER give up, no matter how down the chips are.
Jasmine asked me about my life and was genuinely interested.
We bonded over the fact that we both have fake teeth — hers dentures, mine implants/crowns.
I was brought to tears by this conversation.
What an incredible human, that, in the midst of the worst personal crisis one can imagine, can still find the strength and energy to stay positive and curious.
Truthfully, this conversation deeply, deeply moved me.
It reinforced the previously-theoretical notion in my head that, we are all one in the same.
Circumstances and ‘life’ can and will happen, but you can never extinguish the human spirit.
It’s a little sad that it took a conversation with Jasmine for me to realise this, but also makes me really happy that I finally let go of my own shit, stopped judging and connected with a human being on a level i’ve never bothered doing before.
I wish Jasmine many blessings and may we all keep the spirit of human connection burning.
Business Literacy for Kids
One of my more fonder memories in primary school when I was around 11 years old was something called ‘Earn and Learn’ (E&L)
E&L was essentially an opportunity to introduce youngsters to business and working life.
We either selected, or were put into groups for a few hours into a nominated ‘job’ such as a bank teller, football manager etc.
Looking back, this introduction was invaluable in planting the first seeds of business mindedness and particularly much-needed perspective on how the world works. The only pity was this was a limited have-fun-type activity which petered out after a few weeks.
I can predict what some of you are thinking, so let me go on…
…Yes, it’s important that kids stay kids. I’m not denying this by any stretch of the imagination.
Seeing what’s happened to kids like Lil Tay really saddens me and is reflective of the broader hypercommercialised, social-media fueled world we all find ourselves in.
Notwithstanding these extremes, it is, however, important to plant the right seeds and give sound foundational education to kids beyond a hand-me-down curriculum that was relevant 50-odd years ago.
Brutal truth — as much as some of us (me) would like, the world isnt filled with hugs and kisses and circles singing kumbaya.
Money talks, so until the apocalypse hits and we must all put food on the table largely thanks to our commercial acumen.
If we compare the proportion of learning about history, geography, maths and English versus E&L/business/marketing — the latter is miniscule.
More significantly, still, E&L was biased towards working ‘for the man’, so to speak.
I vaguely recall our teachers spruiking the 9–5 under the guise of ‘stability and certainty’, no doubt to achieve the suburban middle class dream.
Not exactly much opportunity to show our entrepreneurial colours…that had to come from our parents or (somehow) from within.
If the engine of growth and progression is innovation, then our schools did a pretty shitty job of preparing us.
The next time I touched formal learning in business was when I was 16 and studying a business management elective in high school.
So it came as a bit of a shock when I entered the proper workforce following high school.
It was, quite simply, a different universe.
I felt underequipped.
And I was one of the lucky ones, given I had a cadetship at an accounting firm while I studied finance at uni.
At the time, social media also didn’t really exist. So when it all kicked off in the late 2000s, the brain wasn’t exactly primed to take advantage of new opportunities the world created there.
Don’t get me wrong — we all adapted and caught up, but fostering an entrepreneurial spirit, thinking and ways of working earlier would’ve primed us much better for the world ahead.
Having spoken to a few parents recently, it seems not much has changed in the last 20 years.
To bring this little build-up to a head…if there are educators, policymakers and principals out there reading this, it’s time to get with the times and start ‘em off not just early, but in a sustained and structured manner, just like English and maths.
Marketing, accounting, entrepreneurship, innovation, lateral thinking, social media and project management — this is where the real world skills are at.
Let’s not pretend otherwise….be an agent of change where we teach the youngesters real-world, actionable skills. Or relegate Gen (whatever the next one is) to be left behind!
May success be with you! 💙 💚
