So recently someone said – “huh? You’re a fan of D&I? I hear it from VPs and managers and not tech-leads.”
And it got me thinking, really? I mean, I have been talking about this since 2013 – which is about 15 years too late.
First, I am a fan because it’s the right moral thing to do. And that’s enough for me. I can not stress that enough. In fact, I was tempted to end the email here.
—- but if the right thing isn’t enough —-
Second: BECAUSE I LIKE TO WIN.
When I was a young boy, I was told that all point guards need to be short as a matter of faith. Then this guy called Magic Johnson showed up.
Then later, I was told that a shooting guard could never win a championship. Then this guy Michael Jordan won 6.
Later, I was told that human beings that were over 5’10” could not win a sprint.
https://wrongtool.kostadis.com/moneyballing-recruiting-engineers-or-looking-for-usain-bolt/
If you read the post, you’ll understand the point.
But the short version is that victory happens when you avoid GroupThink.
Third: My dad
So my dad showed up in the USA in 1973 and spoke with this horrible Greek accent. And looked like a goon. And so he’s at a research meeting, and Sol Permutt is presenting on apnea. And my dad says – you should use a CPAP.
Sol Permutt looks at him and wants to escape from this smelly Greek (his words). Then he walks out and comes back in and says, “Wait, that’s Genius.”
Sol was willing to look past the Greek smelly guy and hear him.
If you sleep with a CPAP, it’s because Sol Permutt was willing to look past this Greek. He found to be unpleasant and listen to the idea. And because some admission team decided to bring him from Greece.
Fourth: Zynga
Zynga created a multi-billion dollar business because we weren’t gamers. We created games that gamers loathed. And along the way, it generated several billions of dollars of shareholder value and entertained millions.
——
I could go on and on and on and on.
I want a diverse set of people at the table where decisions are being made.
Because if there isn’t, we miss a perspective, and someone else who is listening will be making a fortune.
Diversity has been proven from crops to languages used in WWII (Navajo code talkers to solutions. But we all have to be mature to listen to all and not be upset when our idea is not chosen.
Absolutely