I've Been Thinking...

About E Pluribus Unum – our country’s motto that means “out of many, one,” or “many uniting into one.” It must be all of the election coverage has me thinking of our history and government. Our founding fathers believed that the key to our success was in our ability to collaborate…to unite; to bring 13 colonies together with one government. They were not encouraging us to lose our individuality, but rather to bring the best of each, together, to achieve a greater good. Call it collective genius or collaborative power, it united a very diverse country into a unified international leader, innovator and inspiration to many others.

E Pluribus Unum – "many uniting into one" – is also a great vision for today’s businesses. In today’s workplace, we have a diverse mix of gender, race, ethnicity, religion and perspectives. We are a mix – and from this mix we must learn to take the best and bring it forward – "from many, one." There is great performance power in a diverse workforce. Workforces that openly welcome a variety of perspectives, attitudes and experiences create greater opportunities, innovation and responses. This month I present the Three Reasons Why A Diverse Workforce is Great For Business in the Take Action section below. Do you welcome diverse perspectives and see the value in them? Or, do you like to fill every role with someone who looks or sounds like you?

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Three Reasons Why A Diverse Workforce is Great for Business

By 2042 minorities will account for more than half of the US population. Just under sixty percent of university graduates are women. By 2050 it is anticipated that Hispanics will account for 30% of the population. These are facts. We have to change with the times; the complexion of our culture and our workforce is changing. We are now more diverse, more international, more global. Progressive organizations see performance success in a diverse but united workforce. A diverse workforce encourages the personal best from each. Then, these bests are united into a collaborative united powerhouse. Here are the three reasons why diversity is great for business.

Diverse workforces represent the true population of the country. We have gone global; we communicate minute by minute with the rest of the world. We buy their products, they buy ours. Our workplace must represent our population – mixed and diverse. Our products and services must reflect the markets that are served. Selling to women without a feminine perspective is shortsighted. Selling to Hispanics without understanding their language and culture leads to failure. A diverse workforce more fairly represents its customer base so that decisions made at all levels are more appropriate and successful.
You have a greater population to choose from when searching to hire the "right" employee. We are in an intellectual workplace; thinking matters most. Today, we must hire for talent and that talent is represented by the "inside," not the "outside" of the employee. We hire thinking – and the right thinking for a job may show up in the shape of a man or woman, Greek or Italian, Muslim or Christian, old or young. When we consider the entire population of workers to assess the talents needed in a particular role, we improve the possibility of finding and hiring the right employee, one who has the right talents, skills and attitude to be successful in the role.
Diverse workplaces add value, color, energy and tradition. Diverse workplaces benefit from the mix of cultures, experiences, attitudes and life stories. This adds energy and vibrancy to the workplace; it also forces people who don’t naturally see the world in the same way to learn to work with each other, solve problems together and collaborate for success. Using the power of their mixed backgrounds consistently yields greater responses and greater results.

Organizations are learning to celebrate, instead of fear, diversity. Diversity offers businesses the ability to hire better, invent more significantly and connect to a broader view of the world. It takes time to change our perspective to willingly work with or for someone one who doesn’t look or sound like us. But when we realize that each of us is first a talented person with a colorful story and experiences, we have the confidence to then share our many stories with others to create one that is yet even grander and more compelling. E Pluribus Unum - out of many, one - it works in a country and it works in a company.

I bet you never knew... "E Pluribus Unum"

E Pluribus Unum, translated as "from many, one" was created as the motto to be placed on the shield carried by the American Eagle on the United States Seal.
The motto E Pluribus Unum was selected in 1782 by Charles Thomson and adopted by an Act of Congress in the same year.
E Pluribus Unum refers to the union between the original 13 states and between the states and the Federal Government.
Originally suggesting that out of many colonies or states emerge a single nation, it has now come to mean that out of many peoples, races, and ancestries has emerged a single people and nation.

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