Opening up the Culture First 2019 Conference, the CEO of Culture Amp Didier Elzinga shared some real inclusion, diversity, and belonging lessons. I especially liked the quote he shared from Warren Buffet:
Both my children and I won what I call the ovarian lottery. (for starters the odds against my 1930 birth taking place in the U.S. were at least 30 to 1. My being male and white also removed huge obstacles that a majority of Americans then faced) . . .
I have never seen this quote before, and it was so refreshing to acknowledge the privilege so many of us take for granted. Especially when there are still questions from people about whether privilege even exists. Thank you, Warren.
And thank you, Didier. It was great to have the CEO of a progressive company like Culture Amp highlight privilege in his opening keynote to the conference. This set the tone for the week.
When he shared a slide titled “We are figuring out what it means to have a truly diverse workplace,” my first thought was:
YES!
Every organization is having to think abut what diversity means and how it may impact how everyone works together. Diversity is not going away and we need to figure out how we build cultures where everyone is able to contribute in a positive way.
He then shared a new tool that they have just launched focused on action steps from their diversity and inclusion survey called the Diversity & Inclusion Starter Kit. The best part:
IT’S FREE!
This is the type of leadership we need in the Inclusion, Diversity, and Belonging space. It’s great to know how people feel about their experience at work through the survey. Taking that data and knowing what action to take- this is a GAME CHANGER. Thank you, Culture Amp!