Connecting the Dots on Diversity

“We just didn’t connect at all. I got my sales pitch ready based on the little bit I knew about the buyer. It was a woman in a Turkish company and I convinced myself I knew what was needed. A Turkish company? I thought ‘low-tech, not very sophisticated’. A woman buyer? I thought ‘she’ll be focused on our customer service, not much interest in technology’. I only got through the first minute or two of the sales pitch before she stopped me and said ‘ look, what I really need to know is what's different about your technical solution and what makes it the best fit with our needs’. As I quickly discovered - all my assumptions were wrong and so was the sales pitch. The buyer was a leader in research and development and the company was putting together really sophisticated technical solutions for their own clients. The whole thing was a disaster. She wasn't convinced that we had good enough technology and looking back, I think she felt insulted by my approach.”

Not long ago, I was told this story by a rather humbled salesman. It illustrated how easily our assumptions about different individuals, cultures or organisations can stop us creating effective and profitable connections. This is a powerful, business-focused way to look at diversity.

What Connections Deliver to a Business

Through effective connections we:

· respond to the needs of diverse customers,

· attract recruits in the face of fierce competition,

· motivate and retain different employees,

· form joint ventures which deliver value,

· source and lead successful teams

· leverage information and talent globally

· move into new host communities easily and confidently

ll these outcomes (and many more) rely on interactions between individuals, teams or organisations. Every connection is unique. Not only because the purpose may be different but also because of the diversity (differences) among those who need to be connected. Businesses that excel in connecting diverse stakeholders will have a sharp competitive edge.

Approach Diversity Pragmatically and Enjoy Better Connections.

So what does all of this really mean for leaders? Clearly, stakeholder connections are critical to business and personal success. What may be new for many is the discipline of working out how diversity affects those connections. The way forward is the intentional integration of diversity and inclusiveness into the business. This should not be treated as a separate issue but made part of mainstream operating practices.

The full article these extracts come from is here.