I am always amazed at how some organizations are very efficient at utilizing every single part of their raw assets in the production process. Organic farming is a case in point. Compost, waste water, soil, and plants are utilized in the growing of organic vegetables. After the vegetables are harvested, many of the remaining plants are used for the next year’s products as growing components, and the cycle continues. Instead of discarding those elements of the process, every component is valued and reused in the production process.

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In contrast, most societal institutions do not employ the same process to grow diversity; they do not utilize every single part of their assets in their growth process. Institutions work hard at recruiting diversity, but then fail to value it as a golden resource. That is, they do very little to utilize the cultures, worldviews, backgrounds, social identities, experiences, languages, and perspectives that diverse individuals bring to the workplace or context. Colleges, universities, businesses, and government agencies under-utilize or waste valuable resources when they do not value or cultivate diversity to reach objectives, improve services, enrich the environment, and achieve outcomes.

 

I encourage you to consider how to best utilize these assets in the process of growing your organization for the enrichment of that entity and society at large. The outcome is a bounty for us all.

 

Dr. Jesús Treviño, SEO/SDO