{"id":69312,"date":"2021-02-15T15:42:53","date_gmt":"2021-02-15T15:42:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kariwarbergblock.com\/?p=69312"},"modified":"2021-02-17T13:06:12","modified_gmt":"2021-02-17T13:06:12","slug":"the-power-of-diversity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kariwarbergblock.com\/the-power-of-diversity\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of Diversity"},"content":{"rendered":"
Every now and again there comes an amazing opportunity to work with a diverse group of individuals to design a new space, a new place, something that didn\u2019t exist before, a community, a church, a business, or even a new industry. These opportunities are few and far between for most of us unless you\u2019re a serial entrepreneur, or work as a supplier diversity professional.<\/p>\n
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For generations, those of us considered the wrong sex, color, religion, or members of the wrong political party weren\u2019t invited to the table in many industries. The table is often a place of place power, where the decisions that affect everyone and everything on the planet are often made by exclusive enclaves.<\/p>\n
Up through the first 30 years of my life, I was just another person without a voice or the courage to speak my mind. \u00a0I was at the bottom of my class in grade school; always the last one picked for team sports and group activities. I grew up thinking I didn\u2019t have anything to contribute, partly because no one ever seemed to give me the chance.\u00a0 That is, up until \u00a0I lost my pulse for 3 minutes in the OR at 33 years of age. Afterward, I couldn\u2019t NOT do anything about it. Things had to change, at least for me. Sometimes it takes the quietest and meekest among us to stand up and make change happen.<\/p>\n
For decades, I had seen the injustice. I saw co-workers with great (really great) ideas, have them stolen by their superiors (myself included!). I saw the rich getting richer by exploiting our planet\u2019s resources (I had been feeling the earth\u2019s pain over this since I was 5). I saw the genius inside those labeled developmentally delayed. I was one of them too. I saw people buying cheap products for their kids from mass retailers and discount stores, items often assembled by children in faraway places who were forced to work in substandard, slave-like conditions. I saw amazing businesses being created and then sold for big payouts, making it even harder for the next entrepreneur to gain a market foothold.\u00a0 Further to that, the laws favor the biggest of the big.<\/p>\n
I knew a new space needed to be created where we could imagine a better future for all life, and I knew I could start doing just that at my own table with a notepad, pen, and cup of coffee. \u00a0I had absolutely nothing to start with, other than a purpose to make a difference with the second life I\u2019d been given, and a family to support me. \u201cWhat\u2019s the worst that could happen?\u201d I thought to myself.<\/p>\n
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I soon found that getting my head and heart into the right space would always provide freedom for my spirit, no matter how crushing the resistance appeared to be. No money? No university degree? No experience? No problem! There was something magical that happened over a cup of coffee or tea when gathering around the table with the right people. The space becomes a conscious space, something I only recognized the power of after my near-death experience. I had to share this discovery, so I wrote Gathering Around the Table, a story of purpose-driven change through business<\/em>.<\/a><\/p>\n Whether you read the book or not, I urge you to join me in gathering around the table and to do so with more diversity of thinking than you had yesterday.<\/p>\n Here are a few ways that I\u2019ve learned to have diverse conversations around the table: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n