Choirs and Crayons

When Sly & The Family Stone released the song “Everyday People”, which included the line “different strokes for different folks”, few people in the business community understood the word “diversity” as it applies to the workplace. That was 1969. But in today’s business world, diversity is recognized as an important and necessary component of an effective organization.

Diversity is defined as “differing from one another; composed of distinct or unlike elements or qualities”. In business, it’s the coming together of people of different backgrounds, cultures, education, skills, and experience to create a broader, more effective organization.

I once worked with a CEO who, in a previous job, was an award-winning, high- school choir director. At first glance, you might say that that’s quite a career change, but perhaps it’s not as much of a shift as you might think. First of all, if he could manage a bunch of high school students, he could certainly manage a bunch of employees! And, secondly, as a choir director, he understood the concept of bringing together a variety of talented people and turning them into a harmonious group. In his choir, each person’s voice was different. Individually, each was talented, but when their diverse voices were brought together – sopranos, altos, tenors, baritones, and basses all singing in harmony – the result was a masterful performance.

It was the American author Robert Fulghum who said, “We can learn a lot from a box of crayons. Some are pretty, some are sharp, some are dull, some have weird names, and they are all different colors. But they all learn to live in the same box.” Wise words…

Here are some ideas to help you have a broader view of others.

Keep in mind that we’re all human beings; we’re just folks who all want essentially the same things – a place to call home, good health, food, clothing, acceptance, a sense of belonging, meaningful work, the knowledge that we matter.
Try to learn as much as you can about the backgrounds and perspectives of those whom you perceive to be “different”. Knowledge can lead to understanding.
Get to know your co-workers and neighbors on a personal level. You may discover that you have more in common than you realize.
Remember that we all bring our own set of talents, skills, and experiences to our jobs, and the greater the variety, the more resources we have for creating products, solving problems, and providing service for our customers.
No one has all the answers, but when we work together from a position of collective wisdom – each person bringing their best – we can be successful.

A variety of voices in a choir, a variety of crayons in a box, a variety of employees in a company — when we learn to work together, we create something that is better than any one individual could do alone. Appreciate the differences…because we are, after all, just everyday people.