 I've been a diversity and inclusion practitioner for the better part of a decade and in my travels across the world because I've been doing diversity and inclusion on a global basis. Without fail, I always get after a conference or after a panel discussion, a manager or leader come up to me, take me aside and ask, so what really is this diversity stuff? Is this the latest American management mantra that is going to be here today and gone tomorrow? Well, I'm here today to demystify the D word for you, the word diversity and its partner word inclusion. So over the years, the two best analogies I've heard for the word diversity and inclusion are as follows. The first one is, when you make a cake, you have a mix. Diversity is the mix and inclusion is the actual cake where the sum is greater than the individual parts. Another version is diversity is being invited to the party, so you can enter an organization. But inclusion is being asked to dance at the party, to actually be involved in how the party goes. So those very simple analogies help explain a little bit what diversity and inclusion mean. Another way of looking at it, and as a chief diversity officer once said to me, there's a little D diversity and a big D diversity. And that's when the iceberg of differences comes into play. The iceberg of differences really looks at the tip of the iceberg representing little D, the visible differences that you might think of if you just hear the word diversity. Differences in gender, differences in ethnicity, differences in profession or social class depending on how you're dressed. Those are visible aspects of diversity. But under the water line is the bulk of the iceberg and those are the other elements of diversity. Those are things like your education, your political affiliation, your religious background, your family situation, an entire slew of invisible things that make each of us different from the other. That's what diversity is, understanding how difference contributes to organizations. So why should we care about diversity? In Malaysia, in Southeast Asia, in Asia Pacific, Asia, after all, is one of the most diverse continents on this planet, umpteen languages, 20 plus countries, Malaysia itself is a encapsulation of that diversity of Asia. So one of the things that happens when a leader arrives in Asia or rises in Asia is that they look around, they look down, and what do they see? They see a diverse talent pool, they see diverse peers. So understanding how to manage that talent pool, how to navigate relationships with that peer group is critical. So knowledge of how diversity and inclusion works in the workplace is critical to your leadership toolkit. Here at Ekliffe, one of our shared philosophies is authentic leadership. We encourage leaders to walk the talk. We believe that that's a real critical part of how effective you are as a leader. So the first piece around being able to apply diversity and inclusion to your toolkit as a leader is to really walk the talk. Look around you, look at your direct reports, look at your talent pool. Is there the type of diversity that you'd like to see to be able to best serve your customers and clients in that talent pool? So first, walk the talk. Secondly, communicate and celebrate. Communicate the importance of having multiple points of view, multiple perspectives, multiple approaches to things in your work, in your business. And celebrate the successes of those nontraditional pools of talent who succeed in your workplace. So communicate and celebrate. And finally, make sure that the right elements are there in terms of culture, performance, and I messed up on that one. Can I start at a third again? Ready? Yeah. Study by, we continue rolling, we're retaking this and action. And thirdly, focus on culture processes and programs to make sure you have the environment where all talent can flourish to its full potential. Fundamentally, diversity is not only about equity, justice, about leveling the playing field. It is, of course, about all three of those things. But it's also really about your organization's productivity and your organization's performance. And enhancing productivity and performance should be at the top of any leaders to do list. Now what leader wouldn't want to focus on that?