THE DIVERSITY & INCLUSION ANGLE
Your brain is lying to you about who is dangerous.
Left elevator: A big Black man, shirtless, with a Doberman.
Right elevator: A blonde woman in a corporate suit.
Who did you think was safer?
Most of us would choose the right. He chose the left.
We all have unconscious bias. We judge people by how they look, not who they are.
In hiring, in meetings, in partnerships, we choose the people who LOOK safe, not the people who ARE safe.
The best talent, the best ideas, and the best partners often don't look like what we expect.
I watched this 18-second clip 5 times.
A man needs an elevator.
Door 1 opens: A muscular guy with a Rottweiler.
Door 2 opens: A beautiful woman smiling at him.
He pauses. And he walks into Door 1.
We all laughed. But then I realized this is exactly what we do every day at work.
We choose the fancy presentation over the honest data.
We choose the charming talker over the quiet doer.
We choose where we FEEL safe, not where we ARE safe.
Lesson:
Comfort is not a business strategy.