IT’S EMPIRICAL… DIVERSITY MAKES YOU BRIGHTER So Why Is The Money So Slow?

  By Pedro de Córdoba – Chief Strategy Officer / Eventus

The proof is in. Diversity makes everyone smarter, period. It’s empirical and empirical is one hell of a word. It’s as resounding as they come. Unambiguous, lights out, with no arguments allowed. Empirical is something that is verifiable by observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic. So when you want to make a point, if it is framed as empirical-with the data to back it up-it should be a slam dunk.

That’s what Sheen S. Levine, professor at the Jindal School of Management at the University of Texas at Dallas, and David Stark, professor of sociology at Columbia outline in the findings of their research in a recent piece in the New York Times titled Diversity Makes You Brighter. The two professors set out to prove that [market] bubbles are affected by ethnic homogeneity in the market and can be thwarted by diversity. They conclude that “By disrupting conformity, racial and ethnic diversity prompts people to scrutinize facts, think more deeply and develop their own opinions.” As they state, diversity is “like fresh air: It benefits everybody who experiences it.”  These findings may be intuitive to those of us who have first-hand experience living in a diverse environment. But they should be broadly disseminated to counter the paranoia of “otherness” that has been stoked by the immigrant bashing and worse produced by the current electoral season. Empirical evidence tells us there should be a rush to embrace diversity in all its forms. Given today’s Trumpish climate, it may take a while. But I can see the bumper stickers now:  “Embrace an immigrant and increase your I.Q.” Everyone will make better decisions, and that will be a good thing.

The country is changing big-time, that too is an empirical fact. But the perception of that change is where it gets sticky. For some of us, the promise of America has yet to be fulfilled and the country isn’t changing quickly enough. Others see the promise of “their” America being squandered and want to “take America back” to a time where things were simpler and more familiar- in essence more homogeneous. I am firmly entrenched in the first camp, and the (empirical) findings of this important piece of research gives me renewed hope that the goal of attaining true diversity will eventually be seen by all as net benefit for society.

But here is my big disappointment with the industry I make my living in. Marketing should always be a forward-looking endeavor. Being ahead of the curve should be the modus operandi of the industry. It’s the way to win hearts and minds. So as marketing continues to evolve, developing tools that allow for smarter and more efficient decision-making a question arises. Why aren’t the marketing resources (namely budgets) following suit in a rush to embrace diversity? The allocation of resources continues to remain stubbornly stuck in a time and place that favors and perpetuates homogeneity. This leads me to believe that a little more diversity in the offices and C-suites of corporate America, besides being the right thing to do, can only lead to smarter decisions. It’s empirical.