Exclusively Represented by the Washington Speakers Bureau
How to Profit from Diversity
Most organizations understand the ethical case for diversity, but those who also see the bottom-line business case have a major jump on the competition. In a world that’s becoming ever more complex and culturally diverse, organizations need to connect with the rapidly changing profiles and expectations of their clients and markets. These new global dynamics demand new approaches to product development, customer services and to hiring, necessitating a diversity strategy. But what does that involve, and how does it work in practice? Sir Ken describes the major demographic trends and cultural forces that are transforming established markets while also revealing new, multi-billion dollar ones. Takeaways include:
• How organizations can recruit, develop and hold on to talented people from a wide range of cultural backgrounds • The major cultural trends that are reshaping consumer markets • The core elements and dynamics of a diversity strategy • Successful strategies and their bottom-line benefits • Action points for managers and leaders
Biography
Sir Ken Robinson, PhD is an internationally recognized leader in the development of creativity, innovation and human resources. He works with governments in Europe, Asia and the USA, with international agencies, Fortune 500 companies, and some of the world’s leading cultural organizations. In 1998, he led a national commission on creativity, education and the economy for the UK Government. All Our
Futures: Creativity, Culture and Education (The Robinson Report) was published to wide acclaim in 1999. He was the central figure in developing a strategy for creative and economic development as part of the Peace Process in Northern Ireland, working with the ministers for training, education enterprise and culture. The resulting blueprint for change, Unlocking Creativity, was adopted by politicians of all parties and by business, education and cultural leaders across the Province. He was one of four international advisors to the Singapore Government for its strategy to become the creative hub of South East Asia.
For twelve years, he was professor of education at the University of Warwick in the UK and is now professor emeritus. He has received honorary degrees from the Open University and the Central School of Speech and Drama; Birmingham City University and the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. He was been honored with the Athena Award of the Rhode Island School of Design for services to the arts and education; the Peabody Medal for contributions to the arts and culture in the United States, and the Benjamin Franklin Medal of the Royal Society of Arts for outstanding contributions to cultural relations between the United Kingdom and the United States. In 2005, he was named as one of Time/Fortune/CNN’s ‘Principal Voices’. In 2003, he received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II for his services to the arts. He speaks to audiences throughout the world on the creative challenges facing business and education in the new global economies.
His new book, currently a New York Times Best Seller, ‘The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything’ (Penguin/Viking 2009) is being translated into eight different languages.
