The Necessity of Strangers by Gregerman Alan

Author:Gregerman, Alan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Wiley
Published: 2013-07-21T16:00:00+00:00

Everyone Matters

Two years ago I had the good fortune to be able to celebrate the Hindu festival of Holi outside the city of Faizabad in Northern India. It's something I had only read about, and the chance to participate in this celebration of spring, fertility, the harvest, and the ancient legend of Prahlad and Holika—a story of the triumph of good over evil—was not to be missed. The festival is best known for its sense of joy, its unique ability to break down the barriers that often separate people, and the tradition of throwing and spraying brightly colored paint at each other. A dazzling array of colored powder and water is directed at friends, relatives, neighbors, coworkers, acquaintances, and even total strangers and creates a wild swirl of blues, greens, yellows, oranges, pinks, reds, purples, and other hues. In the process, everyone becomes an integral part of a veritable rainbow of color: young and old; men, women, and children; rich and poor; and people of different faiths, ethnicities, and castes. It is a canvas of possibilities. The colors liberate us from other people's perceptions of who we are. They enable us to see everyone as a joyous equal—with an equal smile; an equal voice; an equal ability to express innate creativity; and an equal ability to contribute, make a difference, and matter. This is particularly powerful in a country where caste and social standing are incredibly important for a lot of people the other 364 days of the year.

This experience challenged me to imagine what it would be like to celebrate Holi in all of our companies and organizations, many of which have their own “caste” systems of rank, position, role, training, influence, longevity, bureaucracy, and politics, and often talk about the value and equality of ideas but rarely tap the genius of all their people. Within these organizations we too often struggle to innovate and grow but rarely bring our brightest and most diverse palette to bear.

A young man's struggle to be noticed and fit into a new workplace three months after a hopeful first day; a holiday from halfway around our ever-shrinking world that strikes at the heart of what it means to be human, but only for a day—these challenge us to imagine our true potential as companies and organizations. Just think of what we could achieve if we could figure out how to connect in new and more powerful ways with the strangers we live and work with—people with different skills and backgrounds, who share a desire to make a real difference if given the chance. But instead, most companies and organizations seem determined to miss the chance to bring all of their diverse talents to life. The key is to figure out how to change the equation not just on day one, or on Holi, but 365 days a year.

Notes

1. These quotes about the importance of people are taken from the following companies: General Electric, Goldman Sachs, Southwest Airlines, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Fred Meyer, USAIG,

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