Diversity: Fueling the Fires of Creative Genius

How do we do it?  How do we keep cranking out such creative work week after week?  Yes, we read the blogs and articles and attend the seminars, and we have team-building days and projects that help foster good interoffice communications.

But even better than all that, it is the rich cultural diversity found in the CEA employees that fuels the fires of our collective creative genius.

If you take a walk through the offices here at CEA Marketing, you’ll meet people from Jamaica, Mexico, Canada, and New Jersey, and we all know that Jersey is it’s own special little country. We have people raised in the Deep South, down-home country folk from Ohio, not to mention the guy with the Louisiana roots.

Now that’s pretty rich.  We have a lot of the world here.  These very different life experiences, the ones growing up in multicultural cities, small country towns, high and low crime areas, varying religious beliefs, and the rhythms of daily life all contribute to who we are in the workplace and how we ourselves contribute to the mix.

Another diversity that helps fuel the creative fire is the age differences in the office. With over 30 years between the oldest and youngest team member, we keep each other in tune with the generations. The old guys learn from the babies, and the babies learn from the old guys. Old guys learn hip new terms that we wouldn’t dare ever use (she rachet), and the young ones learn about letterpress printing and the 3 original TV channels.

It keeps the old guys young and the young guys laughing.

So who cares? Why does it matter that we have our own slice of Jamaican Bobsled team on board? Because diversity fosters innovation, and innovation is good for the client. In their article “How to Foster Innovation Through Diverse Workgroups”, Inc. suggests that people from diverse backgrounds “could approach problems from different viewpoints and, armed with a collective range of knowledge and experience, produce a better finished product.”  (http://www.inc.com/guides/2011/01/how-to-foster-innovation-through-diverse-workgroups_pagen_2.html)

The article also notes that, “Having a diverse workforce with a strong culture of individualism has profound effects on internal employee relations, but it can also assist in obtaining new clients.” And who doesn’t love new clients?

Diversity also creates a genuine interest in one another and camaraderie that, when in creative think tanks and brainstorming sessions, makes it easy and fun to come up with a whole world of clever ideas.

 

– Written by Gayle Hill