Latest / The Steve Harvey Morning Show / Sharon Smith-Akinsanya, Founder of People of Color Fair, on Pushing Corporate Diversity & Inclusion

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Sharon Smith-Akinsanya, Founder of People of Color Fair, on Pushing Corporate Diversity & Inclusion · The Steve Harvey Morning Show

0:04
Speaker 1: Welcome to Money Making Conversations. It's the show that she
0:07
Speaker 1: has the secrets of success experience firsthand by Marketing and
0:10
Speaker 1: Brandon expert Rashan McDonald. I will know he's giving me
0:13
Speaker 1: advice to many occasions. In occasion didn't notice, I'm not broke.
0:17
Speaker 1: You know. He'll be interviewing celebrity CEOs, entrepreneurs and industry
0:20
Speaker 1: decision makers. It's what he likes to do, it's what
0:23
Speaker 1: he likes to share. Now it's time to hear from
0:25
Speaker 1: my man, Rashan McDonald money Making Conversations. Here we come.
0:30
Speaker 1: Welcome to Money Making Conversations. I'm your host from Sean McConnell.
0:33
Speaker 1: Isn't important to understand this? Listen up to everybody. Everybody
0:36
Speaker 1: travels a different path to success. They have to understand
0:39
Speaker 1: that that's because your brand is different. Actually, people you
0:42
Speaker 1: meet in life will be different, so the challenge you're
0:44
Speaker 1: face in your life will be different too. So you
0:46
Speaker 1: need to stop reading other people's success stories and really
0:49
Speaker 1: start writing your own. Start planning your future. Stop trying
0:52
Speaker 1: to be something that you're not. If you can't sing,
0:55
Speaker 1: stop trying to sing. If you can't wrap, stop trying
0:57
Speaker 1: to wrap. If you can't score a touchdown. Stop trying
0:59
Speaker 1: to score to touch down. That is not your lane,
1:01
Speaker 1: that's not your opportunity. But you can't be motivated by
1:04
Speaker 1: their success because their stories can offer you direction and
1:07
Speaker 1: help you reach your goals, understand the word your goals,
1:10
Speaker 1: reach your planning, and through your community effort. My next
1:13
Speaker 1: guest is Sharon Smith. I can sign you. She's the
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Speaker 1: CEO of Ray Mackenzie Group and the award winning diversity,
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Speaker 1: equity and inclusive marketing firm. Sharon works for Fortune five
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Speaker 1: hundred companies, nonprofits, and in October sixteen founded the People
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Speaker 1: of Color Career Fair as a way of closing the
1:28
Speaker 1: gap between between professionals of color and hiring managers. Sharing
1:33
Speaker 1: is all about diversity, equity and inclusion with marketing strategies
1:36
Speaker 1: that affect and attract, recruit, retain talent of color. Listen
1:41
Speaker 1: to me, talent of color. That's what this interview is about.
1:44
Speaker 1: Her new book, Colorful, Competitive Strategy to Attract and Retain
1:48
Speaker 1: top Talent of Color, releases on February night of one,
1:52
Speaker 1: but she here to do a presale request. I'm gonna
1:55
Speaker 1: here to promote the book ahead of time because you
1:56
Speaker 1: can buy the book. Put it on reserve, be the
1:58
Speaker 1: first to get it. Please, Welcome to Money Making Conversation,
2:01
Speaker 1: Sharon Smith. I can sign you. Thank you so much
2:04
Speaker 1: for Sean, thank you for that awesome introduction. I'm really
2:06
Speaker 1: happy to be here with you today. Well, first of all,
2:08
Speaker 1: you're a talker. You're a good talker. I have some
2:10
Speaker 1: good questions. A little background on me, my degrees in mathematics,
2:13
Speaker 1: my miners, and sociology. Uh, even though I have a
2:16
Speaker 1: strong entertainment background. But in college two and a half
2:19
Speaker 1: years I worked undergrad at IBM. I was in the
2:23
Speaker 1: administrative executive and then I worked two and a half
2:25
Speaker 1: years professionally at IBM. And when I got there, and
2:29
Speaker 1: I eventually left in eight six to pursue a career
2:32
Speaker 1: as a standard comedian, I thought I'd be the next
2:33
Speaker 1: Aid in Murphy. And I guess what, I've been successful.
2:37
Speaker 1: I'm not the next Aid to Murphy, but I'm the
2:38
Speaker 1: first Rochelle McDonald. That's where I should have realized from
2:40
Speaker 1: the very beginning that it's really when you start talking
2:43
Speaker 1: about talent and recruiting that talent, it's about being yourself
2:46
Speaker 1: and understanding your value. Isn't that correct? Sharing absolutely. We
2:50
Speaker 1: have to know our value. We have to understand, you know,
2:53
Speaker 1: where we fit in, and we have to always be
2:55
Speaker 1: willing to bring our authentic self to whatever it is
2:59
Speaker 1: that we're we're trying to pursue. Because you cannot be
3:02
Speaker 1: your best self. You cannot be productive at home, you
3:05
Speaker 1: cannot be productive at work unless you keep it real
3:08
Speaker 1: and you always keep aware because you're in a world
3:10
Speaker 1: where really, um, you're talking to white people. Absolutely, I'm
3:14
Speaker 1: talking to white people every day giving them a safe
3:17
Speaker 1: space to have this real conversation about making sure that
3:21
Speaker 1: they uh do a better job in making rooms so
3:24
Speaker 1: that we can have a seat at the table. See,
3:26
Speaker 1: we need to be at all levels of the organization,
3:29
Speaker 1: from boardroom to the c suite to middle management all
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Speaker 1: the way through to make sure that we're impacting change,
3:35
Speaker 1: not just because of us. Right, this is just good business.
3:39
Speaker 1: When you think about the population shift, the demographic shift,
3:44
Speaker 1: you know, people will tell us what we will be
3:48
Speaker 1: a majority minority nation, that will be more black and
3:52
Speaker 1: brown people in this nation. And then when you add
3:54
Speaker 1: on top of that, Rashaant the buying power consumerism. Corporations
3:59
Speaker 1: must be reflective of the customers they served and we
4:02
Speaker 1: are you talking about one point five one point seven
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Speaker 1: trillion dollars in buying power just with the African Americans consumer,
4:09
Speaker 1: another one point five or so with the Latino community.
4:12
Speaker 1: You cannot afford not to make sure that your workforce
4:17
Speaker 1: is reflective of the consumers you serve. Because we're getting
4:20
Speaker 1: smarter and we're becoming more using our activist gene, and
4:24
Speaker 1: we're asking more questions as we think about where we
4:27
Speaker 1: want to land for our next big career. You know,
4:30
Speaker 1: it's really interesting because, let's say, my miners and sociology,
4:34
Speaker 1: so I'm always looking from a black perspective, and I
4:36
Speaker 1: have to look at life. So when you talk about
4:39
Speaker 1: that minority number being the majority, there's a there's a
4:43
Speaker 1: that's a majority of this current majority fear that. And
4:46
Speaker 1: so when you come in talking about trying to be
4:48
Speaker 1: inclusive and trying to be a more diverse a color
4:52
Speaker 1: pattern that fixed the general population, there's also an older
4:56
Speaker 1: generation that sees that that shrinking number. And and we've
5:00
Speaker 1: seen it during this presidential administration and just gonna carry on,
5:04
Speaker 1: uh the next four years or six years. And we've
5:07
Speaker 1: seen how I read an article as a church out
5:10
Speaker 1: there as white only people church on the only white
5:12
Speaker 1: people to come to their church. So when you see
5:14
Speaker 1: this this upheaval of negative spirit that don't want to include,
5:19
Speaker 1: that don't want to share the opportunities at the table,
5:22
Speaker 1: how do you deal with that? How do you see
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Speaker 1: that as a visionary? Yeah, I think that, you know,
5:28
Speaker 1: I really feel bad, I really feel awful, Uh that
5:31
Speaker 1: people are such a disadvantage, especially some white people who
5:35
Speaker 1: haven't had the opportunity to learn how fulfilling their life
5:38
Speaker 1: would be by not having people in their lives that
5:41
Speaker 1: don't look like them. It is so sad, you know.
5:45
Speaker 1: And it's something that I teach young people as well,
5:48
Speaker 1: and I when I speak in schools, I said, you
5:50
Speaker 1: really have to understand how fulfilling and how important it
5:54
Speaker 1: is to make sure that you switch things up, you know,
5:57
Speaker 1: really make sure that you are being intentional about building
6:00
Speaker 1: strong relationships with people who don't look like you. It
6:03
Speaker 1: changes things. And so when I see what happened in
6:07
Speaker 1: the election, when I see what happens in the White House,
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Speaker 1: it's just very sad because they're just cheating themselves out
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Speaker 1: of a fulfilling opportunity, uh, to just make their lives better.
6:16
Speaker 1: Because it's so important. You know, Brian Stevenson teaches us
6:20
Speaker 1: about proximity. I don't know if you've read the book
6:22
Speaker 1: Just Mercy, but teach us about proximity, and it's so
6:27
Speaker 1: important to do that. This is how we create empathy
6:31
Speaker 1: when you are getting closer to people who don't look
6:33
Speaker 1: like us, and there and there, and it's a shame
6:35
Speaker 1: to have fear. Who wants to live like that? In
6:38
Speaker 1: fear of another human being? That's that's just nuts. So
6:41
Speaker 1: what we have to do as black people and people
6:43
Speaker 1: of color is just to keep moving forward, keep being
6:47
Speaker 1: who we are, keep being authentic, and keep teaching, educating
6:51
Speaker 1: and using our voice to make sure that we are
6:53
Speaker 1: creating change and embrace those allies and as my mom
6:57
Speaker 1: called him, embrace those good white folk. Right. Well, that's
7:01
Speaker 1: what we saw during the civil unrest during the summer,
7:05
Speaker 1: because white people came out and supported racial change. Police
7:10
Speaker 1: brutality was that we had to stop. You know. I
7:13
Speaker 1: would tell people, you know, some of the some of
7:15
Speaker 1: the heavy riding was done in Portland, Seattle, and I
7:19
Speaker 1: can assure you I've been to both cities. Very few
7:22
Speaker 1: black people up there. Okay, there was a mad white
7:24
Speaker 1: people up there. Who finally were open. And then when
7:27
Speaker 1: they saw try to create conversation, they were trying, they
7:31
Speaker 1: were they were they were trying to shut them down.
7:33
Speaker 1: And that's when the face of reality kind of came
7:35
Speaker 1: back a wild You mean, like we changed just talk
7:38
Speaker 1: about this, and this is what black people have to
7:40
Speaker 1: deal with. I'm white and you treat me like this,
7:42
Speaker 1: Treat me like I am a terrorist, treat me like
7:45
Speaker 1: I am uh was supposed to have the first right amendment,
7:48
Speaker 1: freedom of speech, and you're telling you're denying me that.
7:51
Speaker 1: And so when I look at what you're doing, and
7:53
Speaker 1: I do want to point something that. First, from an
7:56
Speaker 1: advertising standpoint, when I look at commercials, I see diversity,
8:00
Speaker 1: incredible amount of diversity. I see black and white couples
8:03
Speaker 1: land in bed. I see him driving cars with nix
8:05
Speaker 1: raged kids in the back seat. I see them jumping
8:08
Speaker 1: out to each other when they come into the airport.
8:10
Speaker 1: So from an advertising standpoint, I think diversity is working.
8:15
Speaker 1: They they have understood that we need to show how
8:18
Speaker 1: America looks and should interact. Now we're talking about employment,
8:22
Speaker 1: we're talking about leadership, we're talking about upper management, we're
8:25
Speaker 1: talking about that's a lot different than a sixty second
8:28
Speaker 1: or thirty second or fifteen second b roll on YouTube.
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Speaker 1: A lot of harder journey. It's it's it is a
8:34
Speaker 1: harder journey. But I don't understand why, because when you
8:39
Speaker 1: understand good business, that same CEO who may ensure that
8:43
Speaker 1: that who hired that ad agency, who created that the
8:46
Speaker 1: average the advertisement that you speak about, is that same
8:50
Speaker 1: CEO who needs to make sure that his organization reflects
8:55
Speaker 1: the consumers that they're serving. So that CEO that c
8:59
Speaker 1: A your old needs to just decide that we're going
9:03
Speaker 1: to reflect that. You've seen the articles, the recent articles,
9:06
Speaker 1: um you know about Coca Cola, right and there you know,
9:09
Speaker 1: and they started years ago. They used to be leading
9:12
Speaker 1: in this space when we're talking about CEOs at the
9:15
Speaker 1: highest levels of the organization, and they just took a
9:19
Speaker 1: temperature check. They they went backwards. They're going back and
9:23
Speaker 1: even as they have gone backwards, and this was as
9:26
Speaker 1: a result of a multibillion out a lawsuit that happened, right,
9:29
Speaker 1: And so they're going backwards. But even as they are,
9:32
Speaker 1: they're still ahead of the game. They still the game
9:37
Speaker 1: losing ground. So when CEOs just have to decide what
9:42
Speaker 1: type of organization do I want to be? What do
9:45
Speaker 1: I want to represent? What do I want my legacy
9:49
Speaker 1: to be? When I think about how all of this
9:51
Speaker 1: got started in sixteen nineteen, when the first slaves you know,
9:55
Speaker 1: rode up on the shores of Virginia, you know, uh
9:59
Speaker 1: uh uh in chains. Although I want my legacy to
10:04
Speaker 1: be and I believe that CEO's board members just have
10:08
Speaker 1: to decide that this has got to stop. And just
10:11
Speaker 1: like when this started in Minneapolis, after George Floyd was
10:14
Speaker 1: murdered eight minutes and forty six seconds, that awakened all
10:18
Speaker 1: of us, you know, and and the world saw all races.
10:22
Speaker 1: As you mentioned earlier, wasn't just because it's not that
10:24
Speaker 1: many black folk in Minnesota either. So everybody came together
10:30
Speaker 1: and said, you know what, this is. Enough is enough,
10:32
Speaker 1: Enough is enough. It is not okay that Sharon Smith
10:35
Speaker 1: Akin Sagna has to have a talk with her twenty
10:38
Speaker 1: four year old you know about you know, every single
10:41
Speaker 1: time she leaves my presence. She lives in Boston now,
10:44
Speaker 1: but ever since she was a baby, you know, we
10:46
Speaker 1: have to have that talk. You really are black here
10:49
Speaker 1: here's you have to be aware of that. You know,
10:52
Speaker 1: when I talked to my white friends about that. They're
10:55
Speaker 1: just the paul that I have to do that not
10:57
Speaker 1: only with her, but my nieces, my nephews, you just anybody.
11:00
Speaker 1: Just remember we have to be careful. And so it
11:03
Speaker 1: awakened all of us and we have to keep the
11:06
Speaker 1: pedal to the metal. You know. I wrote about it
11:08
Speaker 1: in my article in b ET recently, and I talked
11:12
Speaker 1: about how it's very nice that we have Rashida Jones,
11:16
Speaker 1: who now is the head of MSNBC News, you know,
11:19
Speaker 1: the first black female head of cable news, a cable
11:21
Speaker 1: news network. You know, we've got Kamala Harris right first
11:25
Speaker 1: of the black vice president. We've got all female communications
11:30
Speaker 1: staff in the Biden Harris cabinet, with three of those
11:33
Speaker 1: members being black, all with natural hair by the way.
11:37
Speaker 1: So we're seeing so much progress, right and in a
11:41
Speaker 1: short period of time. But I also wrote about I
11:44
Speaker 1: see some flashing yellow lights to cast share warship warning, warning.
11:51
Speaker 1: We have been here before. So what do we need
11:56
Speaker 1: to do to make sure that we don't backslide? As
11:59
Speaker 1: they say, church, we need to make sure that we
12:03
Speaker 1: are giving those CEO s. Hey, this is awesome that
12:07
Speaker 1: you did this. Who's next? Because we own social media,
12:10
Speaker 1: use it right, we own it. So make sure you're
12:13
Speaker 1: letting those CEOs and we're watching, we see you, Thank
12:15
Speaker 1: you so much for that. Who's next? And we also
12:18
Speaker 1: need to make sure that we are congratulating those leaders
12:21
Speaker 1: and saying we're looking forward to the change that you're
12:24
Speaker 1: gonna make. You know who you're bringing up behind you?
12:27
Speaker 1: You know. So there's lots of things that are happening,
12:29
Speaker 1: but I see warning science. You know you remember this book,
12:32
Speaker 1: what was it, Cracking the Corporate Cold? You remember that
12:34
Speaker 1: absolutely absolutely, we did this a long time ago. Like
12:39
Speaker 1: I said, you know because I've worked at IBM, so
12:42
Speaker 1: I know that, uh, you know. I would tell people
12:45
Speaker 1: about you know, the story. I always say that I
12:47
Speaker 1: was an I being. I said, decisions made. You have
12:50
Speaker 1: to do. You have to get in the eyeline of
12:52
Speaker 1: people when they make decisions. And that's what black people
12:54
Speaker 1: really need to understand before we throw the word racism
12:57
Speaker 1: out there, not be included. And I would tell people
13:00
Speaker 1: decisions are made in front of you, left and right.
13:02
Speaker 1: If you're standing be hiding that decision maker, you won't
13:05
Speaker 1: get choose. You won't get chosen. So that means that
13:07
Speaker 1: you have to you have to work your way through
13:10
Speaker 1: proper training, proper relationships, or clear understanding that you want
13:14
Speaker 1: to be successful. Because I mean, when I came on
13:16
Speaker 1: board IBM full time, uh, you know, I sat down
13:18
Speaker 1: with my supervise. He asked me what I wanted to
13:21
Speaker 1: do at IBM, and I told him I get back
13:23
Speaker 1: with him. Meantimes with twitter white guys. Obviously, they told
13:26
Speaker 1: him exactly what they wanted to do, and they was
13:28
Speaker 1: moving in front of me. Well, you know, four months later,
13:30
Speaker 1: I came in there, you know, crying wolf, Hey, what's
13:33
Speaker 1: going on here? Why is Bill and Ted flying past me?
13:36
Speaker 1: And he said he white guy said nights every shine.
13:39
Speaker 1: You didn't ever get back to me about your goals
13:42
Speaker 1: that IBM. So I'm not I'm not saying that's holding
13:46
Speaker 1: all black people back, but no, there are certain things
13:48
Speaker 1: that you have to be positioned and ready to tell
13:50
Speaker 1: people you want to be great, if you if your
13:52
Speaker 1: goal is to be this, to run this company, to
13:54
Speaker 1: be a vice president, to be a manager. When they
13:56
Speaker 1: asked you, you better tell them and you better tell
13:58
Speaker 1: them how you're gonna do that, because that shows leadership
14:01
Speaker 1: and so, and I also know that raises promotions are
14:05
Speaker 1: tied to not because of hard work, but what people
14:07
Speaker 1: think of you. Absolutely, absolutely you must know your value.
14:12
Speaker 1: And you know how close mouth won't get faith, mouth
14:15
Speaker 1: won't get promoted. Jared jaredy. We talk a long time
14:18
Speaker 1: because see you you're starting to rock on me. Not girl.
14:20
Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying. Every sho yeah that elbow
14:24
Speaker 1: your way in right, you know, to make sure that
14:27
Speaker 1: you're saying yes to those networking opportunities. Absolutely, Yes to
14:31
Speaker 1: those virtual coffees, Yes to those quick fifteen minutes you know,
14:36
Speaker 1: catch ups. That's how we learn those things. We must
14:40
Speaker 1: know more people. I can't tell you how many calls
14:44
Speaker 1: I get after someone has you know, been downsized because
14:47
Speaker 1: of the pandemic or for whatever reason. And this says Sharon,
14:51
Speaker 1: I really need to get to my next episode. And
14:53
Speaker 1: I said, well who you know? You know? Who have
14:54
Speaker 1: you kept in relationship with? What? That's where we're gonna
14:57
Speaker 1: start first. Well, you know, I've been so busy, I
15:01
Speaker 1: haven't done the networking that I need to. And you
15:03
Speaker 1: know I have my head down. No, everybody, three to
15:08
Speaker 1: five networking calls a week, fifteen minutes, three to five,
15:12
Speaker 1: no agenda. Get to know people you know and let
15:14
Speaker 1: and you could be genuinely interested in what's going on
15:17
Speaker 1: with them, all right, and be able to share what's
15:19
Speaker 1: going on with you and your future goals and opportunities,
15:22
Speaker 1: especially now because we're all in this box, in this
15:25
Speaker 1: square called zoom, and we have time throw a fifteen
15:29
Speaker 1: minute meeting on that. I've been meaning to catch up
15:31
Speaker 1: with that hr oh at you know said company. I've
15:34
Speaker 1: been meaning to catch up with a friend of mine
15:36
Speaker 1: who I had just you know, lost touch, you know,
15:38
Speaker 1: for years ago. Catch up, y'all. We need to have access,
15:42
Speaker 1: and that is why I created the People of Color
15:45
Speaker 1: Careers Social hiring network for professionals of color, because we
15:51
Speaker 1: need to do a better job at networking with each other.
15:54
Speaker 1: And also we need to do a better job at
15:57
Speaker 1: networking and getting access to those high hiring managers and
16:01
Speaker 1: decision makers ra sean that can help us move the
16:03
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16:07
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16:10
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Speaker 1: T E R dot Ai. I love that we're talking
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Speaker 1: about her new book Colorful, Competitive Strategies to Attract and
18:18
Speaker 1: retain top talent of Color. It releases in February, but
18:21
Speaker 1: you can pre order this book right now. I'm talking
18:23
Speaker 1: to Sharon Smith. I can sign you and we're making up.
18:28
Speaker 1: There's when I'm reading the book as a couple of
18:30
Speaker 1: terms that I always here pop out what exactly are
18:33
Speaker 1: c suite executives? What is that? What are those c
18:37
Speaker 1: suite executives? Are those executives that work directly for the CEO,
18:42
Speaker 1: report directly to the CEO, so that you can have
18:46
Speaker 1: a seat at the table where the decision makers, the
18:48
Speaker 1: cisims are being made. Because because because I'm going through
18:53
Speaker 1: your book, it was it was kind of like, you know,
18:54
Speaker 1: it's like a recipe book, and it was so term.
18:56
Speaker 1: I went, you know, you gotta know this term because
18:59
Speaker 1: it pops up a lot. You know, I know what
19:01
Speaker 1: it is. But people they just walked quit past. What
19:03
Speaker 1: exactlys c suite executives? Okay, that person, you need to
19:07
Speaker 1: get coached to the top of the food chain. That's
19:08
Speaker 1: what you need to be working your way up to
19:10
Speaker 1: the top. Now, another person in reading they said that
19:14
Speaker 1: that you are a proof of concept. One exactly that
19:18
Speaker 1: that when they made that reference, I really said, I'm
19:20
Speaker 1: gonna let her explain what he meant when he said
19:22
Speaker 1: you are a proof of concept. We talked about my
19:25
Speaker 1: good friend Richard Davis, who is the former CEO of
19:28
Speaker 1: the nation's fifth largest bank, US Bank, and he's currently
19:31
Speaker 1: the CEO of Make a Wish America and I believe
19:34
Speaker 1: what Richard meant was is that I do what I
19:37
Speaker 1: say I'm want to do, and that I you know,
19:39
Speaker 1: so when you have a conversation with me, it's going
19:41
Speaker 1: to be authentic, it's going to be safe, there won't
19:45
Speaker 1: be any recrimination. We're gonna be able to have an
19:48
Speaker 1: honest dialogue because I recognize that as a CEO, particularly
19:52
Speaker 1: as a white male, because that was the point of
19:54
Speaker 1: view he was speaking for. He called himself, you know,
19:56
Speaker 1: I'm an old white dude, and I believe support here.
20:00
Speaker 1: So what he was saying is is that when I
20:02
Speaker 1: tell you that I can help you do better and
20:04
Speaker 1: be better and recruit and retain top talent of color,
20:08
Speaker 1: if you listen, then I will be able to do that.
20:11
Speaker 1: Because what was important Richard than I. We used to
20:14
Speaker 1: have these knockdown dragons. They were in safe spaces and
20:17
Speaker 1: we we had them and we moved on. Well, we
20:22
Speaker 1: learned from one another because I can ask him anything, right,
20:24
Speaker 1: And so that's what we're saying that if you want
20:26
Speaker 1: to save space to be able to have these conversations
20:29
Speaker 1: to help move your organization forward, then Sharon can do that. Well.
20:33
Speaker 1: I took it as you are the truth. You know,
20:35
Speaker 1: just people like the truth. Man, Just just just let
20:38
Speaker 1: her talk for five minute. Understand that's the truth talking
20:40
Speaker 1: right there. And then because because that's what I took
20:43
Speaker 1: from a proof of concept. Because okay, you know each
20:46
Speaker 1: how you go. Why does this work? Sharon, please come
20:49
Speaker 1: forward and tell everybody the truth that just walked into
20:52
Speaker 1: the room. Because because you're constantly in mental and you
20:56
Speaker 1: have to maintaining certain tones that you don't become the
20:59
Speaker 1: angry black woman and then be too too aggressive because
21:03
Speaker 1: you're trying to bend thought process. You're trying to create acceptability,
21:07
Speaker 1: and you can't be the person you know what you
21:09
Speaker 1: don't want sharing, there's somebody doing it because out of fear.
21:12
Speaker 1: That doesn't work. Let's talk about that whole process. Because
21:16
Speaker 1: you can't protest your way to diverse opportunities, they can
21:20
Speaker 1: assign wanted to shut you down. We're talking about a
21:22
Speaker 1: plan in place that you are trying to implement, not
21:25
Speaker 1: saying trying, but you are implementing that allows people to
21:28
Speaker 1: understand this is the right thing to do. This can
21:30
Speaker 1: make your company more profitable. This can make your your
21:33
Speaker 1: work staff much more clear understanding what goes on in
21:36
Speaker 1: all the communities, they can understand why, Okay, this person
21:39
Speaker 1: feels a certain way when they walk out there are
21:41
Speaker 1: police stops them, or or their children go to school
21:44
Speaker 1: where they have different ways of communicating. This is what
21:46
Speaker 1: this is about. An acceptance and the mental acceptance that
21:50
Speaker 1: this should be done this way. There are no other
21:52
Speaker 1: way it shouldn't be done. Absolutely, that's exactly right. And
21:56
Speaker 1: those leaders who get that Rashaun are winning, They're going
22:00
Speaker 1: to leave their competitors in the dust. I promise you,
22:03
Speaker 1: when you truly understand the importance of building stronger, more
22:09
Speaker 1: authentic relationships inside and outside your organization with people of color,
22:14
Speaker 1: those that don't look like you, you will increase your profits.
22:18
Speaker 1: Their studies that we don't take my word for it,
22:20
Speaker 1: their studies, you know, go into all of them, right,
22:24
Speaker 1: you know, the Mackenzie pick them. There's thousands of studies
22:27
Speaker 1: that tell you will increase your profits, you will increase innovation,
22:31
Speaker 1: and you will absolutely leave your competition in the dust,
22:35
Speaker 1: and personally you will be better for it. See, my
22:39
Speaker 1: best friend is very rich and very white, very white,
22:44
Speaker 1: and we have these conversations that put us in different places. See,
22:50
Speaker 1: she enhanced my life because of her network and her circle,
22:55
Speaker 1: and where we were able to get some things done
22:57
Speaker 1: around diversity, EQUI and inclusion, where she and introduced me
23:01
Speaker 1: into that world, and then she was able to have
23:04
Speaker 1: a better understanding and be a better c. H. R
23:06
Speaker 1: Oh in her work because of what she was able
23:09
Speaker 1: to do with me in my world and learn. I
23:12
Speaker 1: gotta tell you. I'll tell you a quick story. We
23:14
Speaker 1: went out to sit to a party to a professional couple.
23:20
Speaker 1: You know, they had just moved to the Twin Cities
23:21
Speaker 1: area and it was a beautiful, I mean beautiful, beautiful home.
23:25
Speaker 1: And so it's a Saturday afternoon. I'm being casual. I'm like, oh,
23:29
Speaker 1: look at y'all. Y'all living like rich white people out
23:32
Speaker 1: here and Jenny, and Jenny looked at me, she said, no,
23:37
Speaker 1: I can't say that, right, that's exactly right, you know,
23:43
Speaker 1: I said, but eventually you know, right, right, But those
23:46
Speaker 1: are the things, right, those are the things I want.
23:49
Speaker 1: I want to comment on that, you know, when you're
23:51
Speaker 1: saying living like white people, because see that's whole which
23:55
Speaker 1: is really really really key because you know, I always
23:59
Speaker 1: stories because of our form, our sitcom writer, and I
24:00
Speaker 1: will telling you know what happens is you know how
24:04
Speaker 1: some people created a hit show and they can't create
24:06
Speaker 1: another hit show because when they used to they create
24:08
Speaker 1: the first show, they were driving to work, they were
24:10
Speaker 1: eating the regular stories. When they made the hit show,
24:12
Speaker 1: they started helicopter in the work. They start getting their
24:14
Speaker 1: news from CNN. And so so basically, people are rich
24:18
Speaker 1: white people, they have to be educated because guess what
24:21
Speaker 1: they're missing steps, you know, they're missing steps, food is
24:24
Speaker 1: being brought to it. They have made service, and so
24:26
Speaker 1: they're looking at people from a different perspective. And the
24:28
Speaker 1: information they're getting it from people from from maybe from
24:31
Speaker 1: a non educated level. And so when we have to
24:34
Speaker 1: surround their folks with information that their eyes open, go.
24:37
Speaker 1: I didn't know. That's why I'm with George Floyd. A
24:39
Speaker 1: lot of white people didn't know. They really they were allowed.
24:41
Speaker 1: The white people Black people just complaining and didn't didn't
24:43
Speaker 1: look caring. She out there just I'm a collumn. I'm
24:46
Speaker 1: a call of police right now, and tell them you're
24:48
Speaker 1: about to attack me. When that got caught on film,
24:50
Speaker 1: they were like, wow, this really does happen. It really
24:55
Speaker 1: does happening, and it just you know what, it wasn't
24:58
Speaker 1: a We were in the middle of a pandemic when
25:00
Speaker 1: George Floyd happened, and as we still are, it wasn't
25:02
Speaker 1: a baseball game, football game. I get nothing to get
25:07
Speaker 1: in a way. Everybody saw that, everybody witnessed it, and
25:10
Speaker 1: it wasn't awakening. It really wasn't awakening. And I encourage
25:14
Speaker 1: everyone in the sound of my voice to be intentional
25:18
Speaker 1: about changing your friend group because I want to know.
25:21
Speaker 1: You know, who do you call when you want to celebrate,
25:24
Speaker 1: who do you call when you're sad? Who's on your
25:27
Speaker 1: Christmas party list? Tell me about your golfing buddies, because
25:31
Speaker 1: it just changes your life for the better. When you diversify,
25:36
Speaker 1: you learn, so we could be intellectually curious too about
25:39
Speaker 1: what's happening. I love you because you have that. You
25:41
Speaker 1: know you could be a minister. You know that you've
25:43
Speaker 1: been told that before. Now, a couple of questions about
25:46
Speaker 1: ask you have to read the book. The first one.
25:49
Speaker 1: It's a strong question, but I just need you to answer.
25:51
Speaker 1: Why should we trust you? You should trust me because
25:57
Speaker 1: I have been doing this for for a plus years,
26:01
Speaker 1: really working hard to impact my community, really hard to
26:07
Speaker 1: be making sure that we're making a change in closing
26:09
Speaker 1: those gaps, you know. So you know, I'm an open book.
26:12
Speaker 1: I'm pretty transparent and I get results. And and Richard
26:17
Speaker 1: Davis is one of those people that share that information
26:19
Speaker 1: with you, as those other UH executives in the book
26:23
Speaker 1: that I talked to. So I get results. I am
26:27
Speaker 1: proof positive. You know that when you work with me
26:30
Speaker 1: and my team, we're gonna help you move the needle
26:33
Speaker 1: forward and it's going to be safe. So you should
26:36
Speaker 1: trust me because I've done the work. I've been in
26:39
Speaker 1: the trenches and I have those corporations that are behind
26:43
Speaker 1: me that's say hey, you know, she and her team
26:47
Speaker 1: are really moving the needle and getting it done. And
26:50
Speaker 1: because my mama says, so you know me. She said, look,
26:54
Speaker 1: little girl, I know you are in a fetal position.
26:58
Speaker 1: This was after George Floyd. You got to get up
27:01
Speaker 1: because it is a sin not to use your gift.
27:05
Speaker 1: It is a sin to keep it to yourself. Now
27:07
Speaker 1: you can be part of the solution or walk around
27:09
Speaker 1: soaking of oxygen. Right now, I'm saying you shouldn't feel
27:13
Speaker 1: what you feel, but I'm gonna need you to do
27:16
Speaker 1: what it is that you do your God giving gifts
27:19
Speaker 1: and let this make even more change in the community
27:22
Speaker 1: because you have accessed to people that most people just
27:25
Speaker 1: dream of, and you need to use that access to
27:28
Speaker 1: move things forward and make real change. Now, get on up, mother.
27:33
Speaker 1: The question for close out the end of view? What
27:35
Speaker 1: are the real obstacles? We've talked about them for d E. I, yes,
27:41
Speaker 1: what are they? Well? The real obstacles um lie in
27:46
Speaker 1: the inability for those in charge to just decide that's
27:53
Speaker 1: the obstacle. And sweet because because I say that, because
27:56
Speaker 1: I want to go to chapter three the key to
27:59
Speaker 1: attracting qualified professionals of color, and that's what you say.
28:03
Speaker 1: Make sure every message you send tells them you want them,
28:07
Speaker 1: welcome them, and value them as unique individuals. Right, because
28:12
Speaker 1: how what message are you sending? You know, when I
28:15
Speaker 1: look at your LinkedIn profile, when I look at your
28:17
Speaker 1: company profile, I don't see anybody looks like me. I
28:20
Speaker 1: don't see you with anybody that looks like me. So
28:23
Speaker 1: you have to be intentional. It's almost like that boss
28:26
Speaker 1: of yours who talked about talked to you when you
28:29
Speaker 1: were at IBM, which not what do you want to do?
28:31
Speaker 1: You know what you didn't tell him? Okay, you got
28:34
Speaker 1: around to it, but you didn't do it right away.
28:37
Speaker 1: Same thing is happening in corporate America. You say you
28:40
Speaker 1: want me, but tell me how much you want me.
28:44
Speaker 1: You know, it's like a dating relationship. You know, why
28:46
Speaker 1: don't I hear anything about it? Why don't you tell me?
28:49
Speaker 1: Why don't you show me? And so that is the
28:52
Speaker 1: most important thing to aid. Just decide and then make
28:55
Speaker 1: it clear. We really do want to increase racial inclusivity
28:59
Speaker 1: at all levels of the organization, and we're willing to
29:01
Speaker 1: do and learn whatever we need to do and learn
29:04
Speaker 1: to make that happen because we know it's good for
29:07
Speaker 1: business and we know that we lose our competitive edge
29:10
Speaker 1: when we don't do that. Awesome, She's amazing. She has
29:13
Speaker 1: a book out, Colorful Competitive Strategies to attract and retain
29:17
Speaker 1: top talent of color. Sharon Smith at Consagna. You're wonderful, Minnesota.
29:21
Speaker 1: That's a cold stage, young lady. Thank you so much,
29:25
Speaker 1: and we're gonna just keep it moving. I know, by
29:26
Speaker 1: the way, the book, you can get the e book
29:29
Speaker 1: right now on Amazon as well. So I'm gonna bring
29:31
Speaker 1: you back, you know, because I was. You know, we're
29:33
Speaker 1: closing out the year, but I want to bring you
29:35
Speaker 1: back in like in the late first quarter, because you know,
29:39
Speaker 1: you know vac vaccines, it's gonna be starting to get distributed.
29:42
Speaker 1: And I want to get your mindset there as well,
29:44
Speaker 1: because what you talk about is uh, it is really
29:48
Speaker 1: important from a standpoint, Like I told you, you know,
29:51
Speaker 1: from an advertising standpoint, there's a clear understanding that by
29:55
Speaker 1: being diverse in the advertising world, your product can be sold.
29:58
Speaker 1: That's what they're doing. You said that in your bo
30:00
Speaker 1: about brand loyalty. It has been shown that once once
30:04
Speaker 1: African Americans feel that you care about them, you create
30:07
Speaker 1: brand loyalty. What the advertising world is accepted that you know,
30:11
Speaker 1: they're rolling in there and so. But from the corporate standpoint,
30:14
Speaker 1: but had those closed doors, when you walk through those doors,
30:17
Speaker 1: they're still not admitting there's a need for that change.
30:21
Speaker 1: They have to just decide those that do and make
30:25
Speaker 1: it happen. Like I said, we'll leave their competition in
30:28
Speaker 1: the dusk. Well, you are you fantastic, glad. Like I said,
30:32
Speaker 1: I have six sisters. I want to bring you on
30:34
Speaker 1: board and my seven sister because because you you're entertaining
30:38
Speaker 1: your I love your style and love your personality. I
30:42
Speaker 1: feel that you want of these people I can really
30:44
Speaker 1: really have a great conversation about life, learn something from
30:47
Speaker 1: because of the fact that you're not a person that
30:50
Speaker 1: I felt was supplying with information that I was being
30:53
Speaker 1: forced upon me. And I think that's what we was
30:54
Speaker 1: talking about earlier. When you talk to these white people
30:57
Speaker 1: and I would say white people in the negative state,
30:58
Speaker 1: But there are the people in power and we're talking
31:01
Speaker 1: to it. It is a stunt point. You have to
31:03
Speaker 1: be able to have a conversation with them, because what
31:05
Speaker 1: happens is when they throw your left. You have to
31:07
Speaker 1: have a right, but a soft right, a counter point,
31:11
Speaker 1: a counter punch answer. Because of the fact that they
31:14
Speaker 1: don't see nothing wrong they see they feel that successfully
31:17
Speaker 1: stock is high. A classic example is uh mackenzie, who
31:21
Speaker 1: was formerly the the Amazon head. Jeff's from my wife.
31:26
Speaker 1: She giving that money left and right to Sbcus. Absolutely,
31:30
Speaker 1: he hasn't given that anything, nothing one of our good
31:34
Speaker 1: nonproplets and fifteen million dollars gifts from her. It's out
31:40
Speaker 1: the blue changed their entire lives, That's what I'm saying.
31:42
Speaker 1: So that's what I'm saying that you can have two
31:44
Speaker 1: people they're getting their money from the same location, where
31:47
Speaker 1: one person has been exposed. She has opened the book.
31:52
Speaker 1: She is a clear understanding. There is a need over there,
31:55
Speaker 1: the same person over here getting that same money has
31:58
Speaker 1: not been told. Is a need for this has not
32:01
Speaker 1: been told. There's a clear understanding that he can make
32:03
Speaker 1: a change and effort to be able to move forward
32:07
Speaker 1: and create and educate African Americans will making for better employment,
32:10
Speaker 1: better doctors, better teachers, better lawyers, Barrika Congressman, better vice
32:15
Speaker 1: presidents of the United States. That's what happens when you participate.
32:19
Speaker 1: That's what happens when you diversify. Sharon, thank you for
32:21
Speaker 1: coming on the show. I gotta let you go. Come
32:22
Speaker 1: and keep talking to you and that's not good. But
32:25
Speaker 1: thank you so much for having me. I appreciate you
32:27
Speaker 1: and I cannot wait to see you again in the
32:29
Speaker 1: new year. You will definitely and please be safe and
32:32
Speaker 1: tell your daughter high Ray McKenzie Group. That's the name
32:34
Speaker 1: of her company was she was one years old. She
32:37
Speaker 1: named that company after her daughter. Twenty four years later,
32:40
Speaker 1: she still has the problem. But guess what we got
32:42
Speaker 1: we got shared here. She not has not left it
32:45
Speaker 1: at all, and a mama still living because my mama
32:47
Speaker 1: still passing out. That great advice. One thing your mama
32:49
Speaker 1: said that I believe into. I would tell people you
32:52
Speaker 1: have twenty four hours in a day, learn to use
32:54
Speaker 1: each hour. And when your mama said that about the
32:56
Speaker 1: twenty four hours, I said, I love her. Mama, canma
33:01
Speaker 1: to thank you? We're talking okay, bye bye, thank you.
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