Community and schmear
In honor of Bagels and Lox Day on February 9th, do you remember the first time you ever had it?
I do. It was a revelation. I grew up in the outer burbs of Northern Virginia, which at the time didn’t host a single decent bagel. Then I went to college at Rutgers in New Jersey, and I found so much good food.
The aforementioned bagels and lox and schmear, chicken livers at the diner - plus Greek food in general at the diners, which operated 24 hours a day! A few years after I graduated I moved to NYC, where there was more food revelation. And it wasn’t just the food, it was the culture.
Meeting people who aren’t just like you
I grew up very close to major military bases: Quantico (Marines) was a few miles south, and Fort Belvoir (Army) was a bit farther north. Plus it was about a half-hour away from DC, so pretty much everyone I knew when I was a kid had at least one parent who worked in the Defense Department in some manner.
Did you know that not everyone’s parents work for the federal government? Or any kind of government? Mind = BLOWN, when I discovered this after moving to New Jersey. When you grow up in the DC area, the government is the center of the universe.
Sure, New York and other cities exist, but they don’t really run the world. Then I moved to NYC and found out that New York is, in fact, the center of the universe, no matter what all the dowdy peeps in DC think. (Also? DC is boring and bureaucratic.) The Big Apple is the center of the financial universe and therefore the center of everything.
When I moved out to LA, the food and culture changed a lot. At least the people in LA don’t think that LA, or even Hollywood, is the center of the universe. While Hollywood is very important and it is the center of the entertainment universe, southern Californians do understand that other cities do in fact exist (mainly NYC) and have interesting things about them. Mainly NYC.
Just like P.J. O’Rourke wrote, cultures are all different - but people are essentially pretty much the same. Getting to know people who aren’t like you is actually important.
The “Other”
Humans originally lived in small tribes or villages. We learned to rely on the people we knew to help us hunt down the mammoth, gather the veggies, and to treat others with suspicion. They might be there to hurt us or infect us, who knows? As unfortunately many Native Americans found out to their detriment when Europeans laden with viruses like smallpox ended up sailing across the ocean.
Some people are still very distrustful of people who don't look or think like them. I don’t feel like I need to give examples for this, but will note many can be found on a channel that rhymes with Box. In today’s globally connected world there’s no real excuse for treating people who don’t look or think like you with suspicion.
Especially since all the research on the subject shows that more diverse boards and executive suites lead to better decisions and higher company growth.
The human connection
Plus, those Other people could have really good food. When I was a kid, spaghetti and meatballs were kinda “ethnic” food. (Obviously I have no Italian heritage.) And it turns out there are so many good dishes from all kinds of places on the planet: not just French and Italian, but Chinese, Thai, Indian, Greek… the list goes on.
Seems kind of rude to accept the food but then be suspicious of the people who have the food or brought the food, no? Sure they come from different traditions. Which doesn’t mean that they’re bad (or good necessarily), just different.
Having a connection with people who don’t have your background is great for the brain because we’re wired to feel better when we have friends and people to talk to. And as I’ve said before, if it’s good for your brain, it’s good for productivity!
Give your staff time to bond
If you’re a business owner, it’s critical to look for different perspectives when you're hiring. Diverse boards promote higher earnings and better performance, because with different backgrounds you get rid of groupthink.
Once you’ve hired all these different people, they need to get to know each other in a personal way. As a team leader, you can foster that with happy hours (virtual or otherwise), games the whole office can play, and retreats, especially if your company is mostly working from home or remote.
Recap
People from different backgrounds not only can bring awesome food but different perspectives that help your business grow. Having everyone get to know each other promotes the human connection that we all need. Help your team get the experiences they need to bond with each other and watch productivity soar.