maybe tell you a bit more about me I’m a
qualified solicitor I went to the
University of Birmingham swear word
around here
I read law I went to law school I did a
training contract I practiced law for
six years with some really good phones I
often wore a suit I had to shave but
only sometimes two years ago I mean a
couple of mates set up a charity look
run supports hidden gem projects in
Birmingham that delivering real change
drastically we’ve supported 60 local
projects we have hundreds of followers
and we’ve just received a wedge of money
from the National Lottery to help us
improve our infrastructure and continue
to do the cool things that we do I own a
company I employ people I’ve created
jobs I once jumped on her on a bike in
Switzerland cycled all the way back to
Birmingham seven countries in seven days
seven hundred and seventy miles to raise
two hundred thousand pound for kids with
cancer I was awarded two points light
Prime Minister David Cameron probably
the last thing you did I’ve been invited
back to number 10 a few times let’s talk
about community charity and startups and
the subjects of startups I’ve helped
support small businesses raise
approximately a million pounds in
funding I’m a committed family man I had
to get that on my wife told me so not
bad you know not bad for a chap and you
know what I don’t I don’t list those who
praise you can give me that lacy you’ve
got my Twitter handle um I actually list
that in the hope that what you initially
thought could be slightly different to
what you now see now I’ve told you the
why the wind the hair your mindset may
have changed somewhat but more
importantly if it hasn’t to remind you
that those opinions that you have of me
could be triggered by this bias you
can’t really control and that’s the
problem because there’s loads of these
biases there’s loads of these mindsets
and unfortunately it creates so many
limitations so how do you go about
dealing with it I mean at the end of the
day the problems are that these mindsets
install stereotypes and the problem is
it’s not that these stereotypes are
incorrect I am bald I’ve got little legs
and muscular I’ve got a beard I’m a bit
of a job
the problem is is that they’re
incomplete one story is the only story
and people continue to embrace that only
story we risk some serious and critical
misunderstandings so how do we get
around it I mean it’s not it’s not easy
I try and sort of deal with it by
accepting that it exists so when I am
asked to make a decision I think about I
wonder what sort of making me feel that
way and to embrace diversity I think
that’s the best things to do to move
towards those groups of people those
feelings those smiles that colors
whatever it might be that make you feel
uncomfortable and invest in diversity
because if you do I promise you good
things will happen because diversity is
pretty cool everywhere and particularly
in its in businesses you’ll see in
businesses quite a bit Kinsey and
company did a rapport they spoke to 300
multinational companies and it was found
that the companies that sat in the top
third when it comes to ethnic diversity
with 35% more likely to deliver better
financial returns than their competitors
I mean that’s pretty cool right pretty
significant there’s also reports to
suggest that cultural diversity
culturally diverse groups will produce
more accurate work because they pull
down on a wider variety of skills and
experiences I mean that’s pretty cool
for diverse you’re right a big wall but
also there’s a lot of data unfortunately
to suggest that diversity still being
hamstrung somewhat by mindsets that have
been imposed by society might have you
there’s a report in Australia 2,000
employees were interviewed and over two
thirds of them felt that their diversity
which was their Asian origin restricted
them in the workplace that a mindset a
traditional mindset was imposed upon
them by their employers and players sort
of made them have to conform and
therefore reduce the amount of creative
creativity they could produce and how
successful they were so there’s clearly
still an imbalance or something to be
said about embracing diversity and then
trying to deal with this shift in
mindsets and it’s far more of a
sophisticated conversation and I’ll ever
be able to give you so certainly not for
today
but we can touch upon it every person is
a complex individual were shaped by
family status education skills culture
race in my case KFC composition and
we’re all share a beautiful human
experience but we’re definitely all
there right and that’s something that
should be celebrated for me I love that
but we really do need to address the
complexity as soon as we can and embrace
this subconscious bias that we have so
we don’t risk actually any more harmful
assumptions about our fellow humans and
in fact we remove an opportunity then by
actually giving us a broader
understanding I saw this a lot in my
charity work and you see the traditional
mindset of charity is one that it comes
from a position of weakness or adequacy
a burden of need you know it’s wrong if
we shifted that traditional mindset into
a mindset that was probably existed with
someone a bit more optimistic or social
entrepreneur you’d find that they see
charity and not-for-profits
from being a position of strength of
opportunity of effectiveness together
mission all this sort of stuff and
that’s the sort of stuff that I’m trying
to dial into and I try and well I
suggest that you do that too because if
I didn’t I would have missed a lot of
beautiful things over the last couple of
years would I would I have assumed or
thought if I’d adopted that traditional
mindset that there were tons of people
out there there was people with ABC
backgrounds with X Y Zed skin delivering
superb counseling services around
sophisticated subjects such as
stillbirth and neonatal death what are
you not on my Nelly
would I have gone to ABC bored thinking
that I’d find people with X Y Zed
addictions delivering beautiful and
amazingly structured processes around
rehabilitation and prevention and not a
chance
are them kids from that background down
into local care homes to engage in
intergenerational activities singing
dancing talking reading with the local
tenants not a chance but you know what
they are
there’s hundreds of projects hundreds of
projects on our doorstep
diverse rich groups of people coming
together different languages different
race different cultures different
understandings as volunteers to deliver
the change that I bet you and I want to
see especially in Birmingham do they
face opposition imposed on them by
traditional mindsets of course they do
do they overcome them massively
definitely so and they do that a number
of ways one sheer grit and determination
excuse me and two and a massive learning
for me
they’re just themselves they embrace
that diversity but they no bring us
strength
they don’t adopt they don’t transform
their approach to suit someone’s
assumptions or someone’s mindsets
something I fell foul of when I was a
lawyer I wore glasses to try and look
clever I said my name is Peter he said a
PJ I wore long jumpers in the heat to
cover my tattoos these don’t do this
they don’t adapt they don’t negotiate
they know their strengths and they push
on through regardless and as I said
create some wonderful wonderful things
and that is why I think diversity will
always win
so next time you’re asked to make a
recommendation or an assumption or a
judgment on somebody like you we’re at
the start of my talk if nothing else
from this speech just remember to try
and embrace that subconscious think
about what’s triggering those opinions
of yours
you see we’re always going to over or
underestimate people’s ability to do
things based on the way they look the
way they sound
but if together we continue to rub away
those blind spots will soon realize that
diversity is an essential ingredient in
any high-performing society there’s
strength indifference
so let’s recognize the strength in
others there’s a great little saying
very simple it’s if Muslim origin I
believe it says that you need a number
of cool and beautiful hours to make an
awesome bouquet so let’s be different
together
it’s each and one of us be one of those
flowers and together let’s watch
Birmingham especially quickly become
that beautiful bouquet thank you [Applause]
qualified solicitor I went to the
University of Birmingham swear word
around here
I read law I went to law school I did a
training contract I practiced law for
six years with some really good phones I
often wore a suit I had to shave but
only sometimes two years ago I mean a
couple of mates set up a charity look
run supports hidden gem projects in
Birmingham that delivering real change
drastically we’ve supported 60 local
projects we have hundreds of followers
and we’ve just received a wedge of money
from the National Lottery to help us
improve our infrastructure and continue
to do the cool things that we do I own a
company I employ people I’ve created
jobs I once jumped on her on a bike in
Switzerland cycled all the way back to
Birmingham seven countries in seven days
seven hundred and seventy miles to raise
two hundred thousand pound for kids with
cancer I was awarded two points light
Prime Minister David Cameron probably
the last thing you did I’ve been invited
back to number 10 a few times let’s talk
about community charity and startups and
the subjects of startups I’ve helped
support small businesses raise
approximately a million pounds in
funding I’m a committed family man I had
to get that on my wife told me so not
bad you know not bad for a chap and you
know what I don’t I don’t list those who
praise you can give me that lacy you’ve
got my Twitter handle um I actually list
that in the hope that what you initially
thought could be slightly different to
what you now see now I’ve told you the
why the wind the hair your mindset may
have changed somewhat but more
importantly if it hasn’t to remind you
that those opinions that you have of me
could be triggered by this bias you
can’t really control and that’s the
problem because there’s loads of these
biases there’s loads of these mindsets
and unfortunately it creates so many
limitations so how do you go about
dealing with it I mean at the end of the
day the problems are that these mindsets
install stereotypes and the problem is
it’s not that these stereotypes are
incorrect I am bald I’ve got little legs
and muscular I’ve got a beard I’m a bit
of a job
the problem is is that they’re
incomplete one story is the only story
and people continue to embrace that only
story we risk some serious and critical
misunderstandings so how do we get
around it I mean it’s not it’s not easy
I try and sort of deal with it by
accepting that it exists so when I am
asked to make a decision I think about I
wonder what sort of making me feel that
way and to embrace diversity I think
that’s the best things to do to move
towards those groups of people those
feelings those smiles that colors
whatever it might be that make you feel
uncomfortable and invest in diversity
because if you do I promise you good
things will happen because diversity is
pretty cool everywhere and particularly
in its in businesses you’ll see in
businesses quite a bit Kinsey and
company did a rapport they spoke to 300
multinational companies and it was found
that the companies that sat in the top
third when it comes to ethnic diversity
with 35% more likely to deliver better
financial returns than their competitors
I mean that’s pretty cool right pretty
significant there’s also reports to
suggest that cultural diversity
culturally diverse groups will produce
more accurate work because they pull
down on a wider variety of skills and
experiences I mean that’s pretty cool
for diverse you’re right a big wall but
also there’s a lot of data unfortunately
to suggest that diversity still being
hamstrung somewhat by mindsets that have
been imposed by society might have you
there’s a report in Australia 2,000
employees were interviewed and over two
thirds of them felt that their diversity
which was their Asian origin restricted
them in the workplace that a mindset a
traditional mindset was imposed upon
them by their employers and players sort
of made them have to conform and
therefore reduce the amount of creative
creativity they could produce and how
successful they were so there’s clearly
still an imbalance or something to be
said about embracing diversity and then
trying to deal with this shift in
mindsets and it’s far more of a
sophisticated conversation and I’ll ever
be able to give you so certainly not for
today
but we can touch upon it every person is
a complex individual were shaped by
family status education skills culture
race in my case KFC composition and
we’re all share a beautiful human
experience but we’re definitely all
there right and that’s something that
should be celebrated for me I love that
but we really do need to address the
complexity as soon as we can and embrace
this subconscious bias that we have so
we don’t risk actually any more harmful
assumptions about our fellow humans and
in fact we remove an opportunity then by
actually giving us a broader
understanding I saw this a lot in my
charity work and you see the traditional
mindset of charity is one that it comes
from a position of weakness or adequacy
a burden of need you know it’s wrong if
we shifted that traditional mindset into
a mindset that was probably existed with
someone a bit more optimistic or social
entrepreneur you’d find that they see
charity and not-for-profits
from being a position of strength of
opportunity of effectiveness together
mission all this sort of stuff and
that’s the sort of stuff that I’m trying
to dial into and I try and well I
suggest that you do that too because if
I didn’t I would have missed a lot of
beautiful things over the last couple of
years would I would I have assumed or
thought if I’d adopted that traditional
mindset that there were tons of people
out there there was people with ABC
backgrounds with X Y Zed skin delivering
superb counseling services around
sophisticated subjects such as
stillbirth and neonatal death what are
you not on my Nelly
would I have gone to ABC bored thinking
that I’d find people with X Y Zed
addictions delivering beautiful and
amazingly structured processes around
rehabilitation and prevention and not a
chance
are them kids from that background down
into local care homes to engage in
intergenerational activities singing
dancing talking reading with the local
tenants not a chance but you know what
they are
there’s hundreds of projects hundreds of
projects on our doorstep
diverse rich groups of people coming
together different languages different
race different cultures different
understandings as volunteers to deliver
the change that I bet you and I want to
see especially in Birmingham do they
face opposition imposed on them by
traditional mindsets of course they do
do they overcome them massively
definitely so and they do that a number
of ways one sheer grit and determination
excuse me and two and a massive learning
for me
they’re just themselves they embrace
that diversity but they no bring us
strength
they don’t adopt they don’t transform
their approach to suit someone’s
assumptions or someone’s mindsets
something I fell foul of when I was a
lawyer I wore glasses to try and look
clever I said my name is Peter he said a
PJ I wore long jumpers in the heat to
cover my tattoos these don’t do this
they don’t adapt they don’t negotiate
they know their strengths and they push
on through regardless and as I said
create some wonderful wonderful things
and that is why I think diversity will
always win
so next time you’re asked to make a
recommendation or an assumption or a
judgment on somebody like you we’re at
the start of my talk if nothing else
from this speech just remember to try
and embrace that subconscious think
about what’s triggering those opinions
of yours
you see we’re always going to over or
underestimate people’s ability to do
things based on the way they look the
way they sound
but if together we continue to rub away
those blind spots will soon realize that
diversity is an essential ingredient in
any high-performing society there’s
strength indifference
so let’s recognize the strength in
others there’s a great little saying
very simple it’s if Muslim origin I
believe it says that you need a number
of cool and beautiful hours to make an
awesome bouquet so let’s be different
together
it’s each and one of us be one of those
flowers and together let’s watch
Birmingham especially quickly become
that beautiful bouquet thank you [Applause]
Please follow and like us: