Gary Shapiro leads the Consumer Electronics Association, and at last week’s The Next Web Conference 2013, he explained how important diversity is to developing strong teams and successful businesses.
After his speech, Gary spoke with Paul Sawers of The Next Web and provided some details about what he believes makes a good leader. He says that strong leaders are willing to take risks and make mistakes. They also know that to have a strong team, they need to hire people who are different from themselves. A lack of diversity is “stifling” to creativity and innovation.
You can watch the full interview in the short video below.
Susan Gunelius
Susan Gunelius is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Women on Business. She is a 30-year veteran of the marketing field and has authored a dozen books about marketing, branding, and social media, including the highly popular Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing, 30-Minute Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing for Dummies, Blogging All-in-One for Dummies and Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps. Susan’s marketing-related content can be found on Entrepreneur.com, Forbes.com, MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, and more. Susan is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She has worked in corporate marketing roles and through client relationships with AT&T, HSBC, Citibank, Intuit, The New York Times, Cox Communications, and many more large and small companies around the world. Susan also speaks about marketing, branding and social media at events around the world and is frequently interviewed by television, online, radio, and print media organizations about these topics. She holds an MBA in Management and Strategy and a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and is a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC).
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I appreciate Gary’s advice, especially his encouragement for us not to be afraid of failing. Fear of failure is probably one of the silliest stumbling blocks in our paths as innovators and business women. And yet it still prevents us from trying new things, and it will probably always take little constant nudges for us to remember – the worst thing that could happen is failure! Which is rarely the end of the world.
It’s right to have diverse people in the company. With everyone will be able to have one single role and could concentrate on his/her field. With mastery and expertise in each assigned task, higher productivity and positive is possible. 🙂