Drive Inclusion Without Losing Time, Money, Energy, or Straining Relationships and Your Network
On Martin Luther King, MLK day, we are reminded of the persistent pervasive inequality in American society and the responsibility we all have towards improving it, each in our own way.
I have thought for a long time that our progress on modernizing diversity and inclusion has been nonexistent or even sliding backwards here in NorCal. [1] I’ve also gone through cynical periods where I couldn’t stand to hear people talk and write about things in this subject area because I feel that words alone are useless. Even all the money that is spent seems wasted unless measurable outcomes can be achieved. While it is nice if people have generous feelings and express platitudes, ideas are useless without execution. While I agree that challenges are systemic in nature, if we have the heart to help improve the situation, we must start with ourselves. That is what I want to focus on in this post. As an Asian woman, I hope that if you are also amongst a minority population or female, you will become empowered to develop and execute your own personal plan. Though anyone is free to apply this methodology. I think most people will agree that inequity in its current form is not sustainable given the realities of demographics and economics today. The view that attention to inequality may serve both equity and growth concurrently is gaining increasing traction. [2]
I believe I’ve found a way to pursue my own strategy to improve fairness in a way that does not sacrifice necessary professional and entrepreneurial focus for me as CEO and board member at Medigram. I continue to maintain maximum focus on defined commitments while driving concurrent alignment and innovation of self, company, teams, and ecosystem in this area. It’s important to note the unwavering alignment I have at home to pursue and act upon this mindset. It has also taken me 13 years of active intention to get to where I am on this subject now. Be diligent but patient with yourself as you discover your own “formula.” Many, perhaps most — if not all executives do not have personal OKRs they execute against in the areas of diversity and inclusion. One reason I suspect is that they may think it pulls focus from shareholder primacy. I have also tried to be part of and even started a group at one point, BuildHer to address some of what is listed in my OKR sheet (pictured below). While many organizations and groups may be worthwhile, they all require alignment in order to drive results. This takes incredible amounts of time, energy, and effort, or resources. This is in terms of management work, leadership requirements, and communication with immense coordination overhead. This all costs energy, time, and resources that many professionals choose not to or are unable to assign and prioritize for this purpose. Here I intend to explore and share how I think about creating direct results with the time and resources I do have within the scope of my work streams. As an unexpected benefit, I have been amazed and delighted to find that this exercise contributes to a number of positive personal and professional experiences listed in the grid to the right that creates value in overall progress towards existing goals.
My perspective is that if personal goals and OKRs are established and executed correctly, they can increase your overall effectiveness and influence as a leader by:
1. exposing you to new and helpful networks
2. providing new access to information or people
3. Unexpected, yet fruitful collaborations can emerge
4. makes you a better leader in making space for all differences, not just the obvious diversity categories but also differences in personalities, skill sets, political beliefs etc.
2023 Update: I am continuing to multiply this strategy of driving my own personal OKRs and am grateful and honored to have co-founded, taught the cybersecurity curriculum, and continue advising the SCU Black Corporate Board Readiness program. Partnering with this program enables me to consistently blow OKRs for that segment out of the water while simultaneously bringing enormous value to me as a professional and leader in terms of connections to some of the most powerful, effective people in the world.
How to read my Objectives and Key Results, OKR summary:
A) Listed below are the OKRs I hold myself to.
B) The right most column lists samples for the many unexpected but extraordinary benefits I have received from pursuing this exercise in parallel with and within the constraints of my current work streams.
C) Listed at the bottom are also key conditions that need to exist for efficient, successful use of time for both parties.
Listed below are real live working example samples and are not intended to convey that these OKR’s are universal to the stated race or persona listed.
What huge impact will you have and what OKRs will you design and hold yourself accountable to in making it happen? Let us know about your successes.
While this post focuses on what you can do within the scope of your work time, if you’re in leadership the best talent will demand that you up level in this area. In June, we characterized the culture foundation and strategy for that from a company perspective here: https://sherridouville.medium.com/medigram-supports-black-lives-922c67ff139d
No one succeeds alone: Much gratitude to those who have coached or collaborated with us in recent years on the entrepreneurial journey including Art (the better half) and in no particular order: Anthony, Tom, Maria, Kristi, Wim, Duy-Loan, Karen, Ronnie, Chuck, Irene, Marc, Eric 1, Eric 2, Andrew, Jeff 1, Jeff 2, Rosie, Mitch, Ed, Frank, Ian, Charlie, Doug, Kristine, Lucia, Peter, Brittany, Dean, Bill 1, Bill 2, Scott, Jody, Ann, Brian, Shreya, Brian, Florence, William, Ken, Tanja, Neil, Allison, Asha, Kate, Dennis, Bob, Laura, Anurag, Kirsten, Mike 1, Mike 2, Caryn, Noel, & David (First names to often protect the innocent. ;-) Please forgive and message me if I have inadvertently missed you.
By Sherri Douville, CEO at Medigram, the Mobile Medicine company. Recognized in 8 categories of top CEOs by Board Room Media (Across SMS, mHealth, iOS, IT, Database, Big Data, Android, Healthcare). Top ranked medical market executive worldwide and #1 ranked in mobile technology categories (mhealth, iOS, Android), #1–2 (on any given day) for the cybersecurity market in the U.S. on Crunchbase. Best selling editor/author, Mobile Medicine: Overcoming People, Culture, and Governance & Advanced Health Technology: Managing Risk While Tackling Barriers to Rapid Acceleration, Taylor & Francis; Series Editor for Trustworthy Technology & Innovation + Trustworthy Technology & Innovation in Healthcare.
