{"id":784,"date":"2022-12-26T17:33:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-26T17:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/calexis.com\/?p=784"},"modified":"2026-02-26T17:41:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T17:41:04","slug":"we-built-our-company-on-diversity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/calexis.com\/index.php\/2022\/12\/26\/we-built-our-company-on-diversity\/","title":{"rendered":"We Built Our Company on Diversity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We started our little company in the early 90s and used computers as the core of our infrastructure. This was a quite unusual at the time; but, it paid off over the years.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Slowly we added people. First there was an Art Director who had recently arrived from India. She had worked for a multinational agency there and we liked the quality of her portfolio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Slowly but surely, we added people to our gang. A Spanish IT guy, a gay Media Director and so on.  Because Toronto became a magnet for immigrants, we were lucky to have hired a lot of well qualified people even though they didn’t have a lot of Canadian experience.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

As a result, we had plenty of diversity, not intentionally, but it happened. And diversity was one of the best ideas that we never had.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Different backgrounds brought a richer environment.  We had Filipinos, Vietnamese, Portuguese, Indian, Pakistani, Mauritian, Romanian. Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Koreans, Chinese, Burmese, Icelandic, Caribbean, Emirati, American, even Italians.  For a company of 20 people, there was a majority of immigrants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our personnel policy was written to include an extra personal day for a legitimate holiday. People took Ramadan, Chinese New Year, Ukrainian Christmas and others as their special days. Which prompted discussion and explanation and additional cultural learning for everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did we do it on purpose? We never gave it a thought. We just looked for the right people for the job and found them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once I got an emailed resume from a Filipino Art Director in Singapore who told me he was moving to Canada. I replied that he should contact me when he arrived. He did and it was just after another Art Director resigned. He joined us the next week and was a stalwart in art and production for many years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our year end holiday pot luck parties were the best because everyone brought food that was indicative of their cultural background. It was a treat and a real celebration. It was also a learning experience for everyone – we learned about life in other countries and gained an appreciation for what other people could bring – new and different ideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It makes me wonder about all the anti-immigration rhetoric and anti-DEI talk.\u00a0 Why are people afraid of others who can make their society a better one? Our interaction helped all of us learn about each other and other customs became demystified. It was a huge advantage for a small company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We celebrated it, enjoyed it and even used it as an advantage in new business presentations because we actually reflected the multi-cultural profile of the city we all lived in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a snapshot in time of our crew. Bill, in the lower centre, was the whitest, small town Ontario guy we ever encountered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We started our little company in the early 90s and used computers as the core of our infrastructure. This was a quite unusual at the time; but, it paid off over the years. Slowly we added people. First there was an Art Director who had recently arrived from India. 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