Originally published March 9, 2022 , updated on March 21, 2023

What’s one of the most crucial steps to take if you want your company to be innovative? 

No, it’s not hiring people who claim to be innovative. It’s not poaching the best people from innovative companies, either. 

It’s ensuring that your team is as diverse as possible. 

Raj Goodman Anand, CEO and Founder of Goodman Lantern, chats about this with Troy Vermillion on The Eight Hour Grind podcast. 

Together, the two discuss the importance of diversity in the workplace and the value women, in particular, bring to a company. 

What Advantages Does Diversity Bring?

The host notes that diverse teams: 

• Produce 19% more revenue
• They make better decisions 87% of the time
• These teams make decisions twice as fast with half the meetings 
• They Deliver 60% better results

This episode gave Raj the opportunity to discuss his “why”, which is to empower women through his business. Raj and Troy also discuss whether or not companies are doing enough to entice women. The answer is simple: no, they are not doing enough. 

So, what more needs to be done? From new hiring policies to a change in working hours, working locations and making a concerted effort to attract more women into companies and industries that men historically dominate, there is a lot of room for improvement. 

Troy also touches on an important point: women often need more time off for family responsibilities, which still falls mainly on mothers. He and Raj then discuss the importance of flexibility from managers in this regard. They also talk about how it often leads to better productivity from women in the workplace. 

All this and so much more about diversity is discussed in this podcast. Tune in to hear why hiring people who look like you and feel familiar can be detrimental to your company or organisation. Raj and Troy also play a few fun games and share some light-hearted jokes that we can all learn from and use when we’re trying to break the ice in a meeting. 

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