Are you a true food lover?

No, I don’t think so – just liking food a lot in general does not count. If you are a true food lover, then you genuinely appreciate different types of cuisines.

Using the example of a diverse country like India, if I ask my friend from Punjab if he is a food lover, he would say of course! But ask the friend to try something cooked with coconut oil and one can see the reluctance.

In India, the oil you use in your kitchen is largely dependent on where you come from. In Kerala, it's coconut oil. In Tamil Nadu, it's groundnut oil. In Andhra and Rajasthan, it's sesame oil. In the East and North they use mustard oil and in Central India and Gujarat, groundnut oil is preferred. Different cultures eat differently and the type of oil fits beautifully into the food landscape of that region. Having hosted friends and family in Goa, I have found that the vinegar based cooking of the Portuguese influenced dishes is not for everyone.

My observations with diversity in the workforce is quite similar. Ceo’s (at least those who can smell the coffee) are now moving towards becoming true food lovers or in other words genuinely making conscious efforts to improve diversity in their organizations, not just to tick a box, but truly appreciate the contributions that come from a diverse group.

The challenge that lies ahead is to make sure that shareholders can also start appreciating the outcome of diversity. Because shareholders are not true food lovers, they are like my friend in Punjab. They believe they are food lovers, but the dish they need is not that broad.

The challenge therefore is to make a coconut oil based dish that can get my friend in Punjab to say – Wow, I will have more of that!

For more posts, see www.karma-and.co/blog