… not just because I’m with a couple of mates I love and respect.
Nor is it that the angle of the pic means my physical horribleness – especially compared to their disgusting beauty – is partially hidden.
It’s because they’re two super-senior leaders, who got to where they are because of their talent and authenticity.
They also happen to be black.
Karrelle Dixon is the Managing Director of Wieden+Kennedy Portland.
Jason White is the Global CMO of BEATS.
Of course the colour of their skin shouldn’t matter – just like it shouldn’t matter what gender you are or what sexual preference you choose – but tragically it still does.
Especially in America.
To get to the top is an amazing achievement for anyone.
To get to the top while remaining authentic to who you are is something truly special.
To do all that and be a person of colour … well, that’s the highest accolade of all.
Of course I hope for a time where this isn’t news – it is just normal – and while neither of them should have to have the additional burden of being a role model, they are and, if I’m being honest, they should be because if you want to model yourself on anyone – regardless of your heritage or background – it’s them.
Smart as shit.
Charismatic as Clooney.
Total natural born leaders.
Tireless in their passion.
Focused on making the best work of everyone’s lives.
A real and proven desire to help young talent come through.
[In both cases, they have personally helped me help people I thought were bursting with talent but were not getting the breaks I felt they had earned, let alone deserved]
In fact, if it wasn’t for the fact I can consistently beat them at table tennis, they’d be perfect.
But the fact is, Karrelle and Jason are still anomalies in this business – and while that should not underestimate the impact they will have on people of colour who previously had little or no role models for believing they could get to the top – it’s also why I’m a bit conflicted with Adcolor’s Future program.
Let me be clear, this is not about Adcolor specifically.
They are an amazing organisation who have done more to promote diversity in the industry than anyone else, not to mention for longer than everyone else.
Their mission has always been to create a community of diverse professionals who support and celebrate eachhother and they have an incredible track record of doing just that … giving people of colour a real chance in an industry loaded with hurdles.
For hurdles, read ‘senior white men’.
And this is why I’m conflicted.
You see recently a couple of my colleagues applied to get in their Future’s program. They are talented, smart, passionate colleagues… who happen to be people of color, but sadly they didn’t get in.
Let me be clear they were OK with the decision.
Disappointed, but OK.
And I can say the same too.
Despite their talent, maybe they didn’t show how good they are in the way they needed to.
But here’s the bit that bothers me.
You see instead of being told what/where they went wrong … how they could improve … they were just told ‘no’.
Now I’m sure there’s a bunch of reasons for the limited response – for example. maybe they’re inundated with requests – but for an organization committed to helping people of colour move forward, a simple ‘yes or no’ seems counter to that commitment.
It feels like they are judges instead of coaches.
Deciding someone’s fate instead of helping it rise.
Now I fully appreciate I am not aware of all the facts.
I also appreciate that Adcolor as an organization is very open and transparent.
But I would have loved it if the people behind their Future’s program had given my colleagues some advice about what they could have done better with their submission, because the fact they wanted to belong to a group who wants to improve the industry means they’re already showing traits adland badly needs to embrace.
But lets be honest, success for people of colour should not just be down to Adcolor.
Nor the inspirational achievements of Karrelle and Jason.
We all have a role to play.
And that goes beyond just talking about it, but doing things about it.
One of the things America has taught me is that if you don’t act, you’re complicit in keeping things the same.
I’d love to think I have always acted on this issue – not just because I’ve spent so much of my career living in nations where I was a member of the [privileged] minority – but that’s how I was brought up.
By that I don’t mean it in a we need to give everyone a chance sort-of way, but in a ‘everyone is equal even when we’re different’ sort-of way.
And while the only way we’ll find out if I’m full of shit is if we ask the people of colour I’ve worked with – both in America and around the World – if I’ve fought for them and shown my belief and faith in them, there’s one thing that is absolutely not open to interpretation …
Diversity makes everything better.
It allows different experiences, understanding and cultural references to open up possibilities and opportunities for everyone and everything. From creativity to culture. Commerce to the potential of creating real change.
But it does even more than that.
It can take our industry to places we might never see or experience without it.
Let’s be honest, our industry has been predominantly shaped by white males.
Hey, some of them have done a brilliant job. I’m not knocking them – or anyone who is white or male – I also happen to be one.
But imagine the possibilities if we let people who had different backgrounds, different experiences, different frames-of-reference to have a go.
Finally we might get to some genuine new thinking in the industry as opposed to the usual old ideas with a different name.
I know for a fact, all my years living in China/Asia made an astounding difference to how I think and who I am. Differences I still embrace and rely on to this day.
[Here’s a talk I gave in Australia on this: Part 1, 2 and 3 ]
And unlike many of us white guys, people of colour [not to mention members of the LGBT communities] have always been generous with their brilliance, talent and kindness, which given all the shit they have had to – and continue to have to – deal with, that makes them the sort of leader we’d all benefit from working with and for.
Put simply, every single person in adland should be pushing, embracing, celebrating and making room for diversity.
Not because it is ‘the right thing to do’ – even though it is – but it might be the only thing that can save adland and make it truly matter again.