Feeling Bad About Social Inequity Is Not Enough
1. Feature Article
Feeling Bad About Social Inequity Is Not Enough
By John DiJulius, Chief Revolution Officer
Like most people when I saw the news about the George Floyd incident, I was horrified. I wanted immediate justice and was irate that it took so long before the officers involved were fired, arrested and charged. Several times I posted on social media my outrage and disbelief that this is still happening in 2020; that as a society we have to bring awareness to Black Lives Matter. Subconsciously I felt I was doing my part.
During this time, I had a call with one of my good friends, a person of color. My friend asked me how I felt about what was going on. I responded that I felt it is a travesty, it is bullshit, it has to stop. He then asked, “What are you doing about it?” I paused. I said, “What can I do about it?” He said you are a CEO and an influencer; you can do a lot.”
For the next week, I thought a great deal about that conversation and started really asking myself what I was doing, and even more what I wasn’t doing and why not. I started thinking how I sleep well at night because I “check all the boxes.” I have several good friends of all races. I founded a nonprofit, Believe in Dreams, that fulfills dreams of economically disadvantaged youth who have survived non-medical adversity, which represents well over 90% minority children. And I felt outraged and total empathy for the inequities that continue to happen in our society.
However, the more and more I thought about it, the more I realized I wasn’t doing or haven’t done anything to make any progress or contribute to any social inequity movement, i.e., Black Lives Matter, Me Too, or LGBT. I don’t know the exact answers. I do know that I am guilty of kidding myself that I am doing enough. I realized that it is not enough just to feel badly about injustice. It starts with having uncomfortable conversations about what is going on; a lot of them. Leaders need to listen more and learn more. Customer service and The Relationship Economy apply as much to social responsibility as they do to customers and employees. We all have the opportunity to be better leaders, CEOs, co-workers, influencers, parents, and neighbors.
*Related – Why You Need to Listen Better
2. Article You Need to Read and Share With Your Team
Throughout the past months, “Zoom fatigue” has become a real phenomenon. While the business world has turned virtual overnight, you can feel burned out at the end of the day more than ever. Customer Service Consultant Jess Pischel wrote a great article on this topic titled Do You Know How to Cure Your Zoom Fatigue?
3. Short Video You Need To Watch & Share With Your Team
While we know working from home has become an adjustment for all workers, a new survey reveals some surprising data. What I found most surprising was how difficult it is for the younger generations (Millennials and Z), even though they grew up knowing nothing else but a digital world. Check out this great short video Why Working From Home Is Tougher Than You Thought, by Mark Perna.
4. Newest Episode of The Customer Service Revolution Podcast
In this episode you will learn:
- How customer service applies as much to Social responsibility (Social Service) as it does to customers and employees
- Insights and perspective from a person of color, who grew up in an at-risk inner-city neighborhood.
- How we need to be introspective
- How we can kid ourselves into thinking we are doing enough
- How important it is that we have difficult uncomfortable conversations with each other
- How we need to find people who will challenge us and the way we think, our opinions, and be our moral compass in our lives to challenge us to be better
- How true leaders listen
- How we can be better leaders, CEOs, influencers, fathers, and neighbors
- That just feeling bad about injustice isn’t enough
- How it is incumbent on each of us to help make progress in social inequity
- What actionable steps can we take to make a difference
- How we are willing to fly across the ocean to get educated on a completely different culture but miss a similar cultural learning experience possibly a twenty-minute drive from where we live
- Don’t defend your idea, explore new ones
5. Quote of the Week
“Seek first to understand, then to be understood”
—Stephen Covey
6. Resource to Help Take Your Customer Experience to the Next Level
