transformation talks: scharrell jackson: lead with diversity of thought

every smart leader knows to look for blind spots. 

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transformation talks
with donny shimamoto
center for accounting transformation

in the latest episode of transformation talks, renowned international speaker, leadership coach, and business consultant scharrell jackson emphasizes the pivotal role of diversity, equity, and inclusion (dei) in ensuring the sustainability of businesses across diverse industries. jackson delves into the profound benefits of dei, extending beyond business culture to impact recruiting and the overall bottom line.

more transformation talks: harper & co. cpas: the perspective of a non-accountant is imperative | menlo innovations: improve office culture by overhauling internal reviews | dustin wheeler: for serious cas success, hire tech teams | chase birky: overcoming paralysis by analysis |

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the discussion unveils a critical factor contributing to the failure of many organizations in implementing dei initiatives – the lack of a clear definition of success. according to jackson, organizations often struggle because they fail to articulate specific outcomes tied to business success. she advocates for a shift from merely increasing diversity percentages to a more focused approach, urging organizations to identify and commit to the desired outcomes.

“i mean, the bottom line is it is just good for business.”

“when you start to embrace diversity, dei, you first have to understand that it is not about black versus white, gay versus straight, or male versus female,” she says. “it’s about leading with diversity of thought, and when we start to lead with diversity of thought, that means that we want to make sure that as organizational leaders, we have proper representation, not just at the leadership level, but at all of the levels throughout our organizations who can look out for our blind spots.”

jackson stresses the importance of understanding the “why” behind dei, emphasizing the need for clarity, commitment, leadership accountability, and comprehensive training and development before executing initiatives. drawing from her extensive experience in the accounting industry, she shares valuable insights on the transformational journey.

highlighting the essence of dei, jackson contends that it goes beyond superficial differences, focusing on leading with diversity of thought. proper representation at all organizational levels becomes crucial to identifying blind spots and attracting diverse talent, ultimately enhancing client relationships.

the business case for dei, as outlined by jackson, is a positive impact on growth, talent attraction and retention, and addressing organizational gaps. key takeaways stress the significance of diversity of thought, aligning dei with the business strategy, governance, cultural transformation, and the distinction between inclusion and belonging.

8 more takeaways from scharrell jackson:

1. diversity of thought is the primary goal, moving beyond token diversity.
2. establishing a business case linked to the firm’s strategic goals is essential for growth and client relations.
3. dei initiatives require governance, executive support, clear success metrics, and comprehensive project plans.
4. embracing dei transforms organizational culture, fostering a sense of belonging.
5. training is a key element, focusing on all firm levels, especially upper management understanding their impact on culture.
6. inclusion and belonging are distinct concepts, with the latter emphasizing active engagement.
7. to recruit and retain talent, you must make your team members feel like they belong. new generations no longer just expect it; they demand it.
8. the old way of running a business is simply no longer sustainable.

about scharrell jackson
scharrell jackson is a top-tier operational and financial executive with over 25 years of corporate experience who strives to empower ambitious and high-performing leaders to elevate to the highest level of success. as a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, leadership coach, and dei specialist, jackson brings a transparent approach to her work that captivates her audience. her authentic, intimate, and powerful approach shifts leaders to clarity, confidence, and courage, unleashing their personal greatness. she is the ceo of stj consulting services, llc, and founder of leadership in heels, both of which offer various services, including motivational keynote speaking, leadership coaching, and dei consulting. her personalized approach to each client is tailored to their specific needs, focusing on advancing ambitious leaders to higher performance and empowering them to become the best version of themselves. she can be reached at www.scharrelljackson.com.

 

transcript
(transcripts are made available as soon as possible. they are not fully edited for grammar or spelling.)

donny shimamoto  00:05
hello, my name is donny shimamoto. and welcome to transformation talks. i am one of your hosts here, and i’m the inspiration architect for the center for accounting transformation. during each of these episodes, we’ll be visiting with a variety of firm practitioners, consultants, and others working to really help transform the accounting profession. and really what we want to do through this is look at success and failures and how can you actually navigate these transformations to ensure that your firm is actually successful and making these. so today, i’m actually really pleased to have with me scharrell jackson, i’m gonna let you give me more of her give more of her background. but i when i first met her, she is just a wealth of energy and her passion for this area. and we’re going to be tackling diversity, equity and inclusion. so welcome scharrell. and if you want, introduce yourself and give us a little bit of your background, ’cause i think that’s really important.

scharrell jackson  01:09
absolutely. so thank you so much for that, donny for having me on the show. first of all, i am currently an entrepreneur, a keynote speaker, a leadership and executive coach, and a business consultant. but my background, as you know, is i was a partner, chief operating, and chief financial officer in the cpa firm industry for one of the top 100 firms in the nation for over 20 years. i’ve also served as finance and operating officer in a myriad of industries, primarily male-dominated from real estate and construction to manufacturing and distribution and fintech. and so, as you know, i’ve been in industries my entire career that lack diversity. as an african american woman, i am very clear about how important dei is not just for those individuals who are underrepresented but for organizations that choose to embrace ai for transformational purposes that ultimately increase performance revenue and the bottom line.

donny shimamoto  02:18
thank you. and i think that’s why i hope i hope everyone heard that you were both ceo and cfo of a firm. and so this is not just you know, sometimes i think people hear dei, and they go, oh, this is like some consultant. and they probably are coming from a purely from the hr side. and they don’t actually know how a firm works, you actually know how a firm works, not just operationally but also financially. and so i think that’s a really important for us to tease out here that what you’re sharing is not just like concepts, and this once one, one view of what a firm does repeatedly looked at a whole firm.

scharrell jackson  02:56
you know, donny, i appreciate you saying that. because i’ve always stated that the qualifier for anyone to be an expert is not really should or should not necessarily just be based on education or the fact that somebody ran right out and got a certification, especially for those of us who were at home during covid, and saw some of the very horrific things that happened, and specifically the incident around george floyd and why so many people began to embrace dei, for whatever reason. but it really is about not just having the educational institutional knowledge, but it’s the living experience of what works and what doesn’t, and also understanding the broad positive impact that it can have on businesses that choose to get comfortable being uncomfortable. so you’re absolutely right. what makes me unique as a speaker and a coach is i am a businesswoman, a successful businesswoman who also has the capabilities to speak to organizations and leaders and coach leaders, using my real-life experience and examples of success and failure in order to help other business leaders and businesses move forward and create a high level of success and long term sustainability when they’re implementing dei and cultural transformation.

donny shimamoto  04:08
so let’s… what one of the things you said in there was really about how it impacts performance. so let’s start there. because i think let’s everyone goes, yeah, there’s a value proposition. there’s a business case for it. in your experience, what is really the business case? and how have you seen this be meaningful change, rather than just, you know, yeah, we implement our program or something?

scharrell jackson  04:31
you know, i think that the business case for it ultimately, for anyone who’s driving a business is ultimately increases the top and bottom line. i mean, we sometimes act as if we’re not in business to make money. but ultimately, we are, and when you start to embrace diversity, dei, you first have to understand that it is not about black versus white, gay versus straight, or male versus female. it’s about leading with the versity of thought, and when we start to lead with diversity of thought that means that we want to make sure that as organizational leaders, we have proper representation, not just at the leadership level, but at all of the levels throughout our organizations that can look out for our blind spots. and that means that it’ll allow us to yield better decisioning. not only that, but the better and more representation that we have, across a myriad of sectors of individuals in our nation, we also have the ability to attract and retain talent, which positions us to be able to service a broader community of clients, because clients tend to like to work with and for people who look and operate like them. and i think that just from a fundamental, very basic and basic premise, in terms of your question, the business case for dei is that it positively impacts your ability to grow, your ability to attract and retain talent, and your ability to have individuals who look out for your blind spots, and close some of the business and process gaps that you may have within your organization.

donny shimamoto  06:14
you had so much in there. i feel like we’re gonna unpack that a little bit, too. but you know, in particular, and i want to mention that, you know, at the center for accounting transformation, a big part of what we’ve been doing is research in this area. so if people want to check out our research, go to improvetheworld.net/dei. and they’ll see the research that we’ve been doing and looking at these multifaceted, i think areas diversity. so i’m one, i’m glad that you brought that up because this is not just a racial thing. it’s not a gender thing. sexual orientation, veteran status, neurodiversity, there’s like all kinds of different aspects in it. and it’s really, as you said, getting this diversity of thought and this diversity of talent to really propel any type of organization forward because this doesn’t only apply to accounting firms.

scharrell jackson  07:07
absolutely.

donny shimamoto  07:10
now, one of the things that our research showed was that people really wanted to see more or wanted to hear about more examples of success or even failures. and let’s start with let’s actually start with failures. let’s kind of do the bad news first, right? so we can end on some successes. so can you do you have any examples in in that you’ve worked in where you’ve seen there’s a dei failure? and why did it fail? and what kind of lessons were learned there?

scharrell jackson  07:36
i think, first and foremost, one of the primary reasons why organizations are seeing dei failure is that they are not really identifying the actual outcomes that they want tied to the business success; in other words, it is really not about let’s increase the women or underrepresented pool of people by a certain percentage. but what is it that we actually want to accomplish by doing this? i think there’s a lack of clarity in the why, versus making a decision to do something because we believe is what we have to do. and so one of the reasons why we end up having failure is because we don’t clearly identify what our end game is, when we decide to implement dei. i think that’s one of the most important, and we move initiative first. and i believe that you first need to get clear on your end game, what it is that you want to accomplish, in terms of why you’re even implementing the dei, and then from there, decision on the initiatives. the other thing that i think that i where i see that organizations are making a great deal of have an opportunity for growth is that there’s not adequate training around really what dei is and why dei is important. and again, going back to your point that this is not about race, gender, or sexuality, but it really is about diversity of thought. and it needs to start with leadership, embracing the fact that we want to broaden our thinking, even when you’re thinking about preparing for the next generation of leaders, where gen x and boomers are moving out in order to create room for millennial or wise and gen z. keep in mind that this, too, represents diversity. and if we don’t start to train boomers and x, to be able to embrace the new generation of leaders, we have an opportunity to be overrides within our organization, and are ultimately in the accounting industry to be merged into larger firms. so adequate training on not only what we’re doing, but why we’re doing it and getting proper buy-in. i think it’s an area where we make mistakes. i think that it’s important that we understand that add training needs to reinforce our goals and objectives or why. and it needs to be tailored to the necessity with a well planned module or training process with some periodic updates and feedback. and it’s very, very important that we do that across the organization. and then that we bifurcate leadership, and individuals and contributors so that the training is relevant not only to their role and responsibility, but to their influence within the organization. and the other thing that i would say where we can see some opportunity for improvement, is that not only are we not clear on the why, but we don’t prioritize our initiatives, once we determine what they are in alignment with our goals and objectives. and we don’t allow our organization to actually have true buy-in and leadership to change whether your cultural transformation is tied to dei, whether it’s tied to mergers and acquisitions, where there’s tribes tied to developing the next stage of leaders, we tend to give someone who has a full-time job, additional responsibilities, and then we’re expecting a high success rate. and so we need to first understand why we’re doing it. we need to commit to it and be clear on the outcomes we want. we need to make sure that we have proper leadership when we’re talking about transformation, where there’s accountability, and that there’s training and development before the execution of initiatives. and then we need to prioritize our initiatives. and without doing that there’s an opportunity for some failure.

donny shimamoto  11:41
oh, i hear all the seo stuff coming out there. i think a lot of what you said really is it’s the success, it’s the success, or it’s the way to ensure success of any major initiative you’re taking on and use the word transformation. a lot of times any of these using artificial intelligence using other types of technologies, doing any type of organizational change, all of those require that why they require executive buy-in and they require some accountability in the form of i heard you say, essentially, like, what are what are the outcomes that we’re trying to achieve? how are we going to measure this success? you started off talking about that the, you know, we have to have the why we’re doing this, what are some of the common why’s that you see, rather than just check the box of like, hey, we need to say we’re doing something because everyone is doing something because i see that i think a lot, right, better wise to be doing this,

scharrell jackson  12:38
i think one of the primary why’s especially in this hybrid environment where we have individuals poking, working both in the brick and mortar and in the virtual environment, our next generation of leaders, millennials, and gen z, it is a requirement. i mean, the bottom line is it is just good for business. and whether we are a boomer or gen x, and we want things to go back to the way that they were prior to covid. i think covid accelerated the need for transformational change in a myriad of ways, with dei being one of those ways. and our generation of talent that we are trying to attract and retain, are not necessarily just hoping that they’re going to entree into an organization that is offering it they are requiring it. and if you want to be an organization that can not only attract and retain talent, but you can build a sustainable successful organization. as you continue to scale, it is important that you create an inclusive and belonging environment, which really is what diversity is all about. and so when you think about the benefit, it is about your ability to grow your organization on a long-term basis. because what we are doing today is not going to last forever. but the technological innovation, as you mentioned, things around mental health, the expectation of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. all of this is about cultural transformation. and without our ability to embrace change, we will not be able to sustain in our organization. and that is the primary holistic reason why we must embrace leading our organizations with diversity of thought.

donny shimamoto  14:26
i love that you you’re kind of taking it right where i want to go, which is sustainability. i actually do a presentation about esg and using esg for recruiting and retention often which of which, of course, dni is part of the s the social aspect of esg reporting. and i totally agree with you. this is the way we create sustainability. and you actually said, recruiting retention several times and that’s one of the key things i think people don’t realize. they think oh, it’s just a recruitment, but it’s actually also a retention. and now who can afford to lose staff i think the last research thing i saw said it costs two to four times a person’s annual salary to actually replace staff and in our accountant shortage today, where are you going to find that replacement? it’s, it’s so much better to retain someone than to have to re recruit and someone else.

scharrell jackson  15:16
absolutely. and it’s important that we remembered that the traditional ways of recruiting individuals are, you know, really, really leaving the industry. and we have to shift the way that we go after our talent. you know, it was something as simple as going into schools and look for individuals who are actually majoring in the actual field of accounting, which we know that statistically those numbers are going down. and we don’t have as many people graduating with accounting degrees. and so what do we do in our industry in order to sustain to attract and retain the talent, so i think that we have to have a much more inclusive recruitment strategy. in other words, we very often recruit people where it is tied to the hr leader and or the partner in charge or the department head. but when you start to have inclusive recruitment, that means that you have individuals at the table that even participate in the screening and interviewing process, that are not necessarily the decision maker, but they are the contributor to the candidate feeling like they belong in the organization. and so i’ve shared with leaders that it is very important that we re evaluate even our initial recruitment strategy, which means that is not just left to the hr leader or the department head, but that you literally should create a pool, a diverse pool of individuals within your organization at various levels, that can ensure that inclusiveness and belonging depending on the level of talent, but i would say at every level is being contributed is contributed to that interview. and that actual process, were even looking to identify the candidate. so that’s one of the things because i think inclusive, recruitment goes beyond the traditional pool. and we also need to have a very unbiased recruitment process. transformation means change. and very often, we will say, well, we want to hire that person, because they fit the culture. but if we’re looking to shift the culture, then we have to make the decision that we want to bring individuals in, who will also challenge the culture in a positive way, in order to continue to stretch the organization. in other words, we want positive cultural disruption. we want individuals who don’t think like us. now we do want them to have the technical expertise. so we’re never looking to dilute the talent. but we want to have that diversity of thought around the table, so that the individuals we bring into the organization add value. so we want an unbiased recruitment process, meaning as leaders, we have to get ready to get comfortable being uncomfortable. we want individuals who can come into the organization that are going to stretch and help us grow. but we also want to make sure that in this process, the our inclusiveness is going to provide the candidate what they need. because if you think about it, danny jin x and boomers, we looked for jobs to create a life for ourself. our job was something we were committed to millennials and gen z, look for jobs that is going to work around the life they want to live. so the fundamental reason why they entree into a job that they’re committed to is based on their personal lifestyle and preference that’s important to them, and not often related to money. so the other thing when you’re thinking about the recruiting change, but mentorship and growth has to be embedded in the culture of the organization, and not just learning and development around the transactions, they have to close. but we have to be invested in the personal growth of our candidates. and when we do that, and people start to feel like they matter, we have a higher probability of attracting and retaining our talent.

donny shimamoto  19:10
very well said very well said. and i will actually add that our research actually supports what you have said, we we actually found we’re doing some research around firms success, and of the firms that actually rate themselves as a perfect 10. on a one to 10 scale, they identified their number one thing was, was tech number two, which was very close behind was actually people and people development. so definitely we’re seeing some things there. and then the third number three thing is actually two different aspects of culture, which you’ve you’ve you’ve said culture several times today, and i think it maybe if we can look at that a little bit because i think that’s when we’re going from goes well yeah, we’ve kind of got our culture and yeah, we’re looking for someone that’s a fit, but one of the things that i see is that that firms don’t have a truly defined culture? it’s kind of, we just kind of figure it out. are you seeing where firms have have have a well defined culture? or? or maybe have you helped firms? or how have you seen firms define their culture?

scharrell jackson  20:15
you know, that’s a great question. and i will say, both in the accounting industry, which i’m deeply embedded having been in the industry for 21 years, but in other organizations, organizations are beginning to embrace and accept the fact that culture matters. and while there are some firms that have a good culture, bpm under the leadership of jim wallace, or even hogan taylor under the leadership of randy nail, because they are very, very tied into the fact that people do matter, and they’re focused on getting better, and that means that you’re utilizing the voice of the individuals in the organization to shape and mold the culture. but in many industries into instances, excuse me, especially in the accounting industry, we know that is driven by income per partner, we know that is driven by the industries where we can continue to grow the revenue, we know that is driven by the number of hours billable hours that we need to accomplish in order to yield the revenue goals. and while all of that is important, because we need to make money, we need to embrace the fact that building a culture where people feel included and belong, is where the organization is going to thrive. and to your point, donny embracing transformation, which includes culture, which is people, which includes technological innovation, which is important, and which includes employee and community engagement. and without that, we do not have the type of culture that employees are attracted to. so i think many organizations are looking to develop a culture. but we have to look beyond that which is important to us as leaders. and we need to really take the steps to invite our team members to play a role in what’s important to them. because we know the bottom line, and revenue growth is important. that’s a given. but what is important to our team members. and then we build a culture around the inclusive team members. so that the things that we do within the organization around the clients, we serve our community engagement, our learning and development or technological investment meets the needs of the individuals that are working with our organization.

donny shimamoto  22:32
i’m getting chills just saying more of the stuff that yes, i completely agree with you. one of the exercises that we used to do in our firm that i actually want to bring back is doing a personal mission statement if they don’t already have it when they started with us. and we actually look and figure out how can we align their personal mission statement with what we’re doing as a firm, and whether it’s, hey, you want to work on these clients, because this industry or whatever it might be more meaningful to you or it’s something you’re you’re passionate about. i think that’s one of the things in accounting that a lot of people don’t realize that, like, you might not be the best baseball player or whatever it is. but you can be a part of baseball by serving clients in the baseball area. or maybe it’s with kids playing baseball, so go and serve like some of the little leagues and these other nonprofit organizations that are doing things. i i before we wrap up, i you’ve mentioned the word belonging a lot. and that’s actually one of the terms that we’re really passionate about. i hate to use that word so many times but passionate about epicenter, because all this dei, to me really is to risk the outcome we’re trying to achieve as belonging that a person feels like they’re a part of an organization. what how do you define belonging? and what how have you seen it either go right or wrong? or how can people put you know, how do you how do we make that a little more tangible for people listening?

scharrell jackson  23:59
you know, i can say even just in terms of some real-life examples that i had the privilege of working with squar milner and now baker tilly for a number of years as a partner, chief operating and financial officer, and also had the privilege of going to the major firms event probably for at least a minimum of 15 years of my career. but i also was the only african american sea level executive in that room, my entire career at the sea level ceo and ceo and for many, many years was one of few, especially when i first started going women in the c suite. so i can tell you that there were times where i certainly did not feel like i belong now was i included? i was there i was in the room. but there’s a difference between being invited to the party and being asked to dance. i also can remember times where when it was time for everyone to get together to go to dinner, i didn’t have an invitation. and so the the idea of creating a space of belonging is that we will want to make sure that we don’t just give people a seat at the table, but they also have a voice. and that is not a voice where they feel like they have to railroad their way through, or they have to be the loudest person in the room. but it’s a voice because we welcome their opinion. and we embrace their presence, that we want to learn more about who they are. and we want to get to know them in a way where we can also add value to them. and we can learn where they can add value to us, when you’re creating a space of belonging, you’re creating an environment of mentorship, up and down. in other words, there are things that we can learn from gen z by inviting them to the table of cultural transformation, and innovative change by seeking their voice. but oftentimes, the partners are the leaders or the individuals in the room making the decision for the next generation of leaders. and therefore people don’t really feel like they belong, and they are included in the decisions that is going to impact their career. and things can be misunderstood. so when you think about belonging, it means that each person feels like they play an equal role in the experience of the organization. in other words, we may not all make the same money. and we may not all have the same job title, or decision making power. but we all should feel like our contributions, add value to the organization’s success. and when we feel that and we’re starting to experience that, then we know that we belong, we know that we matter. and a lot of that also has to do with our opportunities to grow. you know, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re going to be on your way to partner very quickly. but what it does mean is that the organization values you, and they’re going to be contributing to you and providing equal growth opportunities for everyone that fosters that sense of belonging and loyalty. and the other thing is that we want to create an environment where we’re asking questions, where we want to know that your voice matters. and individuals tend to leave organizations where they don’t have relationship. but when they have relationship, there’s loyalty and there’s grace. and people will tend to forgive you for your mistakes and the long hours when they know that they have a relationship with you, because they matter. and so when you start to think about belonging, i encourage you to think about building relationships, and stepping outside of just the client conversations and meetings that we’re having. but getting to know your people, especially now that we’re in a hybrid environment, and in some instances remote, beyond what they’re doing to service the client, and how they’re servicing the organization. and you’ll be surprised at how sticky the relationships can become and how much more loyal you will have individuals be in your organization, which is going to reduce our turnover and increase retention.

donny shimamoto  28:02
yes, yes. again, you’re speaking the truth. the our firm has been all remote for many, for many years now over 10 years. so we were completely unaffected by the pandemic. and one of our big thing is that people say that, wow, we feel like we belong here. and that were a part of the team, even though we’re we actually have most of us have not gotten physically together, i have actually physically met almost everyone but but if you can, if firms can create this sense of belonging, there’s so much more that they can achieve. and i think they’re going to be able to beat and we’ve seen where there can be this whole, the millennials and the gen z’s tend to jump around, you create that feeling of belonging, you’ll actually retain them for a lot longer, because they’re going to want to beat they’re, they want to be a part of this.

scharrell jackson  28:50
and we have to keep in mind that the way that we’ve done things historically have not necessarily aligned with what’s going to happen in the future. i mean, let’s, let’s think about it, you know, taxi had an opportunity to create the uber and they didn’t, and they were overpriced. you know, blockbuster was once a household name. and now there’s netflix. i mean, at the end of the day, there is opportunity for change. but we have to remember that fear sits on both sides of the table. and oftentimes the leaders, especially in the accounting industry, have a sense of fear. and it’s easier to continue to do things the way that we are historically used to doing things. but the bottom line is that there is a revolt. and the younger generation is fundamentally opposed to our inability to be flexible. so not only do we need to provide training and development to individuals that are our future leaders, but we also need to train and develop our current leaders, because we have to start to lead with a transformational mind. and again, going back to diversity of thought, and what that means is that what used to work is not sustainable donnie, as you mentioned, and so how do we shift from an environment leading an environment in way that we have done historically for a long time, in order to ensure that our organization continues to thrive, and is sustainable into the next generation, at our excuse me with the next generation of leaders in our future. and that means that we have to be trained. and we have to learn a new way of doing things. and oftentimes, we kind of go in our office or we close our door. and we believe we can’t create relationship, but like us, donnie, rebuilt a relationship virtually, relationships, just take time, commitment, effort, and consistency. and you can do training and development and create relationships virtually just as you can in person, if you’re committed to doing it.

donny shimamoto  30:42
definitely agree. the one other thing i would add to that is intention. because when we’re in the office, it’s easy to just kind of have it happen. because you run into each other in the hallway, in the bathroom, in the kitchen, whatever it is, when you’re virtual, you have to intentionally make that time to spend it with someone else, and create the social norms, because it’s so easy to just okay, everyone jump on the zoom or jump on the teams. and we just start the meeting without having that social aspect where we had gone to the meeting room or the conference room early, we would have had a little conversation or ran into each other afterwards. oh, how do you think that went? like all of that doesn’t happen when you’re remote. so we have to make it intentional, and allow those opportunities to socialize and get to know each other?

scharrell jackson  31:23
absolutely.

donny shimamoto  31:26
this has been such a fabulous, i know we could talk probably forever on this. but i do want to wrap up because there’s so much more to unpack, we’re gonna have to do some more. but if people want to get in touch with you and learn more about what you’re doing, or even just learn more about some of this, all this wisdom you’ve been sharing with us, how can they get in contact with you,

scharrell jackson  31:46
you can reach me on my website, very easy. sherelle jackson.com. you know, i do want to say i know that cultural transformation, and specifically dei implementation is tough. and having worked in the space, specifically the industry of accounting for over 20 years, i understand the challenges that we face, both operationally financially and from a human capital perspective. so i’m here to support you through that journey of cultural transformation. and donny, i appreciate you. so as i said, you can you can look me up on my website, sherelle jackson.com, or you can email me sherelle at your l jackson.com. but i do just want to say because i know danny, we talked about some tangible takeaways, i would like to encourage each of you to consider embracing leading with diversity of thought, i like to encourage you to remember that training and development starts at the top. and so when we’re starting to implement things around transformation, whether it’s dei technological innovation around the ai, mergers and acquisition are just an overall cultural transformational change in the organization, we need to get clear on our end game and what it is that we want to accomplish before we press go and start executing on initiatives. i also want to remind you that there needs to be key stakeholders that are responsible for the success of this transformation. and then that the initiatives are prioritized in alignment with the end game, we need to monitor and measure our success, we need to make sure that we have ongoing learning and development at every level, where individuals feel and know that they are included, and they belong. and i think that if we do that through any level of change, that we have an opportunity for long term success within our organization.

donny shimamoto  33:31
not have summarized that better. and definitely if it’s too bad, it’s at the end. and we’re gonna have to do a clip of this to put it up. and because those are definitely words of wisdom, those match exactly my experiences as well. so, everyone out there, i encourage you to get in touch with sherelle. if you have any questions or want to learn more about this, again, she had the ceo, oh, cfo, she has been doing a lot of work in this area. so, if you want to learn more about what our research has shown, whether it’s in staffing or dei, come and visit us at the center for accounting transformation at www.improvetheworld.net. that is our goal to really help all of you understand what actually works and how we really make this not just change the world but improve the world. so, thanks again for joining us today. and i hope to see you again on another episode of transformation talks.

posted on march 15, 2024