President & CEO, HP Canada Co. Fostering a work culture that emphasizes the importance of diversity and inclusion is a business imperative, not just a moral or ethical one. A more diverse work force will put any company into a stronger position to grow and innovate. It will attract top industry talent and help businesses connect with customers. And, of course, it’s the right thing to do. As part of one of the most diverse countries in the world, business leaders in Canada need to act now and embed diversity and inclusion practices throughout their organizations and leadership teams. How can organizations reinvent the standard for diversity and inclusion and truly lead on this front without embracing and valuing the differences – including race, ethnicity, gender, religion or sexual orientation – of their work force? As business leaders, we know that exceptional storytelling is the central underpinning of effective leadership and the way customers see your brand. All good storytellers agree you must first understand your audience. Who they are, where they come from, what experiences have shaped them and what matters to them? How do they want to be spoken to, what vernacular is comfortable, what cadence captures their attention? You can’t tell an effective story or brand narrative to your customers if you only value select points of view. This is why a commitment to diversity and inclusion leadership means more than just a number, a department or even an objective. Diversity and inclusion efforts must be embedded into the very DNA of an organization so that its brand narrative can be authentic, meaningful and distinctive. A McKinsey study shows, “Companies in the top quartile for racial and ethnic diversity are 35 per cent more likely to have financial returns above their respective national industry medians.” Another study showed that diverse companies had 2.3 times higher cash flow per employee over a three-year period than non-diverse companies did.