Biz must embrace diversity or fail

Speaking to bluenotes on video and podcast, Reed said in order to be successful businesses need to drive more innovation - particularly in Australia.

" It is absolutely an economic imperative that we’re able to be more innovative – and part of the solution for that is being more diverse." - Tim Reed, CEO MYOB

“When you start to look at what it takes to really drive innovation, if you don’t have diversity, if you have a uniformity of thought within the people who are trying to achieve different outcomes, the chances that you’re going to end up anywhere different from where you’ve started are quite small,” he said. 

MYOB runs its own programs for developing diversity in its workplace including DevelopHer, which offers paid internships in a bid to increase the number of female software developers at the group.

It also is a supporter of SheStarts, a startup accelerator aimed at helping women thrive in innovative, tech businesses. ANZ is also a supporter of SheStarts.

Reed said diversity in teams challenges the way they operate and think – bringing valuable different perspectives which encourage an innovative approach.

“Diversity really just adds to the richness of voices and therefore increases the range of possibilities and the breadth of thinking a team has when they’re tackling a problem,” he said.   

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“If I look at where the world’s going, if I look at where economic growth is being driven, it is absolutely an economic imperative that we’re able to be more innovative – and part of the solution for that is being more diverse.”   

Reed also offered detailed tips on how companies can embrace diversity. Watch the video and listen to the podcast above to find out more.

Carina Parisella is bluenotes innovation editor