Diversity: Matthew Syed

Why diversity is crucial to success in any organisation, with top author, broadcaster and former world class table tennis player Matthew Syed. Matthew is not talking about arbitrary diversity in this episode of DTMTS, but is explaining why a diversity of background, outlook and experience is vital. He explains how the FA embraced diversity off the pitch, which contributed to success on it, and how the tragedy of 9/11 could have been avoided had the CIA been less collectively blind because of a lack of cultural diversity. It's to do with 'homophily', which is our tendency to bond with people who are socially similar. And if you've ever thought that meetings at work are 'catastrophically inefficient', this episode will prove you correct. That's because of what are known as 'dominance hierarchies', which leads to people 'self-silencing' and has even led to plane crashes. Matthew and Simon also talk about echo chambers, which are being increasingly prevalent on social media, and what can be done about them, using the redemptive tale of the once 'great white hope' of the Klu Klux Klan as an example.