Former US Navy SEAL, Oxford Said (2018), presently complex systems social scientist (practicing as a private consultant). I love it, but the picture is too rosy. The biologist in me says that diversity drives resiliency, a significant portion of which is self-organization or, in human terms, reinvention (learning and adapting). However, diversity also drives conflict. To truly harness diversity means we have to wade into the world of conflict, the world of bias, especially the tendency to categorize (people and things) and then draw stark boundaries around them. Our narratives reveal us/them categories, right/wrong absolutes, and a fight (for our way) or die (by theirs) mindset. We become combative, not cooperative. So while we are focusing on the boon of D&I, we also have to reframe conflict as a positive, a resource. That's been my experience but research supports it as well.
