Nerissa Naidu

DEI, when woven into core strategy, drives results. If an organization treats DEI as a side project, it misses a huge strategic lever, a proven path to financial gains and market edge. Today’s challenges—attracting top talent, fostering innovation, boosting performance—require more than traditional thinking. It’s time to integrate, elevate, and reap the rewards. Explore how DEI Practice Bundles can elevate an organization in the article below. #DEI #strategy #business #diversity #equity #inclusion

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For the last two years, I have been humbled and honored to part of the CivilTalk team. In 2018, Keith Fox founded CivilTalk to promote civility versus the incivility that is widespread and inescapable in our communities caused by social media inciting reaction vs. reflection, traditional media sensationalizing news to attract and audience, and political polarization within our government. Our path is clearly defined: Vision - To build an inclusive, diverse, productive, and accountable community where emotional intelligence and civility are the cornerstones of interpersonal interactions with people committed to do good, be accountable and perform better. Mission - To create a unique and innovative software service that enables an ecosystem to teach, foster, and sustain the life-long practice of emotional intelligence and the exercise of civility. Purpose - To empower individuals and communities by promoting emotional intelligence and civility, ensuring that interactions are respectful, inclusive, and productive, ultimately contributing to a more harmonious and effective society. The CivilTalk service has been developed and refined with a unique feature set including strong member authentication, community engagement, leader driven/prompt guided discussions, peer-to-peer AI engaged conversations, emotion and content message tags, and simplified administration for sign up, group course development, and performance management. This is an example of emotional intelligence and artificial intelligence used for the purpose of empowering us to do good, be accountable and perform better in our personal and professional lives and contribute to a more civil society. My most sincere thanks to the CivilTalk team sharing this journey with me! https://www.civiltalk.com/ #CivilTalk #civility #emotionalintelligence #actificialintelligence #dogood_beaccountable_performbetter

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ALL GENUINE #TRANSFORMATIONS ARE DEEPLY POLITICAL. Culture change programs that ritualistically align with arbitrarily chosen "shared values" often amount to meaningless exercises. They may appease supervisory board consciences or boost consulting profits, but rarely produce organizational excellence. What matters is not just culture, but lived moral character. This requires a systemic focus on success metrics, policies and institutions, and executive (mis)behavior—not just intellectual leadership theories, "pragmatic" executive development, or sugar-coated micro-recipes for employees to cope. Without a change in values and the redistribution of power, resources and wealth (or relief of debts), no transformation—societal or organizational—will yield greater social justice. This is where #ESG, #CSR, #Agile or any other change initiative sponsored by well-meaning #HR departments, populist academic "thought leaders," or philanthropic billionaires risks reinforcing a rotten system rather than addressing its root causes. We quickly end up socializing the victims instead of confronting the perpetrators. In that sense, public #leadership requires not both practical wisdom and a willingness to sacrifice for the common good. #goodorganisations (All credits for the picture go to Tom Fishburne)

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Insight from our friend Jeff Sonnenfeld on why most business people prefer Kamala. Most important, Jeff reports, "as one prominent GOP-supporting business leader told me, “business leaders prefer to invest where there is the rule of law, not the law of rulers.”" Busting the myth that business people prefer Trump, he cites widespread fear that anti-trust and legislation will be used to punish enemies. And that companies prefer prosperous consumers that can buy stuff. So why is the venture and private equity world so vocal in their support for Trump. First, this is loud but minority opinion, but second, chaos drives down asset values, whereupon certain PE companies can buy them cheap. Thanks Jeff.

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You can’t always change your circumstances, but you can change your perspective. 💯 I really respect how Melinda French Gates shows up and invests her time, team, talent and treasure for women’s advancement. Her exit note says a lot. I’ve gained new respect for how she makes waves and gracefully exits. 💫 #WomenLeaders #WomenInBusiness #Strategy #Marketing #Business #Leadership

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I’ve always believed that skills-based volunteering—whether it involves mentoring, coaching, or working in STEM—𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲, 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲. Through initiatives like Women in AI and beyond, I’ve had the honor of collaborating with talented, inspirational women like Jana Wilhelmus, Oliviana Bailey Karen S. Harriss, MBA, GMA, MA, Wendy Kotila, MBA, Wendy (Barbara) Morée, Anna Brueva, Lucia Loyo, Eileen Owen Tan Denelise l'Ecluse , Divya Gupta, Una (Alyona) Galyeva, Estelle Roux, Ingrid van Heuven van Staereling - Zuijderduijn and many more who are transforming lives and driving real change for future generations. 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗠 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗯𝘆 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻-𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲. Research shows that 63% of volunteers report developing new skills—like leadership, communication, and problem-solving—through their experiences. Additionally, 𝟲𝟴% 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀, a crucial factor for success in both STEM and business. To all the incredible skills-based volunteers I’ve worked with: 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗮𝘆. Your impact in mentoring and supporting women in STEM is immeasurable. Now, I’d love to hear from you: How many of you are involved in skills-based volunteering? Have you found it beneficial for your professional growth, particularly in mentoring or STEM? If you’re passionate about using your skills to empower others, let’s connect! Together, we can create lasting impact. #BeeQueen #HyvePlatform #WomenEmpowerment #SkillsBasedVolunteering #STEM #Mentoring #Coaching #Leadership #CommunityImpact #WomenSupportingWomen

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In a world where we’re often inundated with a LOT of information 24/7/365, certain diamond truths not only stand out but have a way of re-surfacing and pulling at your attention. In the past three days, multiple conversations have referenced the book “Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World” by David Epstein and the Egon Zehnder study that Kelly references in her post. The common thread? How curiosity and a learning/growth mindset are the strongest indicators of success especially when combined with persistence and patience. It’s often easy to get sucked into the rabbit hole of the daily grind and administrivia. But it can be just as easy and costs nothing to be curious and ask questions - about anything really - without judging yourself: why am I doing (insert task, project, life event); is there a way to do what am I doing more efficiently; whom haven’t I spoken to in too long; how long have I been sitting in front of this computer? 🤣 Just the simple act of doing so shifts your brain to consider a different perspective and possibilities, and cultivating a habit of being curious in an intentional way hones your problem solving capabilities. Developing this habit into a skill in your tool belt is a critical component to creating a key competency for personal resiliency and professional growth. #leadership #inspiration #curiosity #creativity #professionaldevelopment

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Women are driving tech transformation, leading innovation, and enhancing diversity. This article highlights their crucial role and the ongoing push for gender equity in leadership. Discover how women are shaping the future of technology. #womenintech #techleadership #diversity #innovation #genderequity #focusgts

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🚀 New Upcoming Podcast Episode launching on SEPTEMBER 10th: STAY TUNED. Discovering Your Strengths: Tips for Unlocking Your Individual Superpowers 🚀   Are you ready to uncover your unique strengths and transform them into your superpowers? Join John Kattenhorn and I for our latest episode of Capital & Code, where we dive deep into the world of character strengths!   In this episode, we will be exploring: - What character strengths are and their impact on personal and professional well-being. - Practical advice on using the VIA Strengths framework to identify your top strengths. - How to balance your strengths to avoid overuse or underuse, optimizing your performance. - Real-life examples of strengths in action in the workplace.   Whether you're looking to enhance your career, improve your personal relationships, or simply gain a deeper understanding of yourself, this episode is packed with valuable insights.   Don't miss it! Tune in next week on September 10th to learn how to recognize and cultivate your strengths to their fullest potential.   🎧 Listen, learn, and leverage your strengths for a more fulfilling and productive life.   #coach #nolimits #businesscoach #executivecoch #strengths #Podcast #PersonalDevelopment #CareerGrowth #Leadership #VIAStrengths #CapitalAndCode   Available on Spotify (https://lnkd.in/dkQD6i-5) .

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Retirement every day, retirement every moment…. The very word ”retirement” does not look good to us; it gives the feeling of old age, inability. Somewhere beyond sixty-five, when death comes near, then one retires. No, the word ”retire” is very beautiful. It is the meaning of sannyas. Retire means rest: the work is done, now retire, enjoy it. Don’t postpone enjoyment, that is the meaning of the word ”retire.” Enjoy here and now. RETIRE WHEN YOUR WORK IS DONE. SUCH IS HEAVEN’S WAY. https://lnkd.in/dgHAhawj

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Important insights from my business partner Marc Maltz on the CEO's crucial role as both casting director and coach. Love the parallel he draws between a jazz producer who 'knows the right sound' and a Premier League coach's emphasis on team composition. Successful leadership requires both strategic team building and genuine empathy - it's not just about who's on the team, but truly understanding and supporting them. #Leadership #ExecutiveCoaching #TeamBuilding #CEO

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CNBC explores challenges currently facing U.S. tech workers, including mass layoffs, widespread cuts in company budgets, and threats of deportation for H-1B visa holders. "The layoffs to the start of 2024 signal a dramatic shift in the tech industry," said Jeff Shulman, professor at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business. The number of tech sector layoffs in 2024 has been outpacing the number of terminations in 2023. So far, about 42,324 tech employees were let go in 2024, according to Layoffs.fyi, which tracks layoffs in the tech industry. While layoffs have put stress on the workforce, a booming artificial intelligence market is giving the industry a renewed sense of optimism. Generative AI startup deals announced or finalized in the first quarter of this year totaled more than $12 billion compared to about $4.5 billion invested in the space last year, according to PitchBook. #techworkers #layoffs #budgetcuts #techindustry #booming #aimarket #generativeai

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Last week, we started an important conversation about Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the INSEAD Sustainability program for senior executives. It reminded me of the insightful session we had with Neil Persaud, co-founder of LiveMore and Adjunct Professor, during a previous cohort. Neil brought a fresh perspective, not just explaining why DEI is important, but also how to handle the ups and downs that come with it. He talked about the need for DEI strategies to be flexible—what works in one place might not work in another. Here are a few of Neil’s key points: • 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗲 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘆: DEI can face pushback when people see it as unfair. Neil encouraged us to address these concerns directly. • 𝗡𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿: Using data helps make sure DEI efforts are actually making a difference. • 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗗𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁: DEI isn’t one-size-fits-all. It’s about understanding different cultures and adapting to them. Neil’s approach to DEI goes beyond policies—it’s about leading with empathy and being aware of different perspectives. His advice reminds us that DEI is a journey that takes understanding, patience, and courage to tackle tough issues. #DEI #Leadership #LiveMore #INSEAD #DiversityMatters #Inclusion #EmployeeWellbeing

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Election stakes truly impact Women Business Leaders. Policies will shape a path to equality and also block progress. I promise you this article will open your eyes to some fascinating revelations. Kudos to my friend Corinne Post for sharing this research with all of us. #esg #women #boardofdirectors #diversity #DEI #talent #inclusion  #WomenInLeadership #US2024Elections #WomenEmpowerment #ElectionImpact #BusinessWomen https://lnkd.in/eS5Jk-zC

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Barack Obama -Navigating Leadership: Listening to Dissenting Voices Effective leadership involves engaging with those who challenge our views. By understanding their perspectives and fears, we can foster better relationships and potentially unite a diverse group. This approach was crucial during my presidency. #Leadership #Listening #Diversity #Negotiation #BuildingBridges #CorePrinciples #Empathy #Understanding #PoliticalLeadership #Engagement @ObamaFoundation #DemocracyForum

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Who is your favorite Catalyst? “My favorite Catalyst is Van Ton-Quinlivan who is the CEO of Future Health, start there and then take your journey and, and look at what a catalyst has accomplished, but also the journey of transformation of a human who is a Catalyst.” (Amy Kaufman, Senior Talent Strategies - CEO Leadership Alliances) Listen to the full conversation here: https://lnkd.in/eMAJEEw6

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