The most useful ideas that think tanks produce are those that are not only practical and applicable, but imbued with easy logic. Sometimes they provide a new slant on things so that existing processes can be made more efficient. Other times, they reveal hidden assets that few have identified, though they're right in front of our face.
One such example was a project undertaken nearly 15 years ago by the Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA), in conjunction with the then Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA), which was part of the Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet. Sandy Hollway, who later went on to manage the Sydney Olympics ran OMA. The project looked at ways of making business more aware of the repository of skills, talents and contacts buried inside the country's multicultural workforce.
It is not uncommon in Australia to find firms scouring the globe for new markets for their products when, say, the brother of a foreign-born employee in the HR section is looking to import that very thing into their home country. Instances emerge in the most unexpected places, like someone's family business halfway round the world learning from a relative who's migrated here that fruit pulp for drinks and confectionery is not only available in Australia but at competitive prices.
The CEDA/OMA project provided business with guidelines for taking an audit of a company's multicultural assets.
Of course, having staff with good overseas contacts is one thing; ensuring that they're conscious of what you want to export and on what terms is another. But if handled well, this can lead to a refreshing new approach to information-sharing and communication within an organisation, and further, to a broader appreciation of what the company is about. In larger firms it's easy to assume that everyone knows what you're doing.
Naturally, there's more to the picture than mere networking. Multicultural staff also have languages, and sometimes four or five. And they understand the vastly different thought patterns and values that underpin them, too. That doesn't mean that they'll automatically be able to help you with interpreting or drawing up your overseas strategy plan. Skills will not always match the situation, but at least if you're aware they exist you'll be more likely to know when they can be called upon.
If there's one big thing you can learn from your multicultural staff, it's the need to avoid complacency. This year marks a significant historical and international turning point, one that most Australian-born citizens regrettably have no occasion to notice. Worldwide, the number of non-native English speakers now outstrips the natives, which makes English a truly independent global lingua franca. No longer does it belong totally to Britain, nor to other major users like the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Behind this is an uncomfortable reality: most native speakers of English display little interest in learning other people's tongues. This is partly a consequence of the longstanding dominance of English, which has led successive generations of native speakers to believe that however they happen to think is simply the way all human beings think. But that's not the case. Try learning a language from a different culture, or better still, from a different civilisation, and you'll understand why. The divergence in thought patterns, standards and attitudes can be enormous, so much so that you'll be appalled at how dangerously one-dimensional you were before you started. Language is a wonderful window in on other worlds and their histories and once you pass through it you look back on your own like never before. It's mind-expanding in the most creative way.
Many people on the staff in your organisation pass in and out through windows like that every day, probably without you even knowing. If they can open your eyes to how much bigger the global community actually is - psychologically, emotionally, attitudinally and in terms of strategic and tactical disposition - you'll be a better-informed person. You'll certainly be closer to the world of reality that's out there, and your perception and planning will be more soundly based as a result.
Scratch most Australian organisations and you'll discover a productive diversity that's too good to miss.
Warren Reed studied in the Law Faculty of Tokyo University and spent most of his professional life in Asia, the Middle East and India. He was also chief operating officer of CEDA.