🚀 How Diversity Makes Teams More Innovative – Rocío Lorenzo’s TED Talk

Ever wondered if diversity in teams is just a corporate buzzword or if it actually makes a difference? Well, Rocío Lorenzo dived deep into this question, researching 171 companies across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. And guess what? Diverse teams are way more innovative! 🎯

The Innovation-Diversity Connection

Lorenzo and her team found that companies with more women and diverse leadership didn’t just brainstorm ideas—they turned them into actual products and services. 🚀 In contrast, homogeneous teams kept coming up with the same kind of solutions.

Why Does Diversity Work?

💡 New perspectives = Better solutions

💡 More debates = Smarter decisions

💡 Different experiences = Creative problem-solving

When a team is full of similar people with similar mindsets, they tend to agree too much and miss out on fresh ideas. But when there’s diversity—whether it’s in gender, culture, or background—people challenge each other, leading to real innovation.

The 30% Rule – More Than Just Tokenism

One of the most eye-opening insights? Companies only see real innovation when at least 30% of their leadership is diverse. Anything less, and it’s just a "diversity hire" without actual impact.

Key Takeaways for India 🇮🇳

For Indian startups, IT firms, and businesses, this is a big lesson. While many companies claim to be innovative, they still hire from the same backgrounds, same colleges, same gender ratios. If India truly wants to dominate the global tech and design space, we need to embrace real diversity—beyond just slogans.

Final Thought 💡

If you keep hiring the same kind of people, you’ll keep getting the same kind of ideas. Want true innovation? Break the cycle. Hire diverse, think diverse, and build something that stands out. 🚀

Watch the full TED Talk here: TED Talk – Rocío Lorenzo

Yours,

Shabi Kaushal

(Design Lead & Co-founder @sanganak)

Find me: 🔗 linktr.ee/msbuddhu