Stakeholders
As we approach the end of 2020, if one were to review the unfathomable occurrences that
have happened ranging from a global pandemic that caused the entire world to shut down, to the
radicalized U.S. Presidential race; it could easily be misconstrued as the next Christmas Day released
blockbuster hit. We cannot assess the ongoing impact from 2020 without including the rise of an
international focus on diversity, sustainability and inclusion and the vast array of opportunities and
challenges that organizations navigating the like will face.
Lionheart Strategy International (LSI) was founded based on the recognition in the gap of
access to resources, career pathway development and asset-retention between emerging leaders
from new majority backgrounds and seasoned professionals that oversee the management of
distribution channels, corporate social responsibility and financial literacy & wealth management
required to create social economic sustainability. With New Majority constituents leading many
sectors and emerging industries; leadership can no longer ignore the gaping divide between
underrepresented communities and status quo. Due to the holes in the supply chain for minority
suppliers to scale effectively, the disconnection between baby boomers and burgeoning millennial
and Gen Z leaders with alternative views and portfolio focuses and the lack of versatile companies
providing training and leadership – LSI saw an opportunity to create a virtual ecosystem that
encompassed all of the above.
While there are a plethora of organizations that are adding Chief Diversity or Inclusion
Officers to their management teams, in order to address the intensified assessment of major
corporations focus on shared values, core competencies and transparency in fair pricing and
upward mobility in their company culture – most are missing the WHY of how their organization
arrived at this influx in the first place. LSI creates socially conscious effective strategic development
and complex problem solutions deployment that advances your brand and bottomline. We engage
organizations from an internal – external perspective and provide assessment of where your
portfolio stands today, vision on future direction and strategy on what processes and alterations can
be made to your company in order to achieve optimal returns for your products and services that
you provide to your stakeholders.
Take what occurred recently with Unilever’s TRESemmé new product release in their South
African market earlier this month. The brand highlighted black women’s hair with the byline
reference of “dry and damaged,” and “frizzy and dull” and the white blonde haired model as “normal”.
The Economic Freedom Fighters, a left-wing opposition party, also said in a statement on
September 6, 2020 that the TRESemmé ad suggests that “Black identity exists as inferior to the
identity of white people.” This is a classic case of easily avoidable misappropriation, which spiraled
into an international debacle that Clicks, TRESemmé and Unilever will all have to address. In similar
cases, from the rants of the former CEO of Papa John’s Pizza, to the characterization of a young
black male as a “monkey” from an H&M ad – the elephant in the room that has to be addressed is not
diversity and inclusion but rather – CULTURAL COMPETENCY.
Decoding Cultural Competency at the Intersection of Equity and Inclusion
Cultural Competency (CC) is a system of rules that are the base of what we are and affect
how we express ourselves as part of a group and as individuals. In organizations, government and
other human-created systems – the CC or “Code” directly impacts how individuals are set up to
succeed in these contained environments. And just like the software “code” of a MAC can’t simply be
uploaded to any PC; the “code” of these ecosystems cannot just be uploaded to a new candidate,
employee or stakeholder because it has always been what was previously used.
Referring back to the situations that occurred where many big brand solutions’ to fixing
their company culture, was to slap a person of color in a HR role, with DIVERSITY somewhere in
their title; we encourage leadership across sector, industry and age range – to truly be open to
assessing where their company “codes” are aligned vs the spectrum of representation in their
organization. This will enable safe spaces to rebuild core competencies required to advance the
upward mobility and employee retention rates necessary to remain competitive in the
ever-changing global market. LSI solves complex challenges for our clients while seamlessly
integrating into their operation. We enhance the competitive position of our clients by infusing our
intellectual property and social capital thus enhancing their capacity and productivity. We are
driven by generating long lasting impact and success for our clients. We don’t expect for you to
know what you DON’T KNOW – and we are prepared to walk with you, while advising you on how to
assimilate new best practices and internal communication strategies that will incorporate the vast
array of ideals and representation in your organizational structure.
LSI has curated a portfolio of experiential programming and an international virtual network
of stakeholders that corporate social responsibility programs can partner with in order to facilitate
engagement, research and development and community outreach with stakeholders in their local,
regional, national and where applicable, global networks.
We look forward to the opportunity to engage with like-minded networks reflecting the diverse
range of talent, expertise, social innovation and sustainability around the world. If you are an
individual or organization interested in collaborating with our organization please see below.
For more information on Lionheart Strategy International, our programs, services and pipeline
opportunities please visit our website: www.lionheartstrategy.com or contact us at:
info@lionheartstrategy.com
Stakeholders
As we approach the end of 2020, if one were to review the unfathomable occurrences that
have happened ranging from a global pandemic that caused the entire world to shut down, to the
radicalized U.S. Presidential race; it could easily be misconstrued as the next Christmas Day released
blockbuster hit. We cannot assess the ongoing impact from 2020 without including the rise of an
international focus on diversity, sustainability and inclusion and the vast array of opportunities and
challenges that organizations navigating the like will face.
Lionheart Strategy International (LSI) was founded based on the recognition in the gap of
access to resources, career pathway development and asset-retention between emerging leaders
from new majority backgrounds and seasoned professionals that oversee the management of
distribution channels, corporate social responsibility and financial literacy & wealth management
required to create social economic sustainability. With New Majority constituents leading many
sectors and emerging industries; leadership can no longer ignore the gaping divide between
underrepresented communities and status quo. Due to the holes in the supply chain for minority
suppliers to scale effectively, the disconnection between baby boomers and burgeoning millennial
and Gen Z leaders with alternative views and portfolio focuses and the lack of versatile companies
providing training and leadership – LSI saw an opportunity to create a virtual ecosystem that
encompassed all of the above.
While there are a plethora of organizations that are adding Chief Diversity or Inclusion
Officers to their management teams, in order to address the intensified assessment of major
corporations focus on shared values, core competencies and transparency in fair pricing and
upward mobility in their company culture – most are missing the WHY of how their organization
arrived at this influx in the first place. LSI creates socially conscious effective strategic development
and complex problem solutions deployment that advances your brand and bottomline. We engage
organizations from an internal – external perspective and provide assessment of where your
portfolio stands today, vision on future direction and strategy on what processes and alterations can
be made to your company in order to achieve optimal returns for your products and services that
you provide to your stakeholders.
Take what occurred recently with Unilever’s TRESemmé new product release in their South
African market earlier this month. The brand highlighted black women’s hair with the byline
reference of “dry and damaged,” and “frizzy and dull” and the white blonde haired model as “normal”.
The Economic Freedom Fighters, a left-wing opposition party, also said in a statement on
September 6, 2020 that the TRESemmé ad suggests that “Black identity exists as inferior to the
identity of white people.” This is a classic case of easily avoidable misappropriation, which spiraled
into an international debacle that Clicks, TRESemmé and Unilever will all have to address. In similar
cases, from the rants of the former CEO of Papa John’s Pizza, to the characterization of a young
black male as a “monkey” from an H&M ad – the elephant in the room that has to be addressed is not
diversity and inclusion but rather – CULTURAL COMPETENCY.
Decoding Cultural Competency at the Intersection of Equity and Inclusion
Cultural Competency (CC) is a system of rules that are the base of what we are and affect
how we express ourselves as part of a group and as individuals. In organizations, government and
other human-created systems – the CC or “Code” directly impacts how individuals are set up to
succeed in these contained environments. And just like the software “code” of a MAC can’t simply be
uploaded to any PC; the “code” of these ecosystems cannot just be uploaded to a new candidate,
employee or stakeholder because it has always been what was previously used.
Referring back to the situations that occurred where many big brand solutions’ to fixing
their company culture, was to slap a person of color in a HR role, with DIVERSITY somewhere in
their title; we encourage leadership across sector, industry and age range – to truly be open to
assessing where their company “codes” are aligned vs the spectrum of representation in their
organization. This will enable safe spaces to rebuild core competencies required to advance the
upward mobility and employee retention rates necessary to remain competitive in the
ever-changing global market. LSI solves complex challenges for our clients while seamlessly
integrating into their operation. We enhance the competitive position of our clients by infusing our
intellectual property and social capital thus enhancing their capacity and productivity. We are
driven by generating long lasting impact and success for our clients. We don’t expect for you to
know what you DON’T KNOW – and we are prepared to walk with you, while advising you on how to
assimilate new best practices and internal communication strategies that will incorporate the vast
array of ideals and representation in your organizational structure.
LSI has curated a portfolio of experiential programming and an international virtual network
of stakeholders that corporate social responsibility programs can partner with in order to facilitate
engagement, research and development and community outreach with stakeholders in their local,
regional, national and where applicable, global networks.
We look forward to the opportunity to engage with like-minded networks reflecting the diverse
range of talent, expertise, social innovation and sustainability around the world. If you are an
individual or organization interested in collaborating with our organization please see below.
For more information on Lionheart Strategy International, our programs, services and pipeline
opportunities please visit our website: www.lionheartstrategy.com or contact us at:
info@lionheartstrategy.com