Recently, I was privileged to witness Ursula Burns, the President of Xerox Corporation, speak to our intimate group of community and business people. The powerful aura surrounding Mrs. Burns is undeniable. Yet, it is NOT only due in to her being the President of Xerox. During her speech, I tried to assess the rationale for her powerful and forceful bearing upon the stage and the audience. I had these observations.

Of course, without question being the President of Xerox Corporation is presence enough in itself. In the case of Mrs. Burns, this fact is doubled even quadrupled in that she is a woman, AND a woman of color! What struck me about Mrs. Burns is the fact that even though she carries the weight of being a woman and a woman of color, she indeed carries that weight with aplomb. *Please note that I characterize her gender and color as weights, she did not, even though she was frank in stating that those factors were part of her rise to the top!

Yes! Impressively, Xerox Corporation has a driving impetus of inclusion within their corporate structure! As Mrs. Burns stated, and I am of course paraphrasing here, Xerox is cognizant that a small cluster of privileged white guys running the show does not and cannot reflect the world at large. A company that does not reflect the realities of the world via it's workforce, managerial staff, and other hierarchy, along with the diversified needs of its constituency, will hobble essentially to it's respective diminishment and eventual death.

The driving force behind (and in front) of Mrs. Burns incredible success and presence was her authenticity! I believed her! I wanted to believe her! 'Authenticity' is (or should be) the holy grail of what any speaker wants. 'Believability' is the holy grail that speakers want from their respective audience! The authenticity of Mrs. Burns, allowed me to buy into what she experienced, what she believed, and what corporations can be with visionary leaders running the show.

From what I observed from the President of Xerox Corporation, I as a speaker can do the following:

(1) Be confident in what I have to say which will lead to believability, which will manifest as the authenticity it is.

(2) Know that what I say and how I say it will inspire someone or change the world!

(3) Being who you are is more important than being 'something' i.e., the PRESIDENT of Xerox. Which reminds me of this quote:
"How many care one loses when one decides not to be something but to be someone." --Coco Chanel

(4) Have the courage to speak up, even if and especially when everyone else is in stifling conformity.

(5) The power of inclusion is unstoppable, unbeatable, and undeniable!

(6) Women, and so-called minorities are an incredible, yet under used asset in many corporate structures, companies, and businesses.

(7) When companies, and people in general adhere to inclusion, as opposed to exclusion, things work out for the greater good...almost always!

As a result of hearing the President of Xerox speak, I came away thinking that the business world and more importantly the world is undergoing a drastic change in which inclusion in all of it's positive forms is taking place; albeit slowly, yet, change is taking place.