Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1464710
Business Leader of the Year (Large business) Udit Batra CEO and President, Waters Corporation Diversity is a statement, inclusion is an act – Diversity is a cornerstone to innovation but without the act of inclusion, it goes nowhere. Seek to understand and not judge – Compassion matters – When you come from a point of compassion and respect for the other, you can more easily work through differences and ultimately see we are more similar than we are different. Work with people you like, respect and trust – Together you will achieve more and ultimately have a more enjoyable journey. Invest in your learning – Competence matters – It is only when you start to learn for the sake of learning do you become truly motivated. Run – there is more fun in running and falling once in a while than just walking – Courage matters –Keep running and you will learn to build resiliency and silence your inner critic along the way. Call your Mom – Do you work on something that your Mom would be proud of hearing about? Leave people and places better than you found them – do the deletion experiment. Would it be the same if you did not exist? True insight usually arises from orthogonal thinking –Diversity of thought and perspective leads to better results. The only way things don't change is if you give up – This is something my Dad still reminds me of. You must choose to not give up if you want things to change. Listen to understand but decide for yourself – Spend more time listening and engaging with your colleagues to learn the facts and to help inform the decisions that only you can make. Encourage the next generation – Invest in the talent and capabilities long before you need them. Worcester Business Journal Hall of Fame Anh Vu Sawyer, Executive director, Southeast Asian Coalition of Central Massachusetts After 4 decades of leading businesses and non-profits, I've learned these things: • Lean on the powerful resources that are currently untapped and misunderstood. One is the human ecology, such as resiliency and compassion. Another is the bountiful giftedness from refugees that is ready to be unleashed. Global migration caused by wars and famine will continue to increase and never cease. Much of the world population has been and will be refugees. This incredible energy created by thousands of years of glorious cultures, wisdom, and experience can be turned into something that can benefit the whole world, heal a broken world, bring peace, eradicate poverty, further goodwill, incite curiosity, and deepen and widen empathy. All of this while increasing wealth and stabilizing local and global economies. • Technology, innovation, and belonging are on the shortlist of businesses' best friends! • Never underestimate the power of the smallest members or groups of the society. Listen to them. Partner with them to make some of the greatest impacts. • Respectfully leveraging cultural diversity will bring lasting internal strength to businesses and organizations. • Strive for a balance between creating wealth without compromising our passion for justice. We can have wealth while making the world a kinder place for all. • Life is not a survival game, but a journey with others so that everyone and generations after them will survive and survive well. • (Strictly professional, not in terms of romance) "Dance" with as many as you can, just don't "go to bed" with them. • Don't be afraid of dreaming big. You never know. • Invest in human capital. Start with your own staff/ employees; that is what will yield the greatest return on investment.