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Symantec Sponsored Series
Talking Diversity At Net Impact
Video: Ian Fisk of Mentor Capital Network Talks Diversity at Net Impact '14
When we spoke to Ian Fisk, executive director of the Mentor Capital Network, as part of our Talking Diversity video series at Net Impact 2014, he identified three types of diversity to frame his approach: visible diversity, or diversity of race, ethnicity, background and sexual orientation; diversity of culture, or the way people are used to working; and diversity of perspective, or making sure a broad range of ideas come to the table.
"Intellectual diversity, which can overlap with diversity of color and of culture but doesn't necessarily, is making sure that you are looking at a problem from different angles," Fisk explained. "You're going to miss something if you've trained your people to address a problem all in the same way."
In this two-minute clip, Fisk touched on the two remaining types of diversity and why they should matter to businesses.
Image courtesy of Mentor Capital Network
Ian Fisk is the executive director of the Mentor Capital Network -- a group of more than 1,000 individuals who have built, managed, invested in, or studied social enterprises. In that capacity he has supported hundreds of up-and-running companies who are changing the way the world does business. He has worked to build the field of social entrepreneurship through Net Impact, SVN, The Impact Accelerator Network and many other organizations to encourage those supporting impact entrepreneurs to learn from each other. His previous roles include CEO of ITF Consulting, Inc., Director of Projects for Wall Street Without Walls, co-designer of the AmeriCorps*VISTA Entrepreneur Corps, and the internet coordinator for a U.S. Presidential Campaign. Mr. Fisk also worked with Public Allies, City Year, KaBOOM!, Youth Service America, and the Corporation for National Service. He founded DC’s Community Tool Chest, and was a charter organizer of Hands On DC, an annual volunteer work-a-thon for the D.C. public schools. He has helped to found more than a dozen enterprises, some for-profit, some non-profit, and some non-profit on purpose. Seven of those ventures lasted for at least a decade. Mr. Fisk has an MBA from the Yale School of Management, where he was selected by his professors as a super-tutor. He teaches improvisation and storytelling for entrepreneurs.
Nick Aster is the founder of TriplePundit. Prior to launching 3p, Nick worked for Mother Jones magazine, successfully re-launching the magazine's online presence. He worked for TreeHugger.com, managing the technical side of the publication for 3 years, and has also been an active consultant for individuals and companies entering the world of micro-publishing. He also worked for Gawker Media and Moreover Technologies in the early days of blogging. Nick holds an MBA in sustainable management from the Presidio School of Management and graduated with a BA in History from Washington University in St. Louis.
