THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE LECTURES

Fostering human potential requires knowing human nature.

People assume that DEI and implicit bias trainings will create more unified, more humane, and more thriving work environments. However, the research is clear: not only do DEI trainings fail to deliver on these promises, but they often increase the very tensions they are meant to resolve. There are at least six reasons why this is the case:

1. Modern DEI trainings increase disunity because, for them, there is nothing to unify around. They operate from philosophical foundations that deny the reality of a universal human nature and therefore have no choice but to locate and limit human essence and dignity solely in relation to group identities. Where there is no human nature, there is also no human equality, no human identity, no human flourishing, and, ironically, no human diversity.

2. In this way, modern DEI trainings actually undermine their own cause. Evils such as slavery, racism, colorism, and ageism are immoral and irrational precisely because they deny the equal and universal human dignity of all people. That is why such practices are rightly called dehumanizing—they fail to recognize that, at a level more fundamental than our differences, we are all equally human first. But if there is no “human,” as modern DEI trainings presuppose, then there is also no dehumanization, and such evils cease to be evil. Said another way, this is why many solutions advanced by modern DEI experts rely on racist paradigms in their attempts to solve racism.

3. Modern DEI trainings increase strife because they are inherently reactionary and never proactive. That is why they can only help people “tolerate” one another’s existence and never genuinely value one another’s humanity. It is also why they can only help people be “anti-”—as in anti-racist—but never anything “pro,” such as pro-human equality or pro-human diversity.

4. Modern DEI trainings miss the nature and role of worldviews when addressing human nature and diversity. This is how they overlook the very worldview from which they derive and why they locate the root causes of racism in the unconscious (which is why it is called implicit bias). This is also why they so often fail to account for ideological and thought diversity. But this is not living the examined life; it is not coming to know truth. Worse, it fosters hostile groupthink and renders problems like racism and bias seemingly unsolvable.

5. Modern DEI trainings increase hopelessness because they focus all of their attention on what is broken, and their solutions are always top-down alone. That is why they never leave you with any hopeful way to redeem mistakes or any meaningful strategies to cultivate human excellence. They only deconstruct; they never reconstruct. They only remove; they never replace. They only cut; they never heal.

6. Modern DEI trainings create confusion and friction with meritocracy. This is because, by fixing everyone in competing groups of majority versus minority from the outset, they proceed to locate human dignity and human potential in differences alone. That is why they try to achieve equality of outcomes rather than affirming that we are all already equally dignified and diversely equipped human persons. That is also why they miss the ways organizations can use their human capital and human resources to create genuinely meaningful opportunities to serve and empower those who need them most.

The sum total of these factors details the extreme to which Western society has swung over the past five years. We went “woke,” then “broke,” as it were, and countless businesses are now dropping DEI altogether. For the reasons listed above, that reaction is understandable. However, the response should not be to swing to the opposite extreme of ignoring human variation altogether. That is reactionary, all-or-nothing thinking; it throws out both the baby and the bathwater and simply feeds the same cycle of lurching from one extreme to the other. We must be discerning.

In contrast to both false extremes, Flume offers what is true to reality. Exceptional organizations are like exceptional athletic teams: diversity is only a strength insofar as the unique gifts of each member are developed and unified toward a common vision. We therefore refuse both extremes. Instead, we account for both our common humanity and our genuine diversity—and in the right order. We call this the unity of human diversity. Missing this truth explains why “unity without diversity” is the essence of bland, homogeneous groupthink, and why “diversity without unity” is the literal definition of chaos.

There must be another way.

And now there is.

The Human Experience Sessions.

Working from a unique first-principles approach, The Human Experience Sessions are designed to foster both the shared human element and our vast human diversity—in fullness and in unity of purpose toward the mission and vision of your organization. Said another way, these trainings equip you with wisdom concerning human diversity and cultural humility while simultaneously addressing the root causes of low workplace engagement. Gone is Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). The Flourishing of Human Diversity (FHD) is here.

With exceptional flexibility, The Human Experience Sessions are available as a topical keynote, a 2–5-hour training, or up to ten sessions in a 1–5-day intensive workshop. The Human Experience Sessions provide your pathway to wisdom in six areas essential to profound success in the contemporary world:

1. The natural order of meritocracy and human diversity. Meritocracy must include and follow diversity; it must not precede it. That is why the equity we seek is in access to the opportunities to thrive, not in engineered outcomes. Diverse output and diverse outcomes are hallmarks of a truly flourishing human diversity—made all the more exceptional when unified toward a common vision. Rather than creating unnatural competition between equality and diversity, ability and potential, or opportunities and outcomes, The Human Experience Sessions will help you develop humane ways to serve others and ensure access and upward mobility within your organization, including for your stakeholders and customer base.

2. The humanity of our diversity. The Human Experience Sessions will provide you with exponential clarity concerning both what we are as equally dignified human persons and who we are as diverse, unique, singular persons. This is a humane vision of human diversity. It will free you from both the homogenizing trap of colorblindness and the divisive chaos of fixing everyone into irreconcilable groups.

3. The universality of the human experience. As opposed to the reactionary low bar of mere “tolerance” and the still-problematic framework of “anti-racism,” The Human Experience Sessions will empower you to be pro—pro-human nature, pro-human equality, pro-human dignity, pro-human diversity, pro-human flourishing—and proactive in how you address matters of human variation.

4. The flawed assumptions of multiculturalism. Rather than becoming lost in the nuanced labyrinths of globalization, multiculturalism, and religious diversity, The Human Experience Sessions will equip you and your team with the clarity to see, appreciate, and navigate cultural diversity without surrendering to universal moral relativity. In doing so, it will also equip you to discern and foster ideological and thought diversity within your institution while unifying them toward a common vision.

5. The difference between human diversity and cultural diversity. Rather than remaining perpetually confused by the intersections of ethnic variation and cultural diversity, The Human Experience Sessions will teach you precisely how human diversity and cultural diversity differ and where they overlap. Of greatest value, you will learn how to work with and serve any person by beginning on the common ground of our shared human questions rather than in the tension of our competing answers. This is the essence of genuine cultural humility.

6. The need for human flourishing-focused solutions. Rather than diagnosing every problem as “systemic,” The Human Experience Sessions will empower you to locate the true root causes of organizational conflict and stagnation. They go further, helping you not only remove barriers but replace them with unifying, humane, and flourishing-focused solutions. Or, said another way, Flume can help you not merely eliminate the problems you face but actually become better by going through them.

In summary, The Human Experience Sessions will satisfy your requirements for diversity-related training while actually helping you create more humane workplaces and thriving cultures. You and your team will be equipped to:

• Improve morale, connection, and trust with those you work with and serve.

• Develop a human-centered quality of cultural wisdom, humility, and competency.

• Navigate the worlds of human and cultural diversity with wisdom.

• Establish your leadership on the common ground of our common humanity.

• Prevent burnout, turnover, and disengagement by connecting mission to personal meaning.

• Replace racism with a clear and dignified understanding of human nature and human diversity.

To learn more about our unique framework, see TheHuman Experience Poster Collection here.

To contact us about our trainings, click here.