THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE SESSIONS

DON’T JUST REMOVE DEI, REPLACE IT.

People assume DEI and implicit bias trainings will create more unified, more humane, and more thriving work environments. But the research is in, and not only do DEI trainings not work, they actually increase the very tension they are supposed to remedy. 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. They work from philosophical foundations that deny the reality of a universal human nature and thus have no option but to locate and limit our human essence and dignity in respect to group identities alone. And where there is no human nature, there is also no human equality, no human identity, no human flourishing, and ironically, no human diversity as well.

2. It is in this way modern DEI trainings actually undermine their very cause. Evils like slavery, racism, colorism, and agism, for example, are immoral and irrational for the essential reason that they deny the equal and universal human dignity of all people. That is literally why such things are said to be dehumanizing in the first place—because they fail to see that a place more basic than our differences, we are all equally human first. But if there is no “human,” which modern DEI trainings presuppose, then there is also no dehumanization, and such evils are no longer evil. Said another way, this is why so many solutions modern DEI experts actually use racist paradigms to try and 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” each other’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,” as in pro human equality or pro-human diversity.

4. Modern DEI trainings miss the nature and role of worldviews when it comes to matters of human nature and diversity. This is how they miss the very worldview they derive from and why they locate the root causes of racism in the unconscious (which is why it is call 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, and worse, it fosters hostile groupthink and makes things like racism and bias unsolvable problems.

5. Modern DEI trainings increase hopelessness because they focus all of their attention on what is broken; and solutions are always tops-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, starting with everyone fixed in the competing groups of majority vs minorities, they proceed to locate human dignity and human potential in differences alone. That is why they try to achieve equality in outcomes, rather than affirm we are all already equally dignified and diversely equipped human persons in reality. 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 others who need them most.

The sum total of these factors detail the extreme Western society has swung to over the past five years. We went woke then broke, as it were, and countless businesses are dropping DEI altogether. And for the reasons listed above, that is understandable, but the response should not be to swing to the other extreme of not accounting for human variation at all. That is reactionary all-or-nothing thinking, it is throwing b0th the baby and the bathwater out, and it will simply feed into the same cycle of shutting from one extreme to the other, and back-n-forth we will go. We must be discerning.

In contrast to both false extremes, Flume offers what is true to reality. Exceptional organizations are just like exceptional athletic teams. Diversity is only their strength insofar as the diversity of each player is flourished and unified toward a common vision. So, we do not go to either extreme, but we account for both our common humanity and our diversity, and in the right order. We call it the unity of human diversity, and missing it we find why “unity without diversity” is the essence of bland, homogenous, 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 its unique first-principled approach, The Human Experience Sessions are uniquely designed to foster both the shared human element and our vast human diversity—in fullness and in like-minded unity toward the mission and vision of your organization. Said another way, these trainings are uniquely designed to equip you with wisdom considering human diversity and cultural humility, all the while dealing with the root causes of low workplace engagement as well. Gone is Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), the Flourishing of Human Diversity (FHD) is here.

With vast flexibility, The Human Experience Sessions are available as part of a topical keynote, a 2-5-hour training, or up to ten sessions in a 1-5-day intensive workshops. The Human Experience Sessions are 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, not proceed it. That is why the equity we seek is in access to the opportunities to thrive, not in the outcomes themselves. That is why diverse output and diverse outcomes is one of the very hallmarks of a truly flourishing human diversity, and made all the more exceptional when it is unified toward a common vision. Rather than creating unnatural competition between equality and diversity, ability and potential, and opportunities and outcomes, therefore, the Human Experience Sessions will help you develop humane ways to serve others and ensure access into and upward mobility inside of your organization, including with 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 human diversity and it will free you from both the homogenous trap of colorblindness, as well as the divisive chaos of fixing everyone into irreconcilable groups.

3. The universality of the human experience. As opposed to the reactionary low bar of “tolerance” and the still racist “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 in all, proactive in how you address matters of human variation.

4. The flawed assumptions of multiculturalism. Rather than being lost in the nuanced labyrinths of globalization, multiculturalism, and religions diversity, The Human Experience Sessions will equip you and your team with the clarity to see, appreciate, and navigate cultural diversity while not surrendering to universal moral relativity. In doing, it will also equip you to discern and foster ideological and thought diversity in your institution while also unifying them toward a common vision.

5. The difference between human diversity and cultural diversity. Rather than being 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 are different and where they overlap. Of greatest value, you will learn how to work with and serve any person in a way that starts on the common ground of our common human questions, rather than in the tension of our competing answers. This is the essence of a genuine cultural humility.

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

In summary, The Human Experience Sessions will satisfy the requirements and need you have for diversity trainings while actually helping you create a more humane workplaces and thriving cultures where: 1) the shared and equal humanity of every person is seen, valued, and affirmed; 2) human diversity is genuinely understood and flourished in unity toward common goals; 3) personal, professional, and cultural boundaries are clarified and respected; and 4) common grace is fostered and shared as each person strives toward personal excellence in service of others and the organizational mission.

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

To contact us about our dynamic trainings, click here.