[Op-Ed] How Davos Prepared Me for the Uncertainty of the Moment

 

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claudia

I’ve been going to Davos for 29 years. For the last six years I have brought a Latino delegation with me.  It is important for Latinos to be there — to listen and learn, to speak and be heard. The conversations are always informative and instructive.

This year was no exception, but the conversations and the underlying feel of it were different from other times.   This wasn’t an American phenomenon, it felt very global.

Everyone feels the uncertainty of change.  People feel geopolitical shifts, that allyships may change, that so much is in motion.  No matter what part of the world you come from, grievance — in whatever shape and form it takes locally — is driving changed views and changed policies.   Nationalism and populism are global trends playing out in political, social, economic and cultural arenas.

We are seeing change, some of it seismic, some of it symbolic, but all of it shaping the way forward.  So my first takeaway is that we all have to hold tight while things are in rapid motion.  We need to hang in there, hold tight, don’t fall.  And at the same time, prepare for change. We need to be ready to pivot. To make adjustments.

This does not mean that we need to change our goals and our mission. And it certainly doesn’t mean that we should stop dead in our tracks to wait for the dust to settle.   What it does imply is that now, more than ever, we must understand what we can’t control but more importantly, what we do control.  We must know what levers we can pull, recognize what rhetoric is just performative, size up the challenges, make adjustments and keep moving forward.  We need to be smarter than ever, and more strategic.  As discussions of identity recede for the moment, the strengths we derive from identity should not.  We should continue to talk about the characteristics that position us well for business challenges: having a global perspective,  being bilingual, flexible, optimistic, able to build and manage teams, create trust.

One thing that is clear is that grievance is crossing gender, politics, ethnicity, religion, geography and borders.  The DEI backlash is giving air to pent-up grievances, but it is part of a larger global set of personal frustrations.  The pendulum shifts, and grievances are being expressed around the world in very different ways.  We know there will be changes but we don’t know the impact.  So right now, we must gather information.  Understand the lay of the land.  But also stand strong.  Find the openings, the things you can control.  And we must not lose sight that we have agency.

The mission of Hispanic Star is to elevate the narrative of Latinos, to raise awareness of the contributions of Latinos to the U.S. economy. Latinos are the driving force of the U.S. economy and our story is very much about growth and, therefore, still very much of interest to anyone who is building a long-term strategy for the future.

Despite the noise and daily drama here and abroad, I feel optimism.  In telling our story, the data is in our favor.  Latinos are young, educated, digitally savvy.  We are job creators, taxpayers, homeowners.  We are eager consumers.  We are learning the power of our voice and our vote.  The data will not change, our numbers and growth trajectory are real.

So what I still see is opportunity.  Opportunity to continue shaping, refining and sharing our narrative.  Opportunities to counteract misinformation and disinformation. Opportunities to build strong alliances with the smartest companies and leaders who have a clear view of the future and know the importance of bringing Latinos into conversations and up the ladders.   The growth imperative in business isn’t driven by polarization, partisanship and passing policies.  Companies need employees and they need consumers.  And given the trajectory of Latino growth, we have every reason to be positive.

The other thread at Davos has been widely written about, which is technology and the role that AI will play.  There was great exuberance at Davos about the role of AI in transforming the future.  The buy-in for AI seems pretty universal and this is also a dramatic call and opportunity for Latinos to help shape AI.

I like to say that AI is just like Latinos — positive, quick to learn, and unstoppable. AI has the potential to amplify Latino voices and accelerate our growth, but we must make sure that we are involved at every stage from research and development to implementation.  We need to make sure that the data is real, reflecting real people rather than stereotypes.  We need to make sure that algorithms are free of bias. We should be in full gear, building partnerships, using our technological and innovative prowess. We can help get this right.

We can’t predict the future but we can make a difference. There is uncertainty and some ugliness to these times.  Let’s keep our eyes on what’s happening, what’s real and what’s simply rhetoric.  Let’s not be overwhelmed.  Let’s not abandon our values or our dreams.  We have a great story to share and we should keep telling it.

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