Recap: Men of Color Leadership Conference 2019

It was a comfortably cool day in November, when I walked a few blocks from my hotel to the world-famous Comcast NBCUniversal building at 30 Rockefeller Plaza to attend the annual Men of Color Leadership Conference (MOC), presented by Color Magazine. I was selected by my company (Performics) to participate in an event designed to engage top-tier executives of color to share their experiences, insights, and thought leadership through a mix of presentation and panel discussion.

As I entered the conference room on the 11th floor, I was surprised at the size of the event. It was rather intimate at around 50 people and allowed for close proximity to the speakers and panel, encouraging discussion and participation.

Opening Session

Jonathan Choe (Digital Correspondent and Managing Editor, Diya TV) was first on the mic, and as he spoke it quickly became clear that his broadcast experience as a tv reporter made him an ideal emcee for the event. Sal Mendoza (VP, Diversity and Inclusion, NBCUniversal) welcomed us with his opening remarks and led us into the keynote speaker, Fred Diaz (President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board, Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc.) who spoke with great positivity and encouragement and how he has responded to discrimination throughout his life.

Executive Panel

James Jones (Executive Coach & Diversity and Inclusion Strategist) was a composed and thoughtful executive moderator for the panel discussion. He joked that he would likely stray from the pre-written questions and seek to challenge the panelists at any given moment, and he kept his promise. Panelists Freddy Rolón (VP and General Manager, ESPN Deportes), Tyrone M. Fripp (HRO - Group, Life, and Accident Division, Cigna), and Chris Michel (Head of Diversity and Inclusion, Americas, Bloomberg LP) shared personal stories about identity, support, equality, and activism in the workplace and beyond.

Executive Sessions

After lunch, John Henry (Partner, Harlem Captial & Host/Producer, Hustle) gave a humble and inspiring session about his journey from leaving college at 18, to his role as a Venture Partner for Harlem Capital, where his firm just closed their debut fund at $40.3mm. The last speaker of the day was Ethan Anthony (Founder and CEO, CrankChart), who planned to present a session on Cognitive Jujitsu, but his presentation quickly transformed into a debate and eventually a discussion... which ended up being one of the most impactful portions of the day!

More on Cognitive Jujitsu

Anthony's messaging was clear to me, "Turn your anger into indifference." I was already mentally preparing to take in his techniques for reframing my thought processes. Then a comment from the audience, "I'm tired of sitting and waiting. I don't want to be indifferent, I want to act." Others followed suit, directing their questions around how the ideas presented could potentially mean losing one's identity and the fine line between "fitting in" to get ahead versus being your authentic self.

What transpired for the next hour was an engaging and emotional discussion around behaviors in the workplace, personal and professional maturity and a meaningful look into the perspective of those both early and late in their careers. Anthony did a masterful job of responding to the perspectives with kindness and humility, while still maintaining the value of his own perspective... cognitive jujitsu in real-world practice!

What did I learn?

I really enjoyed John Henry's honest storytelling and his candor in his responses to audience questions. I took notes from the other speakers as well with highlights like:

• Don't confuse equity with equality. Extend the ladder and more ladders down for those coming up.
• $1 earned from your system is worth $1000 earned from someone else's.
• You can't be what you can't see.
• Be your authentic self.

But what impacted me the most was the realization that we need more opportunities for conversation and dialogue. Advice and inspiration poured out of every speaker, but the insight and the passion from the audience gave light to unexplored perspectives. There were stories of frustration and failure, learning experiences and mistakes, and the realizations that we're still very far from where we want to be.

It was an honor and privilege to take part in the MOC and I plan to participate again next year. My hope is that future conferences will include the space to engage in the hard topics and difficult conversations... where collaboration and thought leadership can thrive, and where we can truly attempt to address our needs and goals as men of color.