“The one thing I could do is outwork them and I actually
did.”- Mellody Hobson
Mellody Hobson’s commencement address to USC’s 2015
graduating class was both pragmatic and inspirational. She delivered a message
about the importance of diversity and tolerance in the spirit of community and
personal responsibility. It would have been easy and expected for her speech to
focus on practical advice for future captains of industry. Instead, she
challenged the graduates who will likely achieve positions of power in their
careers to recognize that they are part of a larger dynamic community. Hobson
used her platform to encourage the graduates to expand their worldview. “It’s so
easy to get trapped in a self-selected subset of humanity. Yes it feels
comfortable, but it is also extraordinarily confining. There is a whole world
out there, why limit yourselves. … Do more than just accept diversity, seek out
diversity. I promise it will make you more interesting, more understanding and
basically smarter. And here’s another benefit, when you have the courage to
expand your world, you expand the entire world. Because tolerance scales.
Person by person we can end stereotypes and remove barriers to opportunity.
Although this change begins with awareness, it actually does not end there. We
need action.”
To urge presumably well-educated young people in the 21st
century to seek out people different from themselves reveals a sad truth.
Americans live, work and relax in a segregated society. This is the land of
opportunity where everyone does not have equal access to opportunity. By
acknowledging the discrepancies between lauded civic ideals and reality, Ms.
Hobson created the space for graduates to think about how they perceive
themselves and the people who they presume may not be like them. “Just as I
told you that you can do or be anything, I want you to believe that that’s true
for anyone and everyone.” That statement is one of the most powerful in the
address because it acknowledges the unconscious bias that has unintended
negative effects on the lives of so many people.
For graduates to achieve personal or professional success
Hobson called on them to be conscious of their conduct. “I urge you to
participate fully not in a cocky or smug way, but with confidence and humility.
Be willing to speak up and stand out,” Hobson said. She then changed the tone
of the message, “I know first-hand this can be very hard at times for women and
minorities who are desperate to fit in. I’ve seen a lot of women hang back and
say, “tell me who you want me to be and I’ll be it.” Instead a better attitude
really is: this is who I am and I have value and I hope that you like it, but
if you don’t, this is who I am.” Hobson's call to the graduates to expand their
sense of community and to be authentic in their interactions required a context
she framed as “just add bravery.” The phrase on its face has the feel of an
empty, feel-good platitude. What does it mean to “just add bravery?” For Hobson
it means to take decisive action to achieve a goal. Hobson knows bravery pays
off. She is the chairwoman of DreamWorks Animation, CEO of Ariel Investments,
and a director on the corporate boards of Estee Lauder and Starbucks. Hobson is
also one of six children of a single mother. She described the ethos of “just add
bravery” in three equations:
Equation #1: Hard work plus bravery equals success.
Equation #2: Imagination plus bravery equals creativity.
Equation #3: Love plus bravery equals happiness.
If the graduates take one thing from Hobson’s address they
would be wise to remember ‘just add bravery.’
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