I am travelling this week and enjoying myself in Las Vegas. I am here working but mainly spending time with my father. He will be 87 and loves throwing the dice. What a great opportunity to be able to do spend time with him and enjoy one of the world’s greatest adult playgrounds. One of the things that is great about Las Vegas is the people. What a true melting pot.

One reason this came to my mind is the article I read yesterday, Diversity Doesn’t Trump Constitution. While this is focused on academia, we should not forget that there are laws that also need to be respected and abided in the commercial industries as well. Horace Cooper said it nest when he said, "This program was set up not in response to examples and experiences of discrimination, but as a way to try to build diversity.” While he is talking about the Project 21 program, you could apply this statement to any diversity program you are trying to create or execute in your organization.

Diversity plays such a strong role in the success of organizations. The different perspectives create an environment ripe for creativity and innovation. One thing we should be careful about is having diversity for diversity’s sake. Just because you have a diverse workforce does not mean you have an environment that fosters creativity and innovation. Each job still has performance goals that have to be met or exceeded.

Why is diversity so important? What diversity can bring is the added dimension. This is when the whole is greater than the sun of its parts. Veronica Munro, head of Leadership Effectiveness at Standard Chartered and speaker at the HR Summit and Expo 2012 in Dubai, said, "If companies are diverse in gender, nationalities and ages it automatically leads to diverse thinking. For example a recent survey showed that employee diversity resulted in a 53% return on investment in terms of performance."

Diversity is a controversial issue. The correlation between diversity and performance management is still fluid. Consistently and repeatedly taking advantage of that link has been challenging. When it is executed properly (like many ideas), it is very powerful. When it is not, you can end up in litigation. Another risk management issue that I am not prepared to discuss today.

Dad’s up. Time to go see the melting pot downstairs and try some different type of risk management at the tables.