Читать книгу Latinx Business Success - Frank Carbajal - Страница 9

I was born in Puerto Rico in the early 1980s and grew up in a barrio called El Verde (The Greene) in Caguas. We were a traditional Puerto Rican family. My grandmother was the youngest of nine siblings and had studied nursing; my grandfather spent his entire career as a card dealer at the famous Caribe Hilton in Old San Juan, where he spent 36 years or, as he used to say, “Till the age of Christ,” dealing cards to international tourists coming to visit the Island of Enchantment.

My father was an immigrant from the Dominican Republic raised in a small town called Higuey and my mother was a beautiful, strong woman from the island. They met at the University of Puerto Rico and soon started a family. My father finished his studies while my mother both studied and worked from home to tend to the family.

Our family was a typical low‐ to middle‐income family on the island. My grandparents were of more modest means. Although we didn't have all the lavish trappings that others may have had, I never noticed, for we were wealthy in love, in passion, and in aspirations of what life could be.

It was my upbringing in el barrio that prepared me for the boardroom today. It was my island upbringing that taught me that family goes beyond the boundaries of blood, and the ideal that the growth and prosperity of community far outweighs that of capital. In short, the things that center me as Hispanic from El Caribe are very much the strengths that I bring to the teams and projects I have had the honor to work alongside.

I remember my grandmother, Amelia Tirado de Lasa, always thinking of others. Despite not having much of her own, she always had much to give. She instilled in us the mentality that if one can eat, then all can eat. I remember her always planning and purchasing potential gifts for people in need even before the person arrived at our home. From my grandfather, Victor Lasa, I learned that it is more important to give than to receive. From an early age we would talk about my future as a physician. Abuelo would always say, “José por cada dolar que ganes en una clinica, estes seguro que hagas tres clinicas para regalarlo.”

From my father, Juan Manuel Morey, I learned the importance of soft skills. My father always had the amazing gift of understanding a room instantly. Like a live chess game, he could analyze not just the pieces on the board, but what their strengths were and how the game needed to play out for the greatest opportunity of success. His people skills are something I have always admired. I have never met a person that my father could not instinctively read. He was careful to evaluate nuances and interpersonal idiosyncrasies, a skill that served him well throughout his years in management at Honeywell. Dad understood the importance of finding allies in your journey. As the African adage states, “If you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together.”

My mother, Carmen Ivonne Morey Lasa, was the heart, soul, and glue of our core family. Like many Hispanic families, our mothers are the foundation on which our life and societies stand. They are our refuge in the storm, strength for the journey ahead, and our ever‐present help in times of trouble. My mother was no different. She has been and will always be that and so much more. She was also the person from whom I learned most about creativity and to continually reinvent oneself. Her entrepreneurial pursuits led her to nunca parar de aprender. She studied art, linguistics, and design and she always endeavored to pursue her passions. Above all, she held the fierce belief that she, her children, and her children's children could aspire to anything they set their mind on. She never wavered when storms rose and never faltered when the journey seemed arduous.

My mother was always what I call a “no box” type of thinker. She never saw the problem from outside of the box; she would never define it as a box to begin with, for that was too limiting. This is a lesson that I learned well and has brought me from being a child born on the Isle of Enchantment to a leader on Silicon Island. Attention to detail and presentation was another amazing art that my mother taught me over the years. She was very much the embodiment of not dressing for the role you had, but for the role you wish to attain.

Despite the amazing support I have had from strong Hispanic women and men in my life, it has not always been a life of ease. I have most certainly been blessed, of that there is no doubt. But my journey has been wrought with more failures than success, more losses than wins. I have experienced racism in many forms. At times it would be blatant and raw, such as a pejorative slur or racial epithet. Other times it would be more subtle and nefarious, such as being passed over for a leadership role or becoming aware of income inequality. Both have been challenges but the latter is oftentimes more grating, due to the information coming with a smile from someone who was either ignorant to their own bias or too biased to their own ignorance. The sad reality of both experiences, however, is that they don't stop when you leave the barrio and enter the boardroom and, in some instances, they worsen.

Despite many failures and missteps, I have always carried with me the teachings of my youth. Like manna from heaven, they have been an ever‐present sustenance in times of wandering. The timeless echoes of my parents and my grandparents' teachings have allowed me to live out the words of Samuel Beckett: “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” It has been El Barrio that has led me to the boardroom. It has been the lessons from the Island of Enchantment that have led me to Silicon Island, and I truly believe all Latinos can do so as well, together.

For with great hardship comes great opportunity. I believe Latinos from all stripes, creeds, and countries have the potential to unleash an economic and educational renaissance throughout the world unlike any time in human history if we focus on the future – and that future is STEM.

I believe there is not only a need but an opportunity for Latinos to transform themselves into the future powerhouse of STEM jobs by focusing on education at all levels and harnessing the budding tech industry developing across the world.

Systemic inequality has been a barrier to the boardroom for far too many and the tinder of racisms has left many careers smoldering throughout history. But from the ashes of calamity, there is an opportunity to reinvent oneself for the future of all if we leverage developing projects and focus on future economies through STEM education and entrepreneurship. And from the ashes, a new day will emerge. A day of promise. A day of hope. A day in the future when we will all live in one barrio on a Silicon Island for all.

In this book Frank and I will discuss with Latino leaders from the pinnacles of industries what diversity and inclusion look like. We will discuss the milestones that must be achieved to reach a truly diverse and equitable society. We will remind Latinos from all walks of life that it is their inherent talent and skills that add value to enterprise and is the power that will continue to drive the engine of innovation.

We will provide the framework for corporations, governments, and individuals to build a more inclusive future in every industry by leveraging Hispanic ingenuity, skill, and innovation for a better future for all. We will show Latinos how to take that road less traveled and how that will make all the difference.

—José Morey Caguas, Puerto Rico September 2021