Based in Washington DC, provides Recruiting and Consulting for Associations and Nonprofit Organizations

If you’re not part of the solution, then you’re part of the problem.

To many people, that simple statement once may have been a throw-away line – a glib cliché for the socially conscious. But for anyone watching the pain and frustration and anger behind the extensive civil unrest sweeping our nation and the entire world, it no longer is a cliché – or even debatable.

We all have to be part of the solution, if we are ever to deal effectively with the painful issues of injustice, prejudice and racism that are roiling our world. It means each of us must examine our consciousness – our soul – and ask what we can do to begin the process of change, not just in what we do day-to-day, but in how we think and what we demand of each other. What can I do to help assure I don’t contribute to injustice, prejudice and racism – or to perpetuate even the perception that I will tolerate them in others?

We must answer those questions honestly. We must give up old and established notions we may already hold and be prepared to think with a new and candid perspective – one sensitive as never before to the day-to-day realities that confront the persecuted, the marginalized, the forgotten, the powerless and those left almost without hope.

Those of us in the executive search profession have a significant role to play in that process. Not just in what we do as individuals, either. We help organizations find the men and women they need to succeed, and to thrive. It’s our job – our responsibility – to look at that work with careful consideration of the needs of everyone around us. It means giving equal thought and consideration to everyone with the ambition to use their skills and personal values to fulfill their potential, free from blind but pernicious pre-conceptions. We can’t be part of the problem, even inadvertently. We must be part of the solution.

We pledge that Vetted Solutions will do its best to be part of the solution. And we call upon all our colleagues in this profession to do the same. As we work to address the concerns and worries and fears so obvious in our streets today, let’s all pledge not just to be part of the solution. Let’s all do what we can to lead the solution – in our beliefs, in our words, and in our actions.

Thank you for taking time to let us share our thoughts with you at this critical time in our history. And thank you in advance for all you can do to help be part of the solution.