It’s this Xerox equation -- opportunity plus hard work -- that has resulted in the creation of an inclusive, robust, diverse workforce. When you’ve been at it as long as we have, you build a pretty strong bench of high potential professionals who represent the real world: black, white, Hispanic, Asian, male, female from different religions and with different beliefs. What they all have in common are strong skills, a solid work ethic, commitment and a will to win.

At Xerox, our focus is on delivering positive results. We empower our people to figure out the best way they can do their best work -- sometimes that’s in the office, on a plane, or in their homes.

Some people call it a family-friendly culture. I just call it the way we work at Xerox. I often wonder if all businesses understand just how practical it is to have a diverse workforce? Can you imagine if any organization limited its pool of resources to any one group?

They would be doomed to failure. And so is any business that doesn’t think the same way. So the question becomes how do we build and celebrate and nurture an inclusive corporate culture?

I believe the short answer is that you do it the old-fashioned way: you earn it. You stick to it. And most importantly, you treat it not as something “nice-to-do” but as a business imperative.

Learn To Love Change

Each step of our lives has been a leaning experience. It’s the advice you learn along that path that can lead to change. So -- if I may-- let me share some advice that I have learned.

First, learn to love change and think of it as an adventure. The only thing I can predict about your lives with any certainty is that change will be a constant.

Back in 1980 when I began my Xerox career, there were no cell phones. The Internet, let alone the BlackBerry and the iPhone, were not even the stuff of dreams. Chinese capitalism and the fall of the Soviet Union were unimaginable. Genetics was in its infancy. Even as recently as a few years ago, the thought of a global economic melt-down was beyond comprehension.

I can’t pretend to know how your world will change, but I know it will and at a pace that will continue to increase more and more rapidly. You can’t stop it. Learn to love it. Make it your ally.

Second, have fun -- especially at work. Enjoy life. Choose a job that gives you pleasure and fulfillment. Surround yourselves with people who make you laugh.

This old notion that work is drudgery is nonsense. Most days -- even back when Xerox was under siege -- I could not wait to get to the office. I love my work -- and you should too. I learned this from one of my mentors -- Vernon Jordan. He was a civil rights leader during the 1960s and has become a confidant to Presidents of the United States and a long list of global leaders. Google him and you’ll find 200,000 entries. He is a mover and shaker and he always has a ready smile, a good story and the time to chat. He has fun doing what he does and so should you.

I know that people are more likely to be successful if they have a passion for what they do. Make yourself a promise today. If down the road, you find that your career is not fun, revert to my first piece of advice: change!