Is cultural diversity all it's cracked up to be? It sounds like a good idea, but so did A-line flares. It turns out that there are some advantages and some tradeoffs to be made.

When you're hiring people into the firm, or choosing your team for a project, you have a basic choice to make.

• Should I hire people exactly like me?
• Should I hire people who are nothing like me?

Monoculture

If you hire people who are exactly like you, you are going to have a whale of a time. Everyone knows exactly how you think, you don't disagree often about what to do, you don't have to bend yourself to communicate well, and you can act cohesively as a team. The bad news is that you have a monoculture, and that can mean that you make some very big mistakes because noone ever disagreed with you.

Imagine you have the dumbest idea imaginable. If you've hired in a bunch of people who agree with you all the time, noone is there to stop you.

Diverse culture

In House 4x04, House fires ones of his team because they think too alike. That's because he's trying to create a diverse culture.

In a diverse culture, you are going to have the biggest pain in the ass managing people day to day. You'll have geeks, the intense, the lazy, the cool crowd, the shy, the dominant, the technophobic - all trying to move in the same direction. As you talk to each one, you will have to try to bend yourself to match their desires and emotions, in a different direction each time. The good news is that because you all argue so much, you may end up closer to a well rounded solution with consideration from all sorts of different people.

Another shock conclusion

... neither is better. You need to balance between the two. Too much conflict will make it hard to align people in the same direction. Too little, and you leave yourself open to making huge mistakes that noone will spot.

Extend the circle

You are relying on your people for work, sure, but also their advice and opinion. That's one of the benefits of having a diverse culture at work. But - bear in mind that your cadre of advisers might include people outside of work. Your other half. Your mum. The lady who serves you at the local Starbucks. They might not have the same level of detailed knowledge that your team do, but they sure as heck bring an outside perspective. Use them!