← The Amazing Authorities Podcast
The Amazing Authorities Podcast
The ROI of Inclusion — Kevin McShane on How Disability Hiring Drives Business Performance
00:22:23
Loading summary
Transcript44 lines
- [00:02]
A
Welcome to the Amazing Authorities Podcast, where game changers, visionaries and category leaders share how they built their brands, platforms and global influence. Your host is Mitch Carson, international speaker, media strategist, and creator of the Instant Authority system. If you're ready to learn from those who've done it and want to become the go to expert in your space, you're in the right place.
- [00:31]
B
Kevin McShane is here today from north of the United States. A long way, probably about 30 miles is all it is, in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Kevin, welcome to the Amazing Authorities Podcast.
- [00:47]
C
Mitch, it's so delighted, I'm so delighted to be with you and thanks so much for the invitation, my friend.
- [00:53]
B
Yeah, well, so tell us today, you, I mean, you're a podcaster yourself. I have to pay homage to somebody who's been doing this a long time. For more than 10 years, you've had your own podcast. Tell us what you cover in that.
- [01:09]
C
Yeah, so the podcast I currently host is called let's have this Conversation. I've hosted it for about five years now. I've got just a shy of 1200 episodes. And the idea of the podcast is to talk about conversations that, what I like to say, move the needle of progress forward. So whether it be in business, whether it be in entrepreneurship, lifestyle, sports, or anything in between, I'm interested in having conversations that move the needle of progress forward, my friend.
- [01:47]
B
Now, do you. Is it released once a week or more often?
- [01:51]
C
Yeah. So I try to release a podcast three times a week or depending on when I get guests to do the podcast, but it's usually about three times a week.
- [02:05]
B
Well, that's fantastic. And you, your, your, your mission, purpose, slash passion is helping people with disabilities. And how did you fall into that, into that space as a professional speaker?
- [02:23]
C
Yeah, I'll tell you. Because, you know, Mitch, I graduated college in 2010 and I graduated with a journalism degree. And when I graduated college, I went on 10 consecutive job interviews to become a sports reporter. And I heard a version of the same story 10 consecutive times. I would go into news directors offices and they would tell me I'm qualified, but because of my disability and the limited resources they had in the newsroom, they didn't want to hire me because they didn't think they could support me. So I did that 10 consecutive times. And then I kind of fell into speaking because I needed to make revenue and telling my story of perseverance. As I told you before we started this podcast, when I was nine years old, I found out that I wouldn't be able to walk for the duration of my life. And based on my employment history, it took me six and a half years out of college to get my first paying job. And ironically it was helping the government look into why and how they can hire folks with disabilities more rapidly. And that's how I got my start in speaking, my friend.
- [03:50]
B
And what kind of companies do you speak for? Or do they hire you on a fee base? And, and how does that work?
- [03:58]
C
Yeah, so I talked about virtual. I do virtual and in person speaking. So I talk a lot about the need to hire folks with disabilities through those organizations, technology organizations, organizations that prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion is a core mission of their sort of ethos as a company. I talked to state governments about the importance of devoting resources to hiring folks with disabilities. But I also talked to corporations and associations about the importance of valuing their people as their most important asset and how hiring folks with disabilities can be a competitive advantage for their company.
- [04:49]
B
And when you say advantages, how, how, how does that factor so. Because that might be one of the, the roadblocks for people to understand. So I want them to understand from your perspective.
- [05:01]
C
Yeah, so when I talk about roadblocks, I'm talking about the need for education on the positive benefits of hiring folks with disabilities, which is increased productivity, the lack of turnover when you hire and train staff and the fact that they show up to work and they outperform their non disabled counterparts by a clip of 90%. And hiring folks with disabilities can also increase your productivity from as much as 72 to 80%. So it's a lot of giving them the business case and education about why it's important to hire folk with disabilities and really bring them the practical reasoning behind the effort, my friend.
- [05:56]
B
You know, let's dig at some of those numbers you, you mentioned and I would tend to agree just without the data. But I'm sure you have the data to back up your claims. The performance of a person of non disability will be less because they might feel entitled. There might be some attitude components to it versus a disabled person might be more appreciative and take their job more seriously. They that's the initial thought. Is there any truth to that?
- [06:25]
C
That's exactly the crux of the stuff that I speak about making the business case as to why it's important to hire folks with disabilities. And the stat that I like to use is that when you make accommodations for people with disability new 16 for either 80% of the time it costs less than 500 bucks. As simple as the Use of a headset like I'm using tonight, or the use of assistant software or a headset. So it's all about making sure that the employers and organizations invest in the people and invest in the person rather than focusing on the disability. Because, you know, I that people with disabilities are natural problem solvers. They have to put together a puzzle of distinction each and every day. And they're natural innovators because they have to solve problems. So it's about making the business case, telling about the positive benefits of hiring and how it fits into an organizational puzzle.
- [07:41]
B
No, I like that a lot because, because of the disability, or let's just call it challenge. You know, it's just, it is what it is. And you have to look at things through a different lens than somebody who is not disabled or doesn't have some of these challenges. So when problems arise in a corporation, which always happens because we're people, I think your skill set, your tool set is greater. You have a separate type of hammer, you have a mallet and you have a ball peen hammer to handle where the nail needs to be hit. And sometimes it requires a rubber mallet. And I'm in total agreement with your position there.
- [08:25]
C
Yeah. You know, I always tell people that there are two ways to look at circumstance. Circumstances, they can either be something you learn from or an opportunity to, to teach someone something. And, you know, I believe that every person and every individual with a disability has a superpower. And it's about getting organizations to understand how the superpower of that person or individuals can bring a competitive edge or an asset to an organization. Because I truly believe, Mitch, you know, sort of motto that I live my life by is that inclusion is the gateway to independence. And I'll tell you a quick story. So when I started my fourth grade year of elementary school, I was sitting in a hospital conference room in London, Ontario, and the doctor had come in. Dr. Tim Caron was my orthopedic surgeon for all seven of my surgeries to sort of lengthen my abilities physically. And I came into this hospital conference room in August of 1998 and he told me, Mitch, that the surgery was a success and that all of my surgeries had been completed. But the last thing he told me was, because of your disability, you won't be able to walk without assistance for the duration of your life. And you know, when I went home the next day, I had to start my fourth grade year of elementary school and my middle school principal. And I tell the story aloud because I firmly believe that Dr. Krullen was the turning point of my life. And I didn't know this when I was nine, but I know it now. She had known why I was going to London the previous day and what I was going to learn. And after I told her the story, which she already knew, but it was a cathartic experience for me, she looked at me and she said, kevin, the only other artificial limitations on your life are the ones that you place on yourself personally. And you can do everything that everybody else does, but your portrait of success may look a little bit different. And that's sort of been the driving ethos of. Of my life up to this point, my friend.
- [10:56]
B
Why did you choose journalism? I'm also a undergraduate degree in journalism.
- [11:04]
C
Well, I appreciate that. I chose journalism because I believe that everyone has a particular story to tell, and I think engaging in conversation is the heartbeat to making progress is a society. So I chose journalism because I firmly believe that everybody has the right and should have the capacity to tell their stories. So I wanted to be an objective voice for inclusion and diversity when it came to storytelling, and that's why I got into journalism.
- [11:42]
B
Now you're an identical twin, or you mentioned you have a twin brother. Is he an identical twin?
- [11:47]
C
Yeah. Keith and I are a minute apart, my friend. We are certainly identical twins. Yeah.
- [11:52]
B
And what is his. What is his profession? Just to contrast with what you do.
- [11:58]
C
Yeah. So my brother is an assistant sports psychology professor for Missouri State University. So he talk. He talks. His specialty is talking about the coach athlete relationship. So my brother teaches sports psychology at Missouri State University.
- [12:20]
B
And does he support your initiatives? I mean, I know that most twins are close. Does he help with your. Your direction?
- [12:32]
C
Yeah. So, Mitch, we have a motto in our household that. That we always aim higher for bigger mountains in the. The sort of ethos of our families keep climbing to greater heights. And Keith is always someone who is pushing me to think forward and think beyond the limits of my capacity. So Keith has been a real big supporter. I also have two, one older and one younger sister, and they've always been supportive of me, trying to define my own journey and path to prosperity, for sure.
- [13:17]
B
Are they. Are they in Canada with you or are they in the US Your brother, it sounds like, defected. He went to the U.S. oh, my gosh. He left Canada.
- [13:28]
C
He did leave Canada because she saw something that. You know, the first lesson we learned in journalism school, Mitch, is you have to go where the jobs are. So.
- [13:41]
B
Right.
- [13:42]
C
My brother defected to the stage, but, yeah. So my baby sister lives in Vancouver and My other sister lives in. In Toronto. So we're all over the map, my friend.
- [13:56]
B
Well, she's in Toronto, which isn't too far from where you are. It's relatively close.
- [14:01]
C
Yes, about four hours away. Yeah.
- [14:04]
B
Okay. Well, that's not bad. And what drives you, Kevin?
- [14:11]
C
That's an interesting question. You know what, what drives me every day is, I believe that everyone in life is given a deck of 52 playing cards, and it's up to all of us to sort of shuffle them in the direction that we want to go. And I'll tell you a quick. So when I graduated college, the week after I graduated, I was asked to do a story about people with disabilities and social isolation. And the photographer who did the story and the reporter asked me to look out the window and think of one word that I wanted my future to be defined by. And the word I came up with was possibilities. So I always say, Mitch, that talent is an equally distributable commodity. But sometimes access to opportunities is not, my friend. So what drives me every day is building bridges of inclusion and acceptance of all people of all abilities, because I believe that collaboration is the key to progress and that we all have something to contribute positively in the world.
- [15:25]
B
So do you embrace you've got an identical twin brother? I'm going to ask you a personal question, but I think you can handle it, if you don't mind.
- [15:35]
C
Of course.
- [15:35]
B
Yeah. Because I've got the journalist background, and sometimes the questions could be probing. And my intention is to help people with asking you an important question because you. If you didn't have a journalism background, I probably wouldn't probe the way I'm going to probe with my next question, because I believe you can handle it. Do you feel that you got an unfair shake or do you feel that your disability has been a blessing?
- [16:01]
C
You know, I've been asked versions of this question before, and in the context of do you wish you had a normal life and a normal upbringing? And I, you know, I believe that people with disabilities bring a unique perspective to the world. You know, when I graduated college, I wasn't. When I was in college, I wasn't given an internship because no newsroom would take me on because of the disability. So what I did out of college was I worked for four consecutive years without a paycheck at a local television station. And through my advocacy, I covered 50 stories. And through that, I got my first paying job. So I graduated college on June 18th of 2010, and I got my first paying job on February 1st of 2016. So I believe that everyone has a story of excellence and destiny to live and hold. So I don't believe that I've been given an unfair shake. What I believe I've been given is a unique ability to put things into perspective and then use that to my advantage, if that makes sense.
- [17:32]
B
No, it makes sense. And the reason I ask it was somewhat to help people who are listening to this, who might have disabilities, like yourself, and how to overcome these challenges. You know, and sometimes even for my own story, I'm sober 41 years through alcoholics Anonymous, and I sometimes, when I was early in my addiction, I had a drug and alcohol problem because of my background, and I won't need to talk about it, but I had a less than perfect family background, and which might have been part of why I leaned into drugs and alcohol to mask my pain that I was experiencing. Because man is wired to avoid pain, seek pleasure, and the pleasure was getting drunk and. Or. Or loaded. When I came to July 1, 1984, is my sober date, when I decided I'm never going to do this again, and I haven't, I looked at my life and said, why me? My first reaction was, victim, why me? And then I had a revelation. I asked this question of my sponsor, someone I respected, that helped guide me through the recovery process, dealing with this malady. And he said, suck it up and deal with it. You can't change what's happened. You can only manage it the best way possible moving forward. You know, I'm. I'm actively involved in that. And the blessing behind that. I didn't aspire to become an alcoholic. Nobody does. Nobody aspires to have a disability. But it's how we deal with it defines us. Do you agree?
- [19:17]
C
Yeah. You know, one of the things that I say during my speeches is that there's no 50% off policy when you have a disability. It's not like you can go back to the birthing store and say, I want to return this disability. Right. So it's about making the best of your circumstances and really finding what your unique superpower is and running with it. Because, you know, I believe that we're all given the opportunity to run the race of impact, and it's up to all of us to sort of determine what that is. And, you know, the diversity of perspective is what makes us a fair and equal and a diverse society. So I believe that, you know, we're all given a set of circumstances, and then we have to make the best of the circumstances that we're given now, it's not always easy, but it defines what our unique sort of capability is as people. So.
- [20:25]
B
No, that's great. And you, you are a professional speaker. You've traveled throughout the United States and Canada with organizations, helping them lay out their, their policy about and how to deal with and, or hire people who, who have disabilities. Where can they get in touch with you, Kevin?
- [20:46]
C
Yeah. Yeah. So all of my information is on my website, which is KevinMishan speaks.com that can also connect with me on LinkedIn. And those are probably my two most active social media platforms. And I also host a podcast, as I mentioned, called let's have this Conversation. So they can find all of my stuff wherever they get their podcast, if they want to listen to the podcast. The podcast is also on YouTube as well.
- [21:17]
B
That's great, Kevin. You've been a great guest. Thank you for your time today. And I would love to invite you back in the future as a guest to illuminate the audience because I think your topic is necessary, needs to be addressed and not swept under the rug. And you, you, you've touched me and I think you've touched our listeners. And thank you for your time today.
- [21:41]
C
Mitch, you're so welcome and I thank you for the privilege of engaging in conversation, my friend. This was a great chat and I hope we get to do it again. Have a great day.
- [21:51]
A
Okay, you too. Thanks for tuning in to the amazing Authorities podcast. If today's episode inspired you, take a moment to subscribe, rate and leave a review. It helps more experts like you rise to the top for behind the scenes access and free resources to boost your authority. Head to mitchcarson. Com. Until next time, stay amazing.