Inviting Innovation

At this year’s Asian American Engineer of the Year (AAEoY) Conference in Dallas, Texas, I had the honor of celebrating nearly 20 award recipients. In addition to recognizing Asian Americans who are leading in the areas of engineering and technology, following the event I had a chance to pause and reflect about the importance of inviting and including diverse perspectives into our conversation, in order to grow.

As an Asian American whose parents immigrated to the U.S., I don’t remember there being an AAEOY growing up. I wish there had been a space like AAEOY where I could sit in a room, surrounded by my community, providing role model after role model of what leadership is, and what is possible in this great country. It is amazing to see innovation at work. I am also inspired by the people at AAEOY of other backgrounds, who come to learn more about cultures outside of their own. This, to me is critical. We have to invite everyone in. 

I am privileged to be part of a global enterprise with a workforce of more than 150,000 diverse team members in 65 countries. Today we are guided by Boeing’s vision to connect, protect, explore and inspire; but from our very first days as a fledgling airplane company our drive has always been to innovate.

More than a hundred years ago, a 17-year-old named Wong Tsoo came to the United States from China to study aeronautics. After graduating from MIT in 1916, Tsoo was invited by Boeing to join our enterprise, where he went on to design our first commercially successful aircraft, the Model C seaplane. That spark gave Boeing what it needed to gain a foothold and grow, and his further contributions throughout his career helped shape the aerospace industry. You can learn more about him here.

Although I can’t speak to what drew Tsoo to Boeing, I like to think I know what drew Boeing to him: Tsoo was a pioneer and an innovator. Boeing has always been a company that seeks out, nurtures and thrives on innovation that comes from diversity of thought, experience and perspective. We invite innovation.

I am inspired by Tsoo’s experience and achievements. I find his story empowering and am inspired to live up to his legacy. I also see a piece of his story in so many of my Boeing colleagues from around the world. The part of the business I lead, Boeing Research and Technology, is responsible for driving technical innovation across the company. Working together across 11 global research centers, 6 of which are international, I see the power of inviting more people in every day. Diversity is a vital strength to Boeing, or to any organization.

Today, I recognize that innovation happens everywhere, every day; it will happen whether we participate in it or not. It will happen when supported by organizations like AAEOY or by the creative kid working in their garage on something they are passionate about. But to be successful at innovation we have to look to other perspectives and invite them in. When we invite innovators from backgrounds, cultures and contexts other than our own into our journey, we have no choice but to grow.

So who would I invite in today? Today I would invite more women to join the fields of engineering and technology. I would invite more young people with big ideas and dreams. I would invite anyone who doesn’t see themselves in their vision of a “standard innovator” or a “standard engineer.” In my experience, there is no such thing as standard. Or more than that: it’s what exists outside of the standard that changes history.