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KYLE EWING: I mean, who doesn't love a good story?
They're fun to tell.
They're fun to hear.
I think if we learned anything over the last couple hours,
we learned that storytelling's really empowering.
It connects us to other people.
It helps us relate to one another on a level that you
might not see at first glance.
At a company like Google, a data-driven company,
storytelling really helps us bring some meaning to numbers.
It helps us actually add some texture, some color to the work
that we do, and really give meaning to all of those numbers
that we make sure we have at the end of a program
or at the end of an event.
As a director in people operations,
I lead a 300-person global team.
We've spent the better part of a year
now really encouraging folks to use the power of storytelling
to connect not only to the work that they're
doing as individuals or as an organization,
but to connect to each other, and to really help others
see the impact of their work through these stories.
If you take a step back and you think
about the impact you're having on somebody's life,
you take the time to compile that story,
and then you actually share that story,
it's going to help bring others into the work that you're doing
and ultimately, make for a much larger impact.
But I'm want to go a little bit of a step
further because for me personally,
I've found, through this journey of storytelling,
that it's actually opened a lot of doors for me.
And I'll explain a little more about that.
I think last year was a tough one for a lot of people.
And I know on my team, there were
folks that were really grappling with the impact
of some senseless tragedies happening in the world.
And some folks on my team started sharing their stories
with me, and just started sharing with me
what it felt like to be black, to be gay, to be scared,
to be angry, to be sad.
And it got me really thinking a lot
about inclusion, what it meant to be an ally, what
it meant to be a leader.
As the leader in any organization,
you have one job, people.
Your people.
To make them the most successful they can be.
To make them feel heard.
To make them feel seen.
To make them feel included.
So I took a few days and I attended the Black Googler
Network trip in Washington DC.
I was one of two white Googlers on the trip.
We spent three days, 150 people--
community service, small business consulting
on AdWords and other Google products,
door-to-door voter registration, some CS education work.
The trip was incredible.
The experience blew me away.
And it changed me.
It showed me the power of community.
I was surprised to hear how much my attendance and my support
meant to a lot of my colleagues as well.
And when I think about that specific moment
and kind of what even led to the trip, it was kind of scary.
It was a little daunting.
And there were times it was really uncomfortable.
But I'm so glad that I said yes to that opportunity.
And it has opened quite a few doors for me.
It connected me to this amazing community
that I hadn't had a chance to really be a part of
or get to know prior.
It led me to accept an invitation I was so honored
to receive, which was to be the executive sponsor of the San
Francisco chapter of the Black Googler Network.
And it also led me recently to accept a new role, where
I'm actually helping Google really lead
the way in being the most inclusive culture that there
is.
And to think that none of that would
have happened if a few brave souls hadn't
shared their stories with me.
So what I want you all to take away from the last two hours
is that people want to hear your story.
And I hope that now you've got the tools to really
be able to think about your story, develop your story,
share your story, say yes, and, use, design, build on ideas,
and always be there--
take good care of yourself and take good care of each other.
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