The Courage to Collide

Listen

Aaron Walton ’83 wants to shift the approach to diversity in the workplace, and he’s starting with his own company.

Companies that are more gender-diverse are 15 percent more likely to outperform their competitors, according to a McKinsey & Company study. Statistics for ethnically diverse companies are even more striking, as they are 35 percent more likely to outperform peers.

“We’re living in this era of intersections,” Walton said. “When you surround yourself with people who aren’t like you, the IQ of the group becomes stronger and bigger.”

Be Yourself, and Worry About Nothing Else

Walton is leading disruption as CEO of marketing and advertising firm Walton Isaacson. Since founding the company in 2005, Walton has built a team of employees from all backgrounds.

“We believe fundamentally, that the world is made stronger and more powerful through the lens of diversity,” he said. “We were very purposeful in the types of people we were hiring . . . we genuinely believed, if we had diverse views around the table, we would ultimately get new ways of thinking.”

Walton asks all of his employees to be themselves, which he says leads to higher productivity and more opportunities for innovation.

“The second that they stop worrying about any of the things that make them feel like they can’t be themselves, they take all of that energy and start focusing in on the things that we need to help make our clients’ businesses go forward,” Walton said.

Walton, who was the College’s first black Student Government Association president, traces his inspiration back to the endeavors of civil rights activist Bayard Rustin, known for introducing Martin Luther King Jr. to Mahatma Gandhi and helping King understand passive resistance.

Rustin was also responsible for orchestrating the March on Washington, where King delivered his “I Have A Dream” speech.

“I wanted to be that guy that helped move things forward,” Walton said, “challenging the status quo in a way that was a little bit disruptive, but respectful.”

A Different Sense of Workplace Diversity

In building his company, Walton has remained true to what he has learned in Simon Sinek’s book, Start With Why.

“One of the things he talks about: in companies that are successful, everyone from the CEO down to the receptionist understood exactly why they were there,” Walton said. “They understood their purpose, their mission.”

He also challenged the audience to stop thinking about diversity and inclusion in a traditional sense.

“We have to have the courage and collide, to go out and try something that we’ve never done before,” he said.

Posted in Community, Entrepreneurial Leadership

More from Entrepreneurial Leadership »

Latest Stories

a row of electricity meters
The Price of Power: What’s Driving Rising Electricity Rates? Electricity rates have been steadily increasing. Ryan Davies, a Babson professor of finance, unpacks the many reasons for that, including the massive data centers popping up across the country.
By
John Crawford
Senior Journalist
John Crawford
A writer for Babson Thought & Action and the Babson Magazine, John Crawford has been telling the College’s entrepreneurial story for more than 15 years. Assignments for Babson have taken him from Rwanda to El Salvador, from the sweet-smelling factory of a Pennsylvania candy maker, to the stately Atlanta headquarters of an NFL owner, to the bustling office of a New York City fashion designer. Beyond his work for Babson, he has written articles and essays for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Notre Dame Magazine, The Good Men Project, and other publications. He can be found on Twitter, @crawfordwriter, where he tweets about climate change.
September 30, 2025

Posted in Insights

The Babson community and mascot celebrate at the Roger Babson statue last year
No. 2 Again: Wall Street Journal Ranks Babson the No. 2 Best College for the Second Year in a Row For the second year in a row, The Wall Street Journal ranked Babson as the No. 2 Best College in the United States, lauding the College for its impressive impact on student outcomes.
By
Eric Beato
Editor / Writer
Eric Beato
Eric Beato is the Editor of Babson Thought & Action and Babson Magazine. A native of Chicago and a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, Eric has worked as an editor and writer at newspapers across the country, including the Chicago Sun-Times and Boston Herald. Eric joined Babson College in 2019 after working as the communications director for a private educational travel company and as the managing editor of six regional sports publications.
September 29, 2025

Posted in Community, Entrepreneurial Leadership, Insights, Outcomes

First row (left to right): Laura Bautista ’29, Ezel Bhatty ’29, Sydney Fojas ’29; Second row (left to right): Lucas Lebrija ’29, Tia Malhotra ’29, Remy Witt ’29
Class of 2029 Blank Leadership Scholars Bring Excitement to Campus The Class of 2029 Blank Leadership Scholars arrive at Babson equipped with entrepreneurial spirit and social impact experience, from launching nonprofits and tech solutions to championing environmental education.
By
Melissa Savignano
Writer
Melissa Savignano
Melissa Savignano, a content marketing manager at Babson College, has worked in higher education for almost a decade, where she tells authentic, compelling campus and community stories. Before Babson, she managed communications for Boston University’s largest college, the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences. She previously worked in client relations, helping brands of various sizes launch content marketing strategies and storytelling initiatives. When not at work, you will find her in the city of Boston, probably at the movie theater.
September 25, 2025

Posted in Community