Creating diverse workforces, with Barfield Revenue Consulting’s Will Barfield

Companies hire Will Barfield to fill positions with diverse, qualified employees, not only white men like him. He says that, by being intentional in making sure candidates from all backgrounds are considered, his clients have inclusive and effective teams. In this episode, Will and Donald discuss why having these teams—and surrounding yourself with individuals different from you—is so important and beneficial to personal and professional growth.

Transcript

Donald Thompson: Welcome to the Donald Thompson Podcast. Today, I have a good friend of mine, Mr. Will Barfield, founder and CEO of Barfield Revenue Consulting. Will, thanks for doing this. Welcome. 

Will Barfield: Oh, it’s awesome to see you, Donald. Thank you so much for the invitation. 

Donald Thompson: One of the things, Will, I like to do for our audience is just slow down a little bit before we talk business and stuff and let our audience get to know you. So, tell us a little bit about where you grew up, where are you from? Married? Single? Kids? Just give us a little bit about Will Barfield’s story and then we’ll dig into some other topics. 

Will Barfield: Absolutely. So, both my wife and I, native North Carolinians. We’re from here. I got to Raleigh in ’91. And finished high school in this area and then went to college at UNC. Amy went to Meredith. And so, but we met far after college. We’ve got three daughters. So, two of them are out of the house and, you know, starting their lives and going to school and working and figuring things out.

And then we have, our youngest is getting ready to turn 11 and she’s doing virtual fifth grade here from home. But you know, I just– I’ve been in North Carolina my entire life; spent most of my formative years in Charlotte. And then moved up here from Mecklenburg County in the early nineties to finish high school and college. And I’m very, very fortunate. All of our family lives within two hours drive-distance. And it’s just, we’re, we’re truly blessed in that way.

Donald Thompson: One of the things I want to get to when we think about the business landscape in North Carolina, you’ve seen the triangle grow. I mean, now we’re a hotspot. Now we’re on top 10 lists and different things and all these things. What do you think makes Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill an appetizing environment, right? For businesses to grow and thrive? As you’ve seen us develop over the years in this ecosystem?

Full Episode Transcript

The Donald Thompson Podcast is hosted by Walk West CEO, The Diversity Movement CEO, mentor, investor, and Diversity and Inclusion Consultant Donald Thompson.

Music for this episode provided by Jensen Reed from his song, “You Can’t Stop Me”.

The Donald Thompson Podcast is edited and produced by Earfluence. For more on how to engage your community or build your personal brand through podcasting, visit Earfluence.com.

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