Joe Gerstandt | keynote speaker, freedom fighter, freak-flag flier

I have never been the most consistent blogger, but I have not posted anything here since late August, and the primary reason for that is that I have been angry. Every time I have sat down to try and write something to post here, it has turned into an angry rant. Ferguson. Eric Garner. Out of touch institutions. Out of touch leaders. Race and gender in tech / Silicon Valley. The things that some of our elected leaders say. The things that some people I really like say. I seem to have been surrounded over the past few months by things that make me angry.

Anger can be a perfectly appropriate response to things in the world, and I don’t have anything against a good angry rant, but since there is so much of it to be found on the internet (I sometimes think that the internet is built of bacon, angry ranting, spam and cat pictures) I did not feel like there was much value in adding more of the same.

I think a big part of what has made me angry is that despite so many bad outcomes, a lot of folks (smart people with educations and experience and titles and authority) deny (in fact aggressively argue) that there is, in fact, anything wrong. They seem to be offended by the idea that we are inherently flawed as human beings, groups of human beings, institutions and societies of human beings and have to work really hard at being better. I cannot for the life of me understand that. It is bewildering to me, and I find myself completely recalibrating my perception of who we are and where we are.

I am in Silicon Valley as I write this and while none of the things that I am angry about have been fixed (or even completely acknowledged), I am not angry right now…though in all honesty, it is still early and I have a day of air travel ahead of me.

I feel kind of happy right now. I was part of an awards ceremony yesterday for some of the “Best and Brightest” places to work in the Bay area, and I was able to talk to some folks that really love their job. That always makes me happy. As I said in my keynote, it is no trivial thing to create a great work experience. Work can be a righteous thing, but for many it is not and that has consequences. It is no small thing to provide a work experience that is safe and healthy and affirming, it has a real impact on the lives of those employees and also on the families and space and places that they are a part of.

I also got an e-mail from a friend who has just relocated to the Bay area and is working to help connect more diverse candidates to tech job opportunities. She is not doing this because she thinks it will make her rich or famous, but because she knows it is the right thing to do. This also makes me happy. She is working with GapJumpers and I really like what I know about their approach to talent.

She also brought my attention to the newest issue of Fast Company, specifically the story by J.J. McCorvey on race in Silicon Valley. This story makes me very happy. It is an important story, but what most makes me happy is that it is so well done.

There are still things to be angry about, still work to be done. There are also things to appreciate, there is good work being done.

Be good to each other.