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

As I said in my last post… Diversity means difference, and there is nothing more universally human than difference. Difference has consequences. Rolling a boulder up hill is very different from rolling the same boulder down hill because gravity has consequences. Similarly, thinking of and approaching difference as an obstacle, a problem to be fixed,   [Read More…]

Diversity means difference. Literally. Diversity means difference, and human beings are positively riddled with difference. One of the very few things that is universally true of all human beings is that each of us is in some way different. Difference is a natural part of the human experience, and it has consequences. If we are   [Read More…]

Of the many misperceptions regarding inclusion, the most common might be the idea that inclusion requires you to lower your standards – inclusion somehow means “anything goes.” Not only is there a healthy does of bias baked into this idea, it is the opposite of the truth. Inclusion is hard work, it is not the   [Read More…]

I consistently see organizations with unnecessary barriers slowing their D&I efforts down or blocking them altogether. Want to move forward? Here are six opportunities to consider. I will unpack each of these further in following posts: Clarify your foundational language and logic. This is the dead horse that I will apparently continue beating for the   [Read More…]

  I no longer remember where I first came across it, but I have kept some version of the above image in my journal for many years now. It is one of the lenses I apply to clarify my own thinking around what exactly I am doing and whether or not I am focusing my   [Read More…]

If ten lamps are in one place, each differs in form from another; yet you can’t distinguish whose radiance is whose when you focus on the light. In the field of spirit there is no division; no individuals exist. Sweet is the oneness of the Friend with His friends. Catch hold of spirit. Help this   [Read More…]

Hey! Felt like I should probably see if this thing still works! A few things that might be of interest to you… I am working on a series of videos, focused primarily on Inclusion. What is it, why does it matter, how does it happen, why does it not happen? …exploring those types of questions.   [Read More…]

Over the past year or so, I have had a number of conversations with female colleagues that work in and around the HR space regarding sexual harassment. It should not have surprised me, but it did, that so many of them had personally experienced harassment, that so many of them had experienced it numerous time,   [Read More…]

Ten years ago today, I was employed by a regional healthcare system, leading their efforts focused on increasing workforce diversity, having an inclusive organizational culture, and delivering culturally competent care. I did not know it at the time, but I was only a few short months from launching my own business. For a decade now,   [Read More…]

I benefit from a tremendous amount of privilege. I have, throughout my life, received the benefit of the doubt, from people, organizations, and institutions, including when I did not deserve it. When you are on the advantaged side of things, privilege is a terribly easy thing to not see. Two things seem to come quickly   [Read More…]