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

Spent the last week at the lake with the family.  Played hard, slept hard, ate a lot of sunflower seeds.  It was a delightful break in the action, but I am officially back to work.  I am currently in Texas, and will soon be talking to the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants.  Then it   [Read More…]

Empathy gets a bad rap. People talk about empathy as if it is not serious business…as if it is this soft, fuzzy, cuddly, lets all hug and be nice to each other kind of a thing…and it is not that kind of a thing at all. Empathy is actually pretty bad ass. It requires a   [Read More…]

In an effort to get a little leaner and meaner, I have recently started running again.  This weekend we went to visit my parents on the family farm, and I got out for a run while we were there.  I ran four miles around the square “section” that they live on and while doing so   [Read More…]

Do stuff. Be clenched, curious. Not waiting for inspiration’s shove or society’s kiss on your forehead. Pay attention. It’s all about paying attention. Attention is vitality. It connects you with others. It makes you eager. Stay eager. -Susan Sontag   Discontent is the first necessity of progress. -Thomas Edison   Inquiry is fatal to certainty.   [Read More…]

I like to talk about the importance of flying your freak flag.  It is a message which seems to resonate and it is largely about authenticity…being who you truly are…making your unique contribution.  One of the questions that I always ask people to reflect on is “do you know what you are here for?”  I   [Read More…]

So much for the whole anonymous thing… I am amazed by the success of Alcoholics Anonymous.  Lots of people (myself included) love to talk about the cool stuff happening inside organizations like Zappos, and Southwest Airlines, and IDEO, and for good reason.  Those companies are doing very cool things and reaping the rewards. But for   [Read More…]

Call it a knowledge economy.  Call it an information economy.  Call it an innovation economy.  Call it an idea economy a technology economy or a fruit salad with a kick stand.  Call it what you will, social process is the engine that drives it. Sharing and interpreting information, good decision making, problem solving, ideation and   [Read More…]

People are strange. For real. I love them and I hate them and they are just out of their mind as a general rule and truly bizarre creatures. One unique aspect of my job in that people are generally not happy to see me.   A lot of what I do consists of designing and delivering   [Read More…]

Organizational and community inclusion is not simply about what you do not do, though that is often what I hear about.  When talking about issues related to diversity and inclusion, people regularly tell me about how they do not discriminate, do not judge, do not exclude, etc.  Admirable aspirations certainly, and I hope that we   [Read More…]

Inclusion is not about being politically correct…I would say that political correctness actually gets in the way of inclusion.  Inclusion is not about giving everyone a trophy or about a place where everybody is best friends with everybody else.  I think that these are dismissive and lazy ideas regarding inclusion.  Inclusion is also not about   [Read More…]