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

originally posted in 2011… I recently participated in a panel discussion about leadership.  The conversation was specifically focused on a leaders role in creating an inclusive organizational culture, and the whole thing just made me very scratchy. I tried to not make a big stink during the conversation, but I felt that we were way   [Read More…]

Is there anything in the wild world of work that elicits more eye-rolling, arm-crossing, sighing for effect, air quotes, and sphincter-puckering than diversity training? There is a real fire and ice dynamic to my work. About half of my speaking engagements are for conferences and similar kinds of events. These audiences are generally forward leaning,   [Read More…]

There has been a great deal of conversation over the past couple decades around the so-called war for talent. Books and whitepapers have been written. Hours have been billed and speeches have been given. Talent certainly matters, and there is certainly competition for talent, but what remains unaddressed inside most organizations is the war on   [Read More…]

This is not a finished slide deck (there really is no such thing in my world) but it is getting close, and I will post the complete deck after my session. There is a handout as well. If you are going to be in Orlando this coming week, I would love to connect! Be good   [Read More…]

Is it true that “birds of a feather flock together?” Apparently so, and in the 1950s, a couple of scientist gave this tendency a name; homophily. In “Friendship as a Social Process: A Substantive and Methodological Analysis” (1954), Lazarsfeld and Merton looked at both status homophily and value homophily. Status homophily describes individuals with similar social status characteristics that are   [Read More…]

The Forum on Workplace Inclusion is one of my favorite D&I conferences, I highly recommend it (March 17-19, 2015!). At the 2014 conference I facilitated a pre-conference session focused on the future. It was a very interactive workshop, and the participants were tasked with coming up with a vision of the future (I think we   [Read More…]

I have clearly not gotten much blogging done this year, but I have been productive in other ways. I have been on the road spreading the good word, and trying to mix things up a bit. One recent highlight was delivering the opening keynote for the HR West conference, where I threw in both a   [Read More…]

I am attending and speaking at one of my favorite diversity conferences this week, and on the trip here I overheard a conversation in the airport among 3 co-workers who were taking one of their peers to task, I mean they are letting her have it! Unfortunately for her, and for the organization that these   [Read More…]

My work has been focused on diversity and inclusion from the beginning, and over the past 2-3 years, authenticity has become my third primary focus. There are a number of reasons for this. 1- I am trying to fill my buzzword bingo card. 2- My own personal experience tells me that authenticity is hard work   [Read More…]

I am going to do some webinars. It has been on my list of things to do for a long time, but I just had not set aside the time to try and figure out the best way to go about doing it. I still have not set aside the time to do that, but   [Read More…]