50/50: Rethinking the Past, Present & Future of Women and Power | 2019 Session
50/50 gives the 10,000 year history of gender + power — from setbacks and uprisings, to the bigger context of where we are today. Using her signature, cinematic-thought-essay style, Emmy-nominated filmmaker & founder of The Webby Awards Tiffany Shlain brings us on an electric ride to explore, where are we really on the greater arc of history of women and power? This session will kick-off by viewing this powerful 20 minute film. We will then discuss what it’s going to take to get to a #5050 world — not just politics and board rooms, but truly shifting the gender balance to be better for everyone. Read More
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ENCORE | Unstereotype: Tools to Un-Bias the Office | 2019 Session
The unconscious assumptions we all harbor about people who differ from us get in the way of good intentions; can bias our assessments of employees, candidates and clients; and ultimately influence decisions to hire, fire and promote. Leadership expert Deborah Pine will open the session with a brief presentation that challenges your assumptions, takes you outside of your comfort zone and addresses the systemic and institutional biases to which we are all vulnerable. Sharing their personal experiences and advice, a panel of experts will discuss systemic bias, how it’s perpetuated, and how you, as an individual can disrupt its mechanisms to “unstereotype” and un-bias your office! Read More
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Thinking in Bets: Lessons in Unemotional RiskTaking and Decision-Making | 2019 Session
Do you know when to cut your losses? In poker and throughout our lives, we are more successful when we maximize the time spent in favorable situations and minimize time in unfavorable ones. But many of us are too quick to quit when we are winning, or refuse to walk away from a losing game. Former World Series of Poker champion-n turned-business consultant Annie Duke lives with uncertainty, and has found that the key to long-term success is to think in bets. In this workshop, she examines how the interaction of many cognitive biases can cause us to miss good opportunities and continue on when the odds are against us. She shares strategies to avoid these decision-making pitfalls and learn to take a longer term view. By shifting perspective and embracing uncertainty, you will start accurately assessing what you know and what you don’t, improving your decision-making abilities in your career, and at home. Read More
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Make Your Meetings Matter | 2019 Session
Everyone attends them, most people hate them, and few are done well. In fact, studies show that poorly run meetings are a multi-billion-dollar problem in U.S. organizations. It’s time to stop throwing away time and money and learn how to manage meetings that matter. The ability to lead effective meetings from wherever you sit is an indispensable skill in every industry and function. In this high energy, interactive session you will learn essential tools and techniques you can immediately put into practice that will help you manage meetings that get results and are positive, engaging and efficient. Your next meeting participants will thank you! Read More
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Intrapreneurship: Pioneer Passion, Innovation and Vision | 2019 Session
Do you ever daydream about becoming an entrepreneur although you don’t want to leave the company you’re working for? The good news is: You don’t have to start your own business to have an entrepreneurial career! You can be an intrapreneur and act like an entrepreneur within your organization. Starting with a brief presentation and followed by an interactive panel discussion featuring some of today’s most successful entrepreneurs and corporate visionaries, you will learn how to take the fiery passion and creativity of entrepreneurs -and unleash them in your current position. Read More
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Unstereotype: Tools to Un-Bias the Office | 2019 Session
The unconscious assumptions we all harbor about people who differ from us get in the way of good intentions; , can bias our assessments of employees, candidates and clients; and ultimately influence decisions to hire, fire and promote. Diversity expert Dr. Tiffany Jana will open the session with a brief presentation that challenges your assumptions, takes you outside of your comfort zone and addresses the systemic and institutional biases to which we are all vulnerable. Sharing their personal experiences and advice, a panel of experts will discuss systemic bias, how it’s perpetuated, and how you, as an individual can disrupt its mechanisms to “unstereotype” and un-bias your office! Read More
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Is there room for all of US?
“The majority of the U.S. population will be people of color by 2050.”
“The majority of the U.S. population will be people of color by 2050.”By Stephanie Browne, VP of Talent Acquisition and Chief Diversity Officer for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
Did you know that the majority of the U.S. population will be people of color by 2050?
Companies who count the public as the main consumer of their products and services will need to be even more aware of the likes and dislikes of all their customers. They will need to be culturally competent to understand the different cultures that shape their consumers’ opinions on health, foods, travel and community. If everyone in your company has similar backgrounds and experiences, this can’t happen. It’s important to invest and embrace in an employee base that is generationally and racially diverse, and gender-balanced. You must create a culture that fosters curiosity and respect for all ideas, allows for continuous learning and is free of bias that hinders innovation. Read More
3 People Who Inspire Me Now
Mary-Jo Gagliardi: “Spring is often viewed as a time for growth and rebirth. What will you focus your attention on this season?”
Mary-Jo Gagliardi: “Spring is often viewed as a time for growth and rebirth. What will you focus your attention on this season?”Mary-Jo Gagliardi is senior vice president of Human Resources and leads Human Resources for Wells Fargo Capital Finance, a global $45 billion lending division within Wells Fargo.
Spring is often viewed as a time for growth and rebirth. What will you focus your attention on this season? My plan is to water the flowers—not the weeds—and renew my personal commitment to a growth mindset. I will give my time and attention to activities that help me see my surroundings with new eyes and deepen the human connections in my life. Read More
Cut the Complexity—and Do More Valuable Work
Meetings, overflowing email inboxes, procedures and policies are all adding complexity to our jobs, hurting our productivity and, most importantly, blocking us from doing the work that has meaning to us.
“Typically, we’re not [even] doing our best thinking at work because we’re so busy doing stuff,” says Lisa Bodell, founder and CEO of futurethink and author of Why Simple Wins.
Here are five ways Bodell suggests simplifying work: Read More
4 Ways You Can Help Grow Female Representation in STEM Organizations
By Irene Lam, VP, Product Development, Johnson Controls, and Melissa Jean, Product Marketing Specialist, Johnson Controls
Last year, women made strides in the professional world. We showed that we have a strong collective voice that can create palpable change across the nation. That momentum will no doubt continue in 2019, and will hopefully extend into previously male-dominated spaces, such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Businesses in the STEM sphere are in need of greater female representation to succeed in this modern era. Read More