- Image by Steve Rhodes via CrunchBase
A ConvenientTruth
Twitter is a great tool for making connections, spreading the word on services, exchanging thoughts, and sharing important information with various communities. Last week, China Gorman broke the news on Twitter that Al Gore will be the Keynote Speaker at the 2010 SHRM Annual Conference and Exposition in San Diego.
It wasn’t long before a dialogue broke out via Twitter about the merits of this choice.   What got me involved was a tweet from Martha Finney, who expressed extreme dismay at the choice.  I think it is safe to say that Martha feels disenfranchised as a member of SHRM as a direct result of the selection of Gore as the 2010 keynote speaker.  We engaged in a short, but very interesting dialogue about the issue. You can see her thoughts on why Gore shouldn’t be speaking at the 2010 SHRM conference here.Â
Why Al Gore should be speaking in front of SHRM
My take is that the selection of Al Gore as the keynote for 2010 is not significantly different than selecting Jack Welch as the SHRM keynote in 2009.  This looks like SHRM’s way of presenting different perspectives on business and leadership at their National Conference. Certainly, Jack Welch is the polar opposite of Al Gore when it comes to thinking about business, economics, and the environment.  Human Resources professionals need to be aware of the thinking that each represents, and possess an understanding of how issues like these can impact your business, and your brand. The presentation of these influential, yet oppositely aligned speakers would probably be more effective if you could see them speak at the same event, although speakers fees would surely make this approach cost prohibitive.
Ultimately, I think it is a good thing for SHRM to be choosing controversial and provocative keynote speakers.  They not only generate attention to the conference, the choice itself provokes dialogue and thought. HR Florida has presented Danny Glover and Edward James Olmos as conference speakers the last two years. They did this with the intent of presenting a different perspective on business and social issues for the attendees. These selections were not without controversy, but I think the idea is a sound one.
My biggest concern? That Gore will bring in yet another Powerpoint slide show like he did in his movie, and will just talk from that. I’d rather see him candid and open, like Jack Welch was in 2009. I am looking forward to seeing him, even though I don’t agree with his stance on every issue.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=001c3ab2-4c4d-46b3-bd6c-4e8950856db2)
Related Posts:
Related posts:
- Why Al Gore Shouldn’t Be This Year’s SHRM Annual Keynote Speaker Al Gore via last.fm An Inconvenient Choice? Last week,...
- Why SHRM should offer SHRM Connect for free! Image via Wikipedia Free: The Future of Business This...
- Jack Welch’s Shadow Image by Rampant Gian via Flickr Jack Welch and...
- Social Media and Human Resources This was going to be my own final wrap...
- Guest Post on HRH by China Gorman of SHRM Image by atp_tyreseus via Flickr China Gorman is guest...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
[New Post at The Human Race Horses] Why Al Gore Should Be This Year’s SHRM Annual Keynote Speaker http://toast.tw/100ieb
Well…SHRM in the past has brought in Republicans such as Gen. Colin Powell, Rudy Guiliani, as well as Steve Forbes this year. Why not a perspective from the Democratic side?
Twitter: MikeVanDervort
January 23, 2010 at 4:21 pm
@Matthew – a completely valid point. I think that the Forbes/Gore contrast is a good one, similar to my point about Welch/Gore.
I am dismayed at the number of HR professionals who are dismissing the thought of Al Gore speaking at SHRM this year. I have always thought that HR was a profession that was adept at looking at both sides of an argument, getting facts and deciding from there. I guess I am wrong, especially in the case of a very vocal minority. I give Martha Finney credit for giving better reasons than “he’s a liberal”, “SHRM is fostering a political agenda” or other lame excuses.
I think that a vast majority of the dissentors are forgetting that the Annual Conference is not just a place to sit and hear 3-4 keynoters, many of them who are not HR oriented. It is an opportunity to develop and gain professional skills and network with other professionals and vendors. If you are going just for the keynotes, I will not argue that you are wasting your money.
Open your mind and give him a chance, or use that time to visit the exihibition hall, or hell, sleep in.
Twitter: MikeVanDervort
January 23, 2010 at 5:26 pm
@jkjhr I have a theory. I think people are sick of politicians. Maybe SHRM have brought in somebody like Steve Jobs, or even whackier, a union guy like Andy Stern! That would have been an interesting dialogue!
Twitter: lruettimann
January 23, 2010 at 5:12 pm
I feel disenfranchised by people who aren’t in HR telling me who should and shouldn’t speak at SHRM.
That being said, I’m not in HR and I like the selection. Al Gore is a good guy and he’s a nice counterbalance to Steve Forbes.
.-= laurie ruettimann´s last blog ..Crazy is Constant =-.
Twitter: MikeVanDervort
January 23, 2010 at 5:20 pm
@Laurie – thanks for dropping by. I always love your visits!I like Forbes, although I hope he isn’t thinking about another Presidential run, and I really hope he doesn’t speak about the flat tax. We are all in Al’s debt since there would be no blogging if he hadn’t invented the Internet.
If you could choose the SHRM keynote speaker, who would you pick?
[New Post at The Human Race Horses] Why Al Gore Should Be This Year’s SHRM Annual Keynote Speaker http://www.thehumanracehorses.com/2010/0...
via Twitoaster
on HRH: Why Al Gore Should Be This Year’s SHRM Annual Keynote Speaker http://goo.gl/fb/Ytjg #uncategorized
@MarthaFinney – New posts on HRH: 2 Views on Al Gore and SHRM http://bit.ly/8fsrCc and http://bit.ly/7hXU56 #hr #shrm #greatHR
RT @MikeVanDervort: Why Al Gore Should Be This Year’s SHRM Annual Keynote Speaker http://bit.ly/8fsrCc
RT @tweetmeme : Why Al Gore Should Be This Year’s SHRM Annual Keynote Speaker http://www.thehumanracehorses.com/2010/0...
via Twitoaster
RT @MikeVanDervort: RT @tweetmeme : Why Al Gore Should Be This Year’s SHRM Annual Keynote Speaker http://www.thehumanracehorses.com/2010/0...
via Twitoaster
RT @tweetmeme : Why Al Gore Should Be This Year’s SHRM Annual Keynote Speaker http://bit.ly/8fsrCc
RT @MikeVanDervort: RT @tweetmeme : Why Al Gore Should Be This Year’s SHRM Annual Keynote Speaker http://bit.ly/8fsrCc
SHRM brought in Jack Welch last year, so why not bring in Al Gore this year? I don’t get the logic. They brought in Republicans before, so why not a Democrat? These all miss the point. Shouldn’t SHRM’s speakers be at least remotely linked to HR issues. At least the previous speakers (held up as Republicans) have run businesses or cities, something at least environmentally (pardon the pun) related to HR. Gore has never created anything, built anything or administered anything – he even had others to manage his Senatorial and Vice-Presidential staffs. He can’t relate to us and the thing that unites us (our professions) don’t relate to any of his interests. If SHRM is just looking for a name to generate excitement, why not bring in Lady Gaga instead?
Twitter: MikeVanDervort
February 10, 2010 at 3:05 pm
That’s a great idea. I will comment on why Lady Gaga should speak at SHRM tomorrow on the blog!