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The Best Alternative to Al Gore (with benefits)
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As we discussed here a couple of weeks back, SHRM has selected Al Gore to be the keynote speaker at their 2010 National Conference in San Diego. It is my guess that a lot of people would be the keynote speaker for a fee and paid trip to San Diego. Some people like the choice of Gore and some don’t think it was a good pick at all, but that is not what I want to write about.
I want to discuss the brilliant speaker idea suggested by Kenneth R Schelper in his comment on the blog a few days ago. Here is what Ken had to say about the choice of Gore:
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?
Why not indeed? After all, according to her web site, Lady Gaga is multi-talented, a cultural icon, highly adept in both business and social media, seems to have built an excellent team around herself, and most of important of all – she would be able to fill in as he entertainment as well. Much more edgy and modern than Hall and Oates!
Let me know what you think!
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[New Post at The Human Race Horses] Why Lady Gaga should be the 2010 Keynote speaker for SHRM http://www.thehumanracehorses.com/2010/0...
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on HRH: Why Lady Gaga should be the 2010 Keynote speaker for #SHRM http://goo.gl/fb/tif1U #uncategorized #algore
Gaga ooh lala RT @MikeVanDervort Why Lady Gaga should be the 2010 Keynote speaker for SHRM http://bit.ly/cS3FbT
Why Lady Gaga should be the 2010 Keynote speaker for SHRM http://bit.ly/9Wz4TU
@FastCompany named her to Top 100 Creatives RT @MikeVanDervort: Why Lady Gaga should be 2010 Keynote speaker for SHRM http://bit.ly/9Wz4TU
Why Lady Gaga should be the 2010 Keynote speaker for SHRM http://shrten.com/00fn
Mike,
Well, I don’t know if she’d be a good “fit” for SHRM, but Fast Company named her to the #1 spot of its Top 100 Most Creative people in business:
http://www.fastcompany.com/100/2010
It would definitely shake things up a bit.
Twitter: MikeVanDervort
May 29, 2010 at 5:22 pm
She probably wouldn’t be a good fit for SHRM. Maybe ERE can book her!
LOL! RT @luckypenny: Gaga ooh lala RT @MikeVanDervort Why Lady Gaga should be the 2010 Keynote speaker for SHRM http://bit.ly/cS3FbT
Why Lady Gaga should be the 2010 Keynote speaker for SHRM http://bit.ly/9Wz4TU
Why Lady Gaga should be the 2010 Keynote speaker for SHRM http://shrten.com/00fn
@MarthaFinney Why Lady Gaga should be the 2010 Keynote speaker for SHRM http://bit.ly/cS3FbT #hr #shrm
@MarthaFinney Why Lady Gaga should be the 2010 Keynote speaker for SHRM http://www.thehumanracehorses.com/2010/0... #hr #shrm
RT @MikeVanDervort: @MarthaFinney Why Lady Gaga should be the 2010 Keynote speaker for SHRM http://www.thehumanracehorses.com/2010/0... #hr #shrm
RT @MikeVanDervort: @MarthaFinney Why Lady Gaga should be the 2010 Keynote speaker for SHRM http://bit.ly/cS3FbT #hr #shrm
Mike, when are we going to stop beating this dead horse. Al Gore is going to speak, case closed. I am not a “fan” of his but let him speak. Also, the “he isn’t HR” argument doesn’t hold water. What did Bill Cosby, Lance Armstrong, Madeline Albright, etc. have to do with HR? All great speakers but not sure they have a clue on HR. And the “Gore didn’t create anything” argument, didn’t Steve Forbes get what he has from his dad, Malcom Forbes?
For the record, I am not a fan of Al Gore nor am I a SHRM “yes man”.
Twitter: MikeVanDervort
May 30, 2010 at 9:10 am
Good morning John – for me, I probably won’t write about it again until the end of the month, when I see him speak – if I go see him speak. I might be at the beach instead. It IS San Diego after all.
Why write this now, you might ask?
I had this blog post idea stuck in draft for months, and I am cleaning things out of virtual drawers this weekend.
Someone suggested the idea of letting others complete our unfinished blog posts on Twitter the other day, and this one was “optioned” by my friend Alicia Arenas @AliciaSanera, but when I looked at it again, I realized I could complete it with a few words, and it is an excellent holiday weekend for “throw-away” content, and there you have it.
Otherwise, SHRM is going with Gore, check!
Never have seen you as a yes man for anyone, btw!
RT @MikeVanDervort Why Lady Gaga should be the 2010 Keynote speaker for SHRM http://bit.ly/cS3FbT
Twitter: lruettimann
May 30, 2010 at 7:02 pm
This is so dumb. Al Gore isn\’t there because of Jack Welch. He\’s there because he is Al Fvcking Gore, the former VP of the United States. Also, it\’s amazing that HR professionals will be able to talk about relevant news and business issues with an environmental leader. You can\’t ask for better timing on the part of SHRM.
Twitter: MikeVanDervort
May 31, 2010 at 8:49 am
@Laurie
I suspect that when all is said and done, Al Fvcking Gore will give a fine speech that we won’t remember very much of, unless he is really fired up and topical about the Gulf. That could make his appearance fiery and newsworthy.
Otherwise, I probably won’t remember much more of his speech than I do of what Colin Fvcking Powell had to to SHRM members back in 2006 when he spoke in Washington DC.
that is all
I certainly understand Jack being chosen to speak last year. The man is brilliant and can speak about human capital management better than any three HR people I’ve ever spoken with combined (no disrespect intended; consider it praise for Jack).
Why Lady Gaga should be the 2010 Keynote speaker for SHRM: Gore (with benefits) Image via Wikipedia As we discusse… http://bit.ly/dApX8z
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