Keynote Speaker Line-Up for 2012

Simon T Bailey

The Illinois State Council of SHRM (ILSHRM) is pleased to announce our keynote speakers for the 2012 Annual State SHRM Conference, held August 6-7 at Drury Lane Theater and Conference Center in Oakbrook Terrace, IL.

Our opening keynote speaker is Simon T. Bailey, a noted speaker on how organizations and individuals can build a bridge from their current reality to a new brilliant reality.  He has been voted as the best keynote speaker heard or used by readers of Meetings and Convention magazine, a category that included Bill Gates, Tony Robbins and Colin Powell to name a few.

He is a founder of the Brilliance Institute and is a former leader in the Disney Institute and Walt Disney World Resort.  Simon is also a repeat speaker at several SHRM National Conferences and, with ILSHRM, has spoke to at least 15 state conferences.  A note that is not in his biography is that Simon has one of the most infectious sincere laughs around.

Talent Anarchy is Jason Lauritsen (L) &and Joe Gerstandt (R)

Back by popular demand, Talent Anarchy will again occupy the after-lunch keynote spot on Monday to pump up the crowd and revitalize them for the rest of day one.  For repeat attendees, you know what a dynamic and energetic duo they are and for first timers, all I can say is fasten your seat belts (here is a little spinet from last year).  They have been described as (not my words, but from ILSHRM attendee reviews) as engaging, dynamic, thought provoking and entertaining.

Talent Anarchy is a duo of HR thought leaders, Jason Lauritsen and Joe Gerstandt.  JasonLauritsen is the corporate guy, the man on the inside. He spends his days in the belly of the beast as a corporate Human Resources leader where he has to actually “walk the talk” each day. Since his first management job as a corn detasseling team leader at age 13, Jason has been studying people and why they do what they do. Classically impatient, curious and well groomed, Jason’s early career was a rapid progression of sales and management roles including launching, leading and ultimately selling a small business in his mid-twenties. He’s a leader, sales guy, entrepreneur and corporate executive–all rolled up in one.

Joe Gerstandt is the sage consultant. He’s a middle-aged white guy who is a national thought-leader on issues of diversity and inclusion–need we say more? He brings a unique and powerful perspective to everything he does. The core of Joe’s work is to help organizations solve issues of diversity, culture and innovation through consulting, training and speaking. Listening to Joe speak, you will hear tales of his days as a U.S. Marine and Gulf War veteran blended with his experience in sales, education, and community-building. To say that Joe is intense and passionate about his work would be an understatement. He is one part professor, one part philosopher, and one part “not quite right.” Be prepared. This is not your average HR guy.

Libby Sartain

Our closing keynote is a true HR professional and a noted voice in the industry, LibbySartain.  After a distinguished 30 year career in human resources Libby Sartain is now an active business advisor and Board Member.  As CHRO of both Yahoo! Inc. and Southwest Airlines, Libby led significant business transformation initiatives as a member of executive leadership teams and guided global human resources efforts focusing on attracting, retaining, and developing employees. Her focus has been growth companies where she developed employment brand strategies that helped grow the workforce exponentially while establishing company reputation as a leading employer of choice. Both Yahoo and Southwest were listed on the Fortune 100 Best Companies To Work For in America and the Fortune 500 during her tenure.

She served as chairman of the board of the Society for Human Resource Management in 2001 and was named fellow of the National Academy of Human Resources in 1998. Human Resources Executive named her as one of the 25 most powerful women in HR in 2005.  Libby has also co-authored several books in the field of HR and has recently contributed to and co-edited The Chief HR Officer: Defining the New Role of Human Resource Leaders. She is a frequent speaker and is often quoted as a thought leader in human resources in the business Media.

We think that this line-up of great speakers and HR minds all offer great thoughts and ideas that alone would be reason enough to attend the Conference.  Add in a tremendous list of concurrent sessions, a great exhibit hall and the opportunity to network with HR pros from Illinois and across the country makes ILSHRM12 the place to be this summer.

- John Jorgensen - ISC SHRM Conference Director

I Am Thankful For.....

Well, it’s come and gone. I hope that most all attendees at the 12th annual Illinois SHRM Conference (ILSHRM11) had the amazing time I had. We had a record crowd, cutting edge speakers and very intense but invaluable networking and I hope a little fun. I sit here trying to write a thank you post but have so many to thank I don’t know where to start and if I can keep it the length of a post and not a book, because it would not be hard to do.

First let me start with our keynotes, pre-conference speaker and our emcee. Our opening keynote, Ryan Estes, kicked us off with a very motivating and moving presentation that set the tone for the entire conference. Talent Anarchy (Jason Lauritsen and Joe Gerstandt) did what many keynoters fail to do and that is took the tough after lunch spot and they OWNED it. Testify. China Gorman gave our final keynote as only China can, informative, entertaining and classy. As I said in introducing China, when I took on ILSHRM11, I had a short list of 3 keynoters I wanted and I was blessed enough to get all three, China being top of that list. Whew. Jessica Miller-Merrell came in and led our first ever pre-conference session and did everything I thought she would do and more. And what can I say about our first ever conference emcee, Charlie Judy, but WOW. (Already got him committed to ILSHRM12).

Next, I have to thank our concurrent presenters. I wish I could list all 30 of them but space does not allow it (we run into that book length problem). The only complaint I have heard so far is that we didn’t have bigger concurrent break out rooms (we are working on that). They engaged, entertained and educated all of you. If you attended one (or five) great session, I encourage you to reach out to the speaker and connect with them to thank them and network. They are easily findable on the internet and if not, let us know; we will try and hook you up.

Next, our Social Media folks who came in and shared the conference with the world in ways I never thought possible. The number of over 3.8 million internet impressions just staggers me. Thank you Robin, Geoff, Maren, Kristi, Bryan, William, Jennifer, Dwane, Mike, Jessica, Jason S, Jason L, Joe, China and Charlie.

Thank you to the staff at NIU, Drury Lane, MCS and Chris Martin Public Relations for support and your hard work.

Thank you to our exhibitors and sponsors. You help make this amazing event possible. Please check out the list on our web site. Special thanks to our conference sponsor, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Illinois. They have been unbelievable in their support in the last few years.

Thanks to the SHRM staff at ILSHRM. Martha and Kristine, you support us all year long so thank you for sharing two days with us, I know how busy you are. Kattie from HRCI, it was so great to meet in person and thanks to your team for sponsoring our first tweet up and the ILSHRM All Acess video recaps. Curtis, thanks. Without your interest last year, our social media reach would not be anything compared to what it is.

Thank you to all of our Illinois SHRM Board and volunteers. You made this years’ event run as smooth as glass due to all your effort and work. Special thanks go to our officers (Donna, Amy and Marianne), our District Directors (Karen, Lenore, Janeane, Melissa, Connie and especially Pattie), our technology team of Rachel and Dave. Thanks to all the chapter members and SHRM members who pitched into help. Extra special thanks to Sabrina Baker, our exhibitor and sponsor chair and Cathy Plouzek, my Co-Director. You all are super heroes in my book.

Last but not least, thanks to each and every attendee who came and participated. Your energy, enthusiasm and excitement made ILSHRM11 a huge success.

See you at the Drury Lane on August 6-7, 2012.
-John Jorgensen Conference Director ISC SHRM

Talent Anarchy - You Love 'Em or You Hate 'EM

This year at the Illinois SHRM state conference we did things a little differently. We tried to shake things up, involve a lot of social media and just generally break the mold.  We did.  Donna Rogers our State Director castigated the Tuesday lunch audience for not being attentive enough as Charlie Judy tried to announce Wowie winners. She made reference to the book "The No Asshole Rule" -  need I say more?

But probably one of the most irreverent moments occurred during the Talent Anarchy presentation. If you are easily offended please do not watch the video. Fortunately when this occurred I just happened to be capturing video.  Enjoy!






-Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

Jake & Elwood Lookout...Here Comes Talent Anarchy

If you don't know these guys Joe and Jason...check this out


Less than a week... See you at #ILSHRM11!
- Dave Ryan Director of Social Media ISC SHRM

Another Reason to Attend ILSHRM11

As a middle-aged white guy I seem to cringe whenever the topic of conversation turns to DIVERSITY.  Given what I am. I have this guilt that I carry around, that me and all of  my middle-aged white guy buddies are at the root of the problem,  Now I know that this is not the case, but it is easy to feel that way. I have taken it upon myself to become more well schooled in ways of diversity and now I can confidently say this,t diversity is not solely about issues of race, sex or religion regardless of those who would like it to be!

One of ways I have tried to better myself in this area is by attending seminars and other events that discuss the matter of diversity. Earlier this year I had a chance to see Joe Gerstandt speak on the subject at a conference called HRevolution.  I must tell you that I was wowed by Joe.  He also hails from the white guy club and speaks on diversity.  To me, that is refreshing.

Until you have seen him speak you have no idea of the passion that this guy brings to the subject. In fact his passion runs so high, and over the top it can often become “R” rated (for adult ears only). 

Now you can see Joe this year at the Illinois SHRM State Conference in Oak Brook.  He will be speaking as part of the Talent Anarchy duo, which includes Joe and his partner Jason Lauritsen. 

Jason on the left and Joe on the right.

While Joe is not going to be speaking directly to the subject of diversity I am sure it will enter into the comments at some point.  Joe and Jason’s program is titled Strategic Relationship Management: The Breakthrough HR Competency.

You can check out their work on line but be sure to register for the conference and see the Anarchists!

-Dave Ryan ISC SHRM Director of Social Media

Illinois SHRM 2011 Conference - Details from the Lead Planner

The 2010 Illinois SHRM Conference at the Drury Lane, Oak Brook, IL.

It is the coldest time of the year and it is snowing out…but I am at the end of August in my mind.  Several of us at ISC-SHRM have got August 22-23 planted in our brain as that is our 12^th Annual State SHRM Conference at the Drury Lane Theater and Conference Center in Oakbrook Terrace.  Plans are well underway for what we know will be our biggest and best one yet.  Last year, we topped 600 attendees (biggest to date) but with the lineup of speakers and exhibitors we have scheduled, we should surpass that number.

Leading off as our opening keynote is Ryan Estis , speaking on Passion on Purpose:  Winning with a Passion Culture.  Ryan is a regular speaker at national SHRM events and will be keynoting the SHRM Staffing Conference this year.  He is a business performance expert helping companies, managers, leaders and sellers more effectively connect to their two most important audiences: employees and customers.  Those of you who have seen Ryan can attest to his ability to deliver a powerful message while entertaining the audience.

Our next keynote (or should I say keynoters) is a couple of guys who write and speak under the label of Talent Anarchy.  They will be speaking on Strategic Relationship Management: The Breakthrough HR Competency.  The duo consists of Jason Lauritsen and Joe Gerstandt.  Jason is a trench HR guy, a VP of HR for a major bank in Nebraska.  He is walks the walk and talks the talk on a daily basis.  His background also includes sales, business owner and corn detassler .Joe is a consultant but not your average consultant.  He’s a middle-aged white guy who is a national thought-leader on issues of diversity and inclusion–need we say more?  He is also an ex-Marine who has experience in sales, education and community building.  As his bio states, he is one part professor, one part philosopher, and one part “not quite right.”

Finally, we are proud to have China Gorman as our final keynote speaker who will address the issue of “HR Wake Up Call.”  Many of you may recognize China as the former COO and Chief Global Membership Officer of SHRM.  Prior to joining SHRM in 2007 as COO, China was President of DBM North America, and President of Lee Hecht Harrison, the $250 million global consulting division of Adecco, which became the performance leader in its industry under her leadership.   China is an engaging speaker whose passion for HR knows no limit.  Once you meet China, you will know and understand what a great champion she is for our profession.

Something else new this year (among several things) is that we will be joined by the folks at Drive Thru HR.  Drive Thru HR is a daily internet radio show that addresses the profession of HR from the perspective of the practicing HR person.  The show is hosted by the team of Bryan Wempen and William Tincup.  They both are seasoned pros who have a great insight on the field.  They will be broadcasting live from the conference and will add a certain flair to the event

We will be making more announcements in the near future about the Conference, speaker line ups, sponsors and other things.  Keep your eyes open for more great news on ILSHRM 2011.

-John Jorgensen - Illinois SHRM Immediate Past State Director