Getting Honest About DEI in 2024: A Conversation with Colleen McCreary and David Hanrahan

Friends of the podcast and experienced CPOs Colleen McCreary (CreditKarma, Zynga, Twilio, EA) and David Hanrahan (Flare, formerly EventBrite, Zendesk) join hosts Kelli Dragovich and Nolan Church for this roundtable discussion of where the puck is going for DEI in 2024. They offer their takes on the progress made over the years, the current camps in this debate propelled by the recent capitol hill hearings and Harvard controversy, and the necessity of founders and companies to better understand their own priorities and define their position on DEI.

Check out our individual episodes with both Colleen and David who have both been former guests on the show!
Colleen McCreary on Layoffs, M&A, and Recruiting the Best Talent - https://open.spotify.com/episode/0WuLzUYeDaPIsOTbtTCZFD?si=aLgdLcjTR0eK6wBCv6KrGw


David Hanrahan on High Performance, Comp Strategy, Performance Cycles, and New Norms - https://open.spotify.com/episode/46H0HSchsnl52DaP9aPsrG?si=jTZ9tTjzR36cNsdqPkjrAQ


HR Heretics is part of the Turpentine podcast network. Learn more: www.turpentine.co
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KEEP UP WITH Q, NOLAN, + KELLI ON LINKEDIN
Colleen: https://www.linkedin.com/in/colleenmccrearychiefpplofficer/
David: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidhanrahan/
Nolan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nolan-church/
Kelli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellidragovich/
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LINKS:
Roxanne Petraeus, CEO of Ethena: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/harvard-dei-interview-question-best-avoided-roxanne-bras-petraeus-wzope/
Joelle Emerson’s piece: https://fortune.com/2024/01/04/anti-dei-movement-fringe-mainstream-corporate-america-diversity-equity-inclusion-meaning-joelle-emerson/
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TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Preview and Intro
(01:16) The current facts about DEI
(04:50) The inability to have a real dialogue about what practices work and what practices matter
(06:59) Current conversations move people out of the conversation on DEI to the detriment of an effort on diversity
(09:07) The prerequisites of doing DEI the right way
(11:08) The impossibility of measuring belonging in a company
(14:19) Sponsor - Lattice | Continuum
(16:05) The impossibility of measuring belonging in a company (continued)
(17:57) Allocating resources and improving a company's DEI efforts and programs
(31:50) Where do we see the puck going with DEI in the future?
(41:05) When CPOs can't be everything for everybody and the importance of going back to who you are, your values and your culture
(46:22) DEI in 2024 is going to be more of an expectation of leadership as opposed to standalone efforts

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