There's an excited buzz spreading across Cornerstone virtual team meetings and chats because our annual customer conference—Cornerstone Convergence—is just 26 days away!
However, this year’s event is a little bit different. On September 16-17, the all-new, all-virtual Cornerstone Convergence Unbound will bring together the brightest minds in HR, Learning and Development to explore how to revisit and replace yesterday’s thinking with fresh perspectives needed for our new world of work. Attendees from across the globe will share an all-free virtual experience around the theme of unbound thinking.
"We’re proud to adapt our annual Convergence event and bring all the innovation and fresh perspectives to a virtual space," said Phil Saunders, CEO, Cornerstone. "Free from any venue, city or schedule, this year’s event will help business leaders around the globe unlock the secret to thriving in this new world of work and creating an unmatched experience for their people."
This special event features two half-days of inspirational keynotes and informative breakout sessions, as well as fun and engaging networking activities. Attendees will be able to build a personalized Convergence experience from nearly 50 sessions, across two time zones. And as the first virtual Convergence, attendees can join the conference from anywhere. Below are some highlights from the conference agenda!
Two Days of Dynamic Keynotes to Inspire You to Think Differently about People Development
We’re excited to share this amazing lineup of keynote speakers who will offer fresh perspectives on managing change, people development and how to approach our new world of work.
Each day of Convergence will kick off at 9 a.m. PT / noon ET with keynotes from Cornerstone’s leaders, including CEO Phil Saunders, Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer Heidi Spirgi and Chief Executive, EMEA Vincent Belliveau.
On day one, Saunders will share updates about the company and shed light on how Cornerstone is transforming its customer-centric approach. On day two, Spirgi (for North American attendees) and Belliveau (for EMEA attendees) will discuss the importance of adaptability and creating sustainable, positive change to deliver extraordinary results.
Being True to Yourself – a Conversation with Viola Davis
Closing out Day One of Convergence, Academy Award-winning Actor, Producer and Philanthropist Viola Davis will discuss how fully embracing your life story can help you rise to be extraordinary and change the world. Pulling from her personal experiences growing up in extreme poverty, Viola will share why owning your life history fully is how you can make the world a better place for yourself and others.
Having won an Academy Award, an Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, Viola is the first black actress to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting. She is also widely recognized for her advocacy and support of human rights and equal rights for women and women of color. Viola will inspire you to draw strength from your personal story in order to recognize your worth and be true to yourself. Catch Viola’s closing keynote on September 16 at 11:20 a.m. PT / 2:20 p.m. ET.
Givers Take All: Creating a Culture of Productive Generosity with Adam Grant
Organizational psychologist at The Wharton School, author of four New York Times bestselling books and host of WorkLife with Adam Grant: A TED original podcast will close off the event as a featured keynote speaker on Day Two of Convergence.
This year’s conference is all about how you can re-think yesterday’s conventions to build a better future for your organizations and your people. Based on a decade of research and consulting with Fortune 500 companies, Adam Grant argues that the highest-performing organizations are the ones that embrace an ethos of knowledge sharing, helping and mentoring. Be sure to watch Adam’s keynote on September 17 at 11:20 a.m. PT / 2:20 p.m. ET. Looking for more from Adam? Here’s a recent tweet from him about the shift to compassionate leadership:
A possible silver lining of COVID-19: more compassionate leaders.
Employees will demand it: leaders who treat people poorly struggle to attract, motivate, and retain stars
Leaders will favor it: those who graduate during a recession become less entitledhttps://t.co/TiLELN34We
— Adam Grant (@AdamMGrant) June 5, 2020
Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man Web Series with Emmanuel Acho
We’re also excited to announce that Fox Sports Analyst & Author Emmanuel Acho is bringing his new web series Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man to Convergence to tackle your questions about race, social injustice and building a more inclusive society.
In his session, Emmanuel will use your questions to lead a candid conversation about race that will help you rethink your organization’s strategy—and your personal approach—to mending the racial divide in our world. This on-demand session—available across the two-day conference—offers a safe place to have uncomfortable conversations about race with the goal of guiding you toward creating a more inclusive workplace.
Video of Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man
Curate Your Own Virtual Conference Experience
To make the most of your virtual Convergence experience, we’re putting you behind the steering wheel of your conference agenda this year. In addition to the keynotes, you’ll be able to personalize your Convergence experience by curating your own schedule of sessions across five tracks. We’ll share more details on how to create your own personal agenda within the next few weeks!
Bold Thinkers
In these sessions, Cornerstone leaders will be joined by industry experts, such as Josh Bersin, Industry Analyst, Liggy Webb, Founding Director and CEO of The Learning Architect, and Joe Burton, Founder and CEO of Whil, to discuss the alignment of people development strategies with evolving business needs. Covering the latest research and the boldest concepts shaping the future of work, these talks are designed to inspire new ideas, fresh thinking and important conversations.
Here’s Liggy Webb, bestselling author and human resilience thought leader, on what she’ll be sharing in the Bold Thinkers panel session, Identifying the Right Skills and Content Strategies to Navigate Unprecedented Change:
"Cornerstone's own Summer Salomonsen and myself are going to be having some lively discussion about the kind of skills that people need within organizations to be able to thrive in these very challenging, unprecedented and rapidly changing times. Cornerstone Convergence is one of my favorite events of the year—and believe me, you don't want to miss this year's program. And the best thing about it is it's free for everyone to attend!"
Client Spotlights
Attendees will hear directly from other Cornerstone clients, including Hyatt, VMWare, BCG, Hulu, Kraft Heinz, Sodexo, Davenport University, Spectrum, DaVita and The Bancorp. Bringing together Cornerstone’s customer community, these sessions will highlight success stories and cover a wide range of topics, from navigating the new normal of work with modern learning content, to elevating managers into growth coaches, to creating a virtual and automated hiring strategy, and more. Here’s Sari Daisey, Director of Talent Management with The Bancorp, on what she’ll be sharing at Convergence this year:
"I’m excited to be part of Cornerstone Convergence participating in a panel on Day Two to discuss how to engage learners in a rapidly changing world and we’ll be sharing some of our lessons learned. There’s so many great sessions with speakers sharing their tips that you can leverage right away, and the great news is there is no cost to attend this year."
Product Training Labs
With guidance from Cornerstone’s training experts, the labs will explore a variety of practical use cases as experts provide tips and tricks for better administering current solutions, developing a sharper understanding of current products and expanding proficiency in managing them for particular organizations.
Product Chats
Product experts will explore the latest and greatest innovations available today–and preview what’s coming soon—to illustrate how customers can leverage it to drive business results. Additionally, attendees will learn tips and tricks to make the most of their investment, hidden gem insights from other customers and how to deliver great experiences for their people with the tools and resources available today.
Tech Talks
Talent management leaders and IT experts, alike, will benefit from hearing Cornerstone’s technology team talk about the latest platform advancement and technology direction, from cloud and products to data and privacy.
Networking, Reimagined
We know one of the most important aspects of attending an industry conference is the connections you make and the conversations you have. The interactive format of Convergence will enable you to network and engage with fellow attendees and speakers via live chat functionality, as well as hot topic threads (think "birds of a feather" collaborative discussions) and of course, book one-on-one time with the Cornerstone team.
Will We See You at #CSODConf20?
With so many engaging topics delivered by industry subject matter experts, you won’t want to miss this amazing opportunity to learn, network and discover innovative strategies to help you and your people navigate the new world of work.
The best part is that even after the virtual event concludes, Convergence sessions will be available to watch on-demand so you can continue your learning post-conference. Register now if you haven't already — it's free!
Registration for our first-ever global Convergence is now open! Join us Sep. 16-17, and connect with the brightest minds in the HR industry at the all-new, all-virtual, all-free Cornerstone Convergence! #CSODConf20 Save your spot today:https://t.co/2Ffnu0NfO2 pic.twitter.com/KJyQnjueG8
— CSOD Convergence (@CsodConvergence) August 16, 2020
We’ll be sharing more about the conference agenda in the coming weeks—stay tuned for more details on our speakers, sessions and tips for making the most of this virtual event!
To follow Cornerstone Convergence 2020 on social media channels, visit: Twitter @CSODConvergence, LinkedIn @Cornerstone-OnDemand, Instagram @CornerstoneOnDemand and Facebook @Cornerstoneconvergence. You can engage with the conversation using #CSODConf20.
Related Resources
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