From Day One Conference

06/02/2020

#BlackOutTuesday

05/26/2020

Amid a Childcare Crisis, These Founders Offer a Solution - From Day One

When we started Winnie, it was very important to us that we started a company with a really different kind of culture. We wanted this to be a place where parents could work, where people of all backgrounds would feel comfortable, and most importantly, where we had work-life balance for not just us, but also our employees.
We made it a priority from day one, and it's just been really helpful in a number of ways. Recently, it's also made us pretty adaptable to this pandemic, because we already have a remote-friendly culture that enables people to work from home when they want to.

Read the latest in From Day One's #SheLeads series.
#FD1Conference

Welcome to She Leads, a series digging into the good, the bad, and the ugly of being a woman in business. In each piece, we chat with a different founder about her experiences, the issues women face in business, and how they’re powering through in the face of adversity. Sara Mauskopf didn’t know...

05/22/2020

Keeping Diversity at the Forefront During Crisis Times - From Day One

Diversity and inclusion is not just about hiring diverse talent right now. In fact, many companies are not in a position to hire and may not be for some time. Yet there are many ways to ensure that years of progress don’t evaporate. Employers can focus on pay equity, coaching, and career growth, especially for those disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
#FD1Conference webinar panelists discuss keeping diversity forefront in crisis times.

“People don’t want to be recruited because they happen to be a black woman. People want to be recruited because the gifts and talents they have, their expertise, benefits the business that they’re going into. And if you want to keep them, act like you want to keep them.” Laying down that adv...

05/08/2020

Feeling Harassed on the Job? This Company Lends You an Ear - From Day One

One thing that has become clear from the #MeToo movement: workplace harassment can be more nuanced than we realize. Research indicates that 78% of employees face some sort of unfair behavior or treatment at work, which can include being talked down to, psychologically manipulated, or made physically uncomfortable.
From Day One interviewed Speakfully co-founder and CEO Jana Morrin about an era of cultural transformation in the workplace. #FD1Conference

One thing that has become clear from the #MeToo movement: workplace harassment can be more nuanced than we realize. Research indicates that 78% of employees face some sort of unfair behavior or treatment at work, which can include being talked down to, psychologically manipulated, or made physically...

04/30/2020

Webinar: How to Be a Great Place to Work, Even in Crisis - From Day One

What do employees value most highly today in looking for a great place to work? At this moment of crisis, a lot of workers are probably feeling fortunate just to have a job. But at the same time, the culture and values of an employer are on display like never before.

Workers will be asking not only if a company is a great place to work, but if it is a safe place to work, both physically and psychologically. What are the right benefits to support them? How do employers maintain efforts to be inclusive and foster career growth, even in a crisis atmosphere?

In a From Day One webinar titled “Fresh Ways to boost Your Employee Value Proposition,” we gathered a panel of HR professionals to share ideas. #FD1Conference

What do employees value most highly today in looking for a great place to work? At this moment of crisis, a lot of workers are probably feeling fortunate just to have a job. But at the same time, the culture and values of an employer are on display like never before. Workers will be asking …

04/21/2020

Webinar: As Workplaces Reopen, How Will They Change? - From Day One

There is no script for the current situation. In fact, when it comes to getting workplaces up and running while still protecting their workforces from the coronavirus, American companies for the most part “are making it up as they go,” the Wall Street Journal observed this week.
To get a sneak preview of what may unfold, From Day One gathered a panel of experts last week as part of a series of webinars, this one titled, “A Year From Now, How Will the Workplace Have Changed? ”Among the questions put to them: How will companies look different, feel different, and function differently? They had a lot to say about leveraging technology, building psychological safety, and the importance of strong leadership.
#FD1Conference

For American workers fortunate to be working from home during the pandemic, another big adjustment is on the way: Going back into the workplace. It won’t be quite the same as before the pandemic, certainly not right away. And maybe not ever, if some of the lessons learned have staying power. There...

04/15/2020

Webinar: How to Spot Early Signs That Your Culture Needs Fixing - From Day One

Many companies, big and small, struggle with workplace culture issues. Whether it’s a manager’s behavior, disrespectful comments, or micro-aggressions between employees, unhealthy culture can permeate an office environment. Yet those at the top may have a hard time diagnosing this unhealthy culture, simply because they’re insulated from what is happening among their employees.
“There has always been a big disconnect between what people know and do in the trenches, vis-à-vis what the business leaders know. It’s almost like two realities,” Janine Yancey said in a From Day One webinar last week. #FD1Conference

Many companies, big and small, struggle with workplace culture issues. Whether it’s a manager’s behavior, disrespectful comments, or micro-aggressions between employees, unhealthy culture can permeate an office environment. Yet those at the top may have a hard time diagnosing this unhealthy cult...

04/14/2020

Protect Us! What Front-line Workers Need from Employers - From Day One

On a recent Monday, a 31-year-old father of three children named Christian Smalls helped organize a walk-out of fellow employees at an Amazon fulfillment center in Staten Island, New York. Inside the warehouse, thousands of items, many of them now deemed "essential" in this pandemic, are packaged for shipment each day. Outside, Smalls, his nose and mouth covered by a bandana, held up a sign: “OUR HEALTH IS JUST AS ESSENTIAL!”
Smalls was one of the most visible of millions of workers now raising a clamor about the need for protective gear and procedures in the face of the coronavirus. They’re the ones who can’t work from home, who have to report to the front lines of necessary industries, out of both a sense of duty and the need for a paycheck.
#FD1Conference

On a recent Monday, a 31-year-old father of three children named Christian Smalls helped organize a walk-out of fellow employees at an Amazon fulfillment center in Staten Island, New York. Inside the warehouse, thousands of items, many of them now deemed “essential” in this pandemic, are package...

04/03/2020

New Study: How Many Jobs Can be Done at Home? - From Day One

As the coronavirus pandemic has suddenly forced tens of millions of Americans to work at home, plenty of practical issues have arisen, ranging from WiFi capacity to home schooling.
But there are larger questions for society as well: How many jobs can actually be done remotely? What is the total share of wages for those jobs? And, after the crisis passes, how many of those jobs will continue to be done remotely?
From Stephen Koepp of #FD1Conference

As the coronavirus pandemic has suddenly forced tens of millions of Americans to work at home, plenty of practical issues have arisen, ranging from WiFi capacity to home schooling. But there are larger questions for society as well: How many jobs can actually be done remotely? What is the total shar...

03/30/2020

Emotional Support: Showing Compassion for Your Workforce - From Day One

What we’re going through, as a daily experience, is abnormal. The global pandemic has upended our work lives, our personal lives, and shattered our sense of security, safety and–well–normalcy. The symptoms of stress and disorientation can be more stealthy, but they need urgent care too. #FD1Conference

Most of us have become so vigilant about watching for the physical symptoms of coronavirus that we figure if we don’t have a sore throat or 104° fever, we’re OK. But we’re not, really. What we’re going through, as a daily experience, is abnormal. The global pandemic has upended our work liv...

03/24/2020

Different Is Good: How Rethink Benefits Is Blazing a Trail for Neurodiversity - From Day One

The emotional challenges of parenting can increase stress and leave many working parents feeling drained and less productive on the job. But what about families of children with disabilities? How are they being supported in the unique challenges of raising neurodiverse children?
We sat down to discuss the issue w/ Angela Nelson & Connie Donnelly of #FD1Conference partner Rethink Benefits.

The emotional challenges of parenting can increase stress and leave many working parents feeling drained and less productive on the job. But what about families of children with disabilities? How are they being supported in the unique challenges of raising neurodiverse children? This is where Rethin...

03/23/2020

Keeping Employees Engaged (and Sane) During Uncertain Times - From Day One

This is definitely not business as usual.
No matter which industry you work in, it's almost certain that the coronavirus pandemic and its economic aftershocks will affect your business and, more specifically, your team. Right now, it feels as though everyone is starting at the beginning and scrambling to keep up. If you're in a leadership position, this can feel like an even bigger challenge.
#FD1Conference

This is definitely not business as usual. No matter which industry you work in, it’s almost certain that the coronavirus pandemic and its economic aftershocks will affect your business and, more specifically, your team. Right now, it feels as though everyone is starting at the beginning and scramb...

03/20/2020

Corona-crisis relief: What companies and others are doing to help soften the blow - From Day One

Companies are finding innovative ways to create impact. Check out the #FD1Conference news roundup for the latest in coronavirus crisis relief.

Our news roundup focusing on how businesses and other organizations are making purposeful efforts to provide help at a time of crisis. Updated March 19 Amazon: A massive hiring plan underway, plus raises Amazon has announced it will fill 100,000 new full- and part-time warehouse and delivery positio...

03/18/2020

How Companies Can Keep Workers Safe During the Crisis - From Day One

Practically overnight, it became clear that the painful prescription for halting the spread of the coronavirus would be to “put the economy on ice” by imposing drastic restrictions on the public, possibly for months. As federal guidance lagged, business leaders suddenly had to become first responders in their own way. Without having any real precedent to guide them, they’re now making emergency decisions about the health and wellbeing of their employees, their communities, and their businesses themselves.

#FD1Conference

The messages from business leaders started tentatively, almost apologetically, about measures being taken “out of an abundance of caution.” Then they became a torrent, and jarringly drastic: Shut it down. Don’t travel. Work from home. Keep your distance. Stay safe! Practically overnight, it be...

03/11/2020

After careful consideration, we have decided to postpone our From Day One conferences in Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington DC. The new dates will be:

San Francisco - July 14
Chicago - July 28
Washington DC - September 30

The new dates will all be at the same venues and follow the same previously announced schedules of content.

The rising number of cases of COVID-19 has underscored the need for everyone in the community to take responsibility for their own role in mitigating the spread of the disease–and this is ours. While our conferences are smaller in scale than many other large events that have been cancelled or postponed, we don't want to take chances with the health and well-being of our conference participants.

It has been a difficult decision. In an email survey of our Chicago ticket holders earlier this week, a majority (68%) voiced support for continuing the event as planned, but as an increasing number of public-health precautions are put into place, we believe many will be reassured by moving the dates further out, and that this is the responsible choice.

We have eagerly anticipated these conferences, our 11th, 12th, and 13th nationwide. We have a fascinating, diverse, and compelling roster of speakers to present. While we're disappointed to bring you this news, our belief is unwavering in the power of bringing people together to explore how companies can build stronger relationships with their employees, their communities, and their customers. We look forward to seeing everyone this summer and fall. Please visit our website for further updates.

If you have any questions at all on this or any subject please feel free to contact us at [email protected]

As ever,
The From Day One team

03/06/2020

The Abundant Virtues of Building Homes Together - From Day One

“In some ways our model turned inside out,” said Habitat CEO Jonathan Reckford. “Rather than thinking we can build our way out, we wanted to be a partner and catalyst for worldwide access to safe, decent and affordable housing,” he said in a panel discussion at a recent From Day One conference in Atlanta, where he was joined by executives from partner companies Delta Air Lines and Levelor.

Habitat for Humanity is an organization that helps families build homes, as well as improve them. But it has been building something else as well: the size and scope of its own ambition. Habitat helped about 125,000 people in 2005, which grew to about 7 million in 2019, according to the company’s ...

03/05/2020

Lighting a Fire for Inclusion Across a Major Enterprise - From Day One

As organizations increasingly claim diversity, equity and inclusion as top priorities, they've hired chief diversity officers to make that shift abundantly clear. This isn't an easy job for any individual, particularly in storied institutions like universities. But Carol Henderson sees her role as lighting a torch that others will help carry.

Insights from our recent #FD1Conference Atlanta.

As organizations increasingly claim diversity, equity and inclusion as top priorities, they’ve hired chief diversity officers to make that shift abundantly clear. This isn’t an easy job for any individual, particularly in storied institutions like universities. But Carol Henderson sees her role ...

02/28/2020

How a Founder Transformed the Beauty Industry and Made Space for Women of Color - From Day One

For generations, women of color were told that their hair was bad, both from people who loved them and disliked them. Could you imagine? Your grandmother might have told you your hair was not great in the same way your enemy did. That really had an effect on what we all believed beauty looks like... We were 360 degrees in the development, production, distribution, and marketing. We didn't realize that we were also helping restore esteem that may have been destroyed over the years. We found ourselves reinforcing and reminding women how beautiful they are and how unique and beautiful their hair is.
From the #FD1Conference #SheLeads series:

Welcome to She Leads, a series digging into the good, the bad, and the ugly of being a woman in business. In each piece, we chat with a different founder about her experiences, the issues women face in business, and how they’re powering through in the face of adversity. Miko Branch didn’t just h...

02/17/2020

Why Workers Want to Have an Impact Beyond Profits - From Day One

The voices crying out for corporate responsibility in the community are louder and more plentiful than ever in 2020, while companies big and small are starting to respond. What is the best approach for corporations, and who decides how much is enough? In a panel discussion at a recent From Day One conference in Seattle, a group of local experts sought to answer that question.

The voices crying out for corporate responsibility in the community are louder and more plentiful than ever in 2020, and companies big and small are starting to respond. But what is the best approach for corporations, and who decides how much is enough? In a panel discussion at a recent From Day One...

02/12/2020

On Workplace Bias: ‘Leaders Need to Be Aware of the Systems of Oppression’ - From Day One

How can companies mitigate the problem of systemic bias in the workplace? It helps to consider that systems don’t operate autonomously; they’re made by people. Systems become conduits to express–and perhaps even enforce–what their makers think and feel. This was the focus of conversation among a panel of experts on diversity and inclusion at a recent #FD1Conference in Seattle, moderated by veteran broadcast journalist Enrique Cerna.

Individuals carry all sorts of bias around with them, but so do the systems that run our lives. How to mitigate the problem in the workplace? It helps to consider that systems don’t operate autonomously; they’re made by people. They become conduits to express–and perhaps even enforce–what th...