Christopher J Cost

Devoted life partner, entrepreneur, strategist, speaker, and mentor.

Seminars

While unabashed and unhesitant in sharing his own thoughts, he is equally as gifted a listener as he is an orator. Christopher’s audience and their needs are very important to him, paying careful attention to their responses and engagement with him to adjust how he tells his story and conveys the message. When leading seminars and talks, there is no room for discrimination or negativity. Christopher exemplifies respectful and safe discourse so each participant is comfortable and able to express themself.

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“Belonging” is NOT Just Another Buzzword

As DEI advocacy and activism surges in response to social injustice, it is inevitable there will be pushback. Recent pushback has come in the form of attacking the evolution and growth of corporate initiatives. By dubbing the terms “diversity,” “equity,” “inclusion,” and “belonging” to be nothing more than buzzwords, naysayers are attempting to diminish the value of the initiatives. It is similar to the argument around labels in the LGBTQ+ community. And, it’s true, that labels can stigmatize and words can be turned against us. But, humans understand things best when we can put them in context and give them a name to remember. These terms are not buzzwords. In this seminar you will learn about the evolution of anti-discrimination and equality initiatives and how continue to improve our language and focus our efforts through the use of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging to drive real change that makes a difference in our organizations and businesses.

The 5 A’s of Inclusion: An Overview

This seminar is the opening act to an entire program guiding businesses big and small through Christopher’s methodology of building an inclusive culture that is organically diverse. This methodology is based on how he has developed the culture inside his own businesses as well as what he has seen does and does not work in the many businesses and organizations he has worked with over the last two and a half decades. It challenges the idea of diversity-first initiatives and instead focuses on inclusion-first strategies. In “An Overview,” we introduce each of the five facets of inclusion (Affirming, Advocacy, Awareness, Activism, and Allyship) and then discuss how these work together in general and inside of a business. An excellent standalone conversation starter, the program also includes a customizable track of three to five follow on seminar sessions, two plenary style speeches that can be adapted for breakout sessions, and a variety of lunch-and-learn or workshop topics. This program in whole or part is well suited for company-wide retreats and can also be streamlined for Chambers of Commerce and business alliances to introduce their membership to this though leadership. While there is a general component to this programming series, it is most effective when custom tailored to the audience. As with all DEI initiatives, this programming series as part of a corporate initiative is only effective when the Owner or CEO and Board Chair are actively engaged and participating. Lead by example and own the initiative as a true top down solution to your corporate culture problems. You may find more information on the keynote speeches “Laying the Foundation for a Culture of Belonging” and “Nurturing a Culture of Inclusion Accountability” on the Speaking page.