Ed Offterdinger

Greater Washington, D.C. Area

Ed Offterdinger

Co-Founder and Chairman

Ed is passionate about helping CEOs, executives and leadership teams shift their mindsets, perspectives, and practices to do what’s best for their people, their businesses and society.

Ed is a purpose-driven, trusted confidant and thinking partner with a calm and supportive demeanor. Ed’s work is rooted in data and inspired by stories. He draws on his many years of business and leadership experience to help clients improve their leadership skills and plan for their futures.

Ed is the co-author of a book with Catherine Allen titled, Conscious, Capable, and Ready to Contribute: A FableHow Employee Development Can Become the Highest Form of Social Contribution.

Favorite Quote

“Misery is optional.” The full quote is “Pain is inevitable; misery is optional.” I learned this from a mentor when I was in my late twenties. I was going through a rough patch and had a bit of “woe is me” attitude going on. She pointed out that we all have difficulties in our lives. It’s how we choose to react that makes all the difference. I can’t say I practice this well every day, but I sure try!

Get to Know Me

  • Leadership Coach, Strategic Advisor, and Author
  • Co-founder of Conscious Capitalism DC
  • Former Executive Managing Partner of  Baker Tilly US
  • Former CEO and Managing Partner of Beers & Cutler (merged with Baker Tilly in 2009)
  • Washington Business Journal “100 Most Influential Business Leaders” (2013-2015)
  • Special Board Advisor- K&A Executive Search
  • Competitive amateur golfer at the local and national level since the age of 7
  • Voracious reader and music lover

Memorable Moments

Playing in the 1988 U.S. Amateur with 20-year-old future PGA Champion David Toms.

Literally bumping into the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia in my apartment elevator in 1978. He had just completed an interview at the progressive radio station WHFS. Forty years later and I’m still “on the bus.”

Ed’s Recent Publications

Learn More

Offboarding

Embrace the opportunity to grow your brand and reputation as a company that truly invests in helping employees grow their capabilities – even and especially during an employee off boarding experience. When viewed through the development lens, this is a valuable opportunity for employers to learn and improve organizational and people development practices, build brand ambassadors, and enable departing employees to reflect on gains in skills and capabilities.

Strategy

Facilitate strategic conversations with senior leaders to explore and define ways conscious people development can be integrated into the culture and daily workflow to power your business, your people, and your employer brand. 

Retention

Incorporate learning and development objectives into retention activities to prepare employees for new roles and opportunities. This can be done through engagement and feedback surveys, recognition and rewards programs, promotion, succession planning, and more.

Social Contribution

“Build it so they will want to come, flourish, and stay, knowing that someday they may leave.

Thus, it is imperative to define what you want them to say about their growth experience with your organization and what you want the outside world to say about how you invest in and contribute capable people to society.”

-Ed Offterdinger & Catherine Allen
Conscious, Capable, and Ready to Contribute. (p. 173)

Integrated Capability Development and Performance Management

Integrate learning, growth, and capability development goals and activities into your performance management rather than relying on day-to-day responsibilities alone to create a more engaging, productive, and helpful process.

Onboarding

Adapt onboarding to set new hires up for success in a continuous learning environment through orientation activities that introduce the principles and practices that support everyday learning and development for each employee.

Recruitment

Integrate practices, principles, and tools to better evaluate a candidate’s orientation to continuous learning and development as a factor in their overall fit for a position. This provides:

  • Improved candidate interviewing, assessment and selection practices
  • Better candidate selections with learning and growth mindset
  • An early introduction to your company’s development culture focus

Attraction

Embed messages about commitment to people development to attract your ideal candidates.