Blog

Are You a “Negative Hero”

February 3, 2018

I know sometimes I am. I know there are times when my intentions are good…but my outcomes are not. That’s what a “negative hero” is. Think about your parents for a minute. When you were a kid their intentions were good (they did love you after all) but many times they were too critical, judgmental…

The Change is Coming, the Change is Coming!

February 1, 2018

Sometimes change can feel like some monster lurking in the deep, ready to pounce on us in an instant. Nice calm day one moment, disruption the next. People are in fact losing jobs…and companies… to AI and robotics and other technologies. But it should come as no surprise. Woe be the unprepared.…

10 Ideas for Hiring Great Employees

January 31, 2018

We had such a good response to my post on 10 HR Ideas that I decided to shoot a quick video sharing 10 ideas for hiring great employees. What would you add to the list? Which idea will you try? Thanks for your patience. I appreciate those of you who let me know I needed to do some editing…and…

Here’s 10 Great HR Ideas You Can Use Today

January 30, 2018

I love creativity. Disruption. Differentiation. In fact, I’m going to be the MC for the next DisruptHR meeting in San Diego. HR has a great opportunity to break past the status quo and to test new theories, strategies and tools. Here’s 10 ideas I came up with. What would you add to the list?…

When Suicide Hits Close to Home

January 29, 2018

I sense there is a lot of fear and depression going on. And…it can’t be ignored. While I have never entertained the thought of suicide, that’s not been the case for so many others. And… it’s been hitting close to home the last few years. A 13-year old boy, who was the younger brother…

Managing the Good Performer Gone Bad

January 28, 2018

Employees are wonderful... until they are not. Often, employees become derailed because of personal challenges or changes in their work environment or roles. When looking at poor performance check your head by asking these questions. Is it the fault of the system? – As Deming said, “the system…

Managing the Emotions of Change

January 27, 2018

Months ago I had the opportunity to present at DisruptHR on managing the emotions of change. You get 20 slides and 5 minutes to do it! Remember the magic words- coax, encourage and inspire!

5 Great Hiring Tools

January 26, 2018

For many years I’ve been a HR tool maker. Here’s a video about using 5 of my favorites to help with hiring great employees! And, the tools are yours to get below. What hiring tools have you created? Here are your 5 Free Tools: Hiring CheckList Our Hiring Process FAQ Conditional…

17 Blockages to Being a Great Executive

January 26, 2018

“First remove the beam out of your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck out of your brother’s eye.” Matthew 7:5 All humans have their baggage, blind spots and blockages. Unless we recognize and work on them, they can sabotage our careers and relationships. Having been an…

Training that Works Checklist

January 25, 2018

“Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival.” ― W. Edwards Deming We are in a knowledge economy. Training and building a learning culture is compulsory for survival. Use this checklist to make sure you consider all the training variables. Please add to the checklist anything overlooked. Remember,…

Everything you need to know about Managing Employees on an Index Card

January 25, 2018

I must admit - I got the idea for this index card after listening to a podcast with Howard Pollack, a professor from University of Chicago, who said that everything you needed to know about building your financial wealth can be written on an index card. The card went viral and he followed up with a book…

Can You Be Free Having a Job?

January 24, 2018

Jim Altucher is one of my favorite writers. In a recent blogpost, he did his usual spiel about ditching your job so you can free yourself. Challenge is most executives I know have a job and aren’t ready to leave it. Can you be free having a job? is the question he challenges us with. I wouldn’t…

How Would You Define Your Company in a Few Words to Job Seekers?

January 23, 2018

I believe in the importance of branding the employment opportunity. That’s why I found the directory of tech employers on TechMeme to be interesting. Some of them make sense to me; a few don’t at all. I wonder how they come up with and test these branding themes. If you ignore the company…

Getting the Blockages Out of the Way of Great HR

January 22, 2018

For years I have been preaching the opportunity in Great HR. When I do my CEO workshops, I show the financial logic behind the opportunity. I have business owners understand that every HR problem becomes a sales problem. And yet HR still has difficulty getting traction. In this article, I will talk…

List of Things That I am Grateful For

January 21, 2018

Sometimes life hands us challenges, and we can become focused on the negatives. One of my practices to counteract that pressure is to constantly remind myself of how lucky I am… and the things I am grateful for. I put these 25 things I am grateful for on colorful index cards and run through them…

Building Your Conversational Capacity

January 20, 2018

I went to an excellent Vistage Chair Group meeting and was treated to the presentation Conversational Capacity by Craig Weber. Craig comes from an organizational design and psychology background and has presented to Vistage groups more than a thousand times. He works with large teams trying to improve…

What I Can Control

January 19, 2018

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. I can control… What my “story” is What my values and goals will be How well I plan my career and life in general Who my friends are If I “make…

Maybe leadership should do something about HR... like supporting it.

January 18, 2018

I've been around the HR and leadership block. For decades it seems like I've read a dozen articles in business publications blasting HR for every article that praises it. There is great opportunity in great HR. The results of Great HR practices fall directly to the bottom line. I've coached dozens…

Wellness…Where Do We Go from Here

January 17, 2018

It seems as if the idea of wellness has hit a brick wall. Its vast promise has not materialized, other than in unique circumstances. I think the greatest challenge, to paraphrase Lincoln, is that most people (me included) are about as healthy as they choose to be. Click here to read a report I…

Humor that Works

January 8, 2018

My good friend Drew Tarvin allowed me to share his humor cheat sheet. You can access here https://www.humorthatworks.com/files/50_Ways_to_Use_Humor_at_Work.pdf Life is too short not to have fun while you work!