Many years ago, my husband and I purchased a home in the middle of the woods. The house was lovely, but the yard needed some work. We called several landscape architects and asked for bids. Redesigning our yard would cost a fortune — plus one of my kidneys. If my husband and I wanted to…
I am attending the 18th Annual HR Technology Conference & Exposition, next week. The first year that I attended this conference was fun. I traveled to Chicago and was able to connect with a bunch of internet friends who have since become colleagues and advisors. Those were simple times. We were in the middle of the…
I was getting my flu shot, the other day, and my pharmacist started complaining about her job. Her parent company is breathing down her neck. “These guys at corporate? They measure everything.” When the phone rings, and it’s a doctor, they want her to answer it in under three rings. Her average is 3.6 rings,…
I don’t hate happy people, but I hate the happiest guy in the office who makes it his life’s mission to make everybody else happy. I think that guy is pathologically sad on the inside. Exhibit A: He always turns his frown upside-down. Is the Keurig machine broken? Did you find a lump in your…
Something is in the water. Yoga is the new HR teambuilding activity. I say this because I’ve been to several human resources meetings, this year, and leaders are forcing their colleagues and direct reports to wake up early and do yoga. And I use the word “forcing” because attendance is mandatory. You wake up early,…
About a year ago, a former HR colleague called me in a panic. She was asked to help design a new office layout. Nobody would have offices or cubicle walls, not even the CEO. “We’re going to lose people,” she told me. I just checked in with her, and she did lose people. Quite a…
Leadership literature is rubbish. I know this because I’m friendly with many of those authors, and they approach the concept of leadership as an elusive, dichotomous quality: either you got it, or you don’t. Paternal Persona The first problem with the discussion around leadership is that it’s rooted in a masculine, fatherly framework. The best…
It’s the final day of our weeklong journey into “culture.” We have talked about creativity, collaboration and curation. Our final destination is continuity. Do you work for a company that drinks its own champagne? I’ve advised those companies, yo. My industry is thick with founder’s syndrome. Everything is great when you have a founder and…
A few years ago, I read an interesting book by Dr. Grant McCracken. It’s called Chief Culture Officer: How to Create a Living, Breathing Corporation. Have you read it? It’s good. The author believes that companies need specialized workers, supervisors and leaders who understand cultural anthropology. Those new workers could create a culture that has…
Collaboration is the second component of a great company culture. It’s about having a vision but also compromising for the greater good. My imaginary boyfriend, Jon Stewart, once described collaboration by saying, “…you go, then I’ll go. You go, then I’ll go. You go, then I’ll go.” And we are all better for it. But…
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