Some of my readers know me as a former human resources lady. Some of you know me as a blogger. But a surprising number of my readers are senior executives and communications experts who found me through my work with The Conference Board. For five years, I wrote a column in The Conference Board Review that…
I had a great and glorious holiday weekend. How about you? The cats didn’t fight. We attended a wedding and went to the beach. I ate like a champ. As far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t get any better than that. I remember when I had a real job. The first day back after a…
A few weeks ago, I was lucky to attend a marketing and recruiting conference and hear an interesting keynote speech by Dr. Bob Deutsch. Dr. Deutsch believes people, customers and job applicants aren’t just data points. They aren’t hyper-segmented consumers who can be broken down into simple personae based on your imprecise understanding of Jungian archetypes. If…
Years ago, I hired chemists and engineers for Monsanto. Back in the day, Monsanto was a different company and had a diverse portfolio that included hardcore chemicals products, food additives and pharmaceuticals. And it employed many different types of workers — from hippies to lobbyists to lawyers — who honestly dreamed of saving humanity and…
I think women can do whatever they want with themselves and their bodies. It’s your body. You make the rules. And you can break the rules, change the rules, and make new rules according to your own standards. I don’t give a shit. But my laissez-faire feminism was tested at SHRM14, the other day, when…
I am just back from SHRM14 where I spent time with HR professionals from South Dakota, Indiana and Wisconsin who developed a southern accent from spending three days in Florida. Like, uh, how does that happen? The answer is simple. It’s called accent mimicry, and it reminds me of when Hilary Clinton speaks to African American…
I am am here at SHRM speaking at the Globoforce booth. We will be discussing ways to be smarter when it comes to employee recognition and appreciation. When it comes to recognition, HR professionals want to offer something more than emotion to CEOs. And business leaders are often reluctant to focus on recognition for myriad reasons. I am no…
Business travel, under the best of circumstances, is disorienting. You relinquish control when you travel. You can plan and prepare for diversions, but your destiny isn’t in your own hands. Someone is always pushing alcohol. Whether it’s a business dinner or a cocktail party, there is always an opportunity to have an extra beer or a…
As I was doing research for my new ebook, I learned some interesting statistics about how CEOs feel about human resources professionals. 42 percent of business leaders think that HR is either underperforming or just getting by 45 percent think HR isn’t ready to tackle basic tasks such as performance management, succession planning and e-learning…
It is conference season, and I am the recipient of dozens of email pitches/day. People want me to notice their new HR products and services. These pitches suck so hard. My friend Steve Smith is an award-winning writer who leads The Starr Conspiracy’s content development, thought leadership and public relations teams. He is great. Steve…
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