Why Have HR At All?

The field of human resources took it on the chin, this week, with the sexual harassment claims from Uber and Google and Tesla and Sterling Jewelers. I’m not sure HR practitioners knew they were being blamed, but in talking to journalists and business leaders, one question kept coming up over and over again. “Why have…

laurie ruettimann wrigley field

The Start-Up Business

I don’t understand how this start-up business works. You have an idea. You get excited about it. Some people say nice things to you, and some people don’t say nice things to you. You build something. You test your ideas. You get feedback. Some of it’s good. Some of it’s bad. There’s a group of…

stop trying so hard

Stop Trying So Hard

I started listening to the Tim Ferriss podcast while beginning my training for Hustle Up the Hancock. The show isn’t made for me. I listened to high-achieving guests describe emotional breakthroughs, and it hurts my heart. “I discovered empathy in 2016! I learned that — to get through life — you need other people! I…

mushroom coffee

HR Blogging Used to Be Good

HR blogging used to be good. No, seriously, like ’86 Lakers good. There was Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and a few other guys who’s names I don’t remember. And, just like the ’86 Lakers, the old-school HR bloggers played like a team that wanted to win. But then, just like every Hollywood sports story, people…

mushroom coffee

Grace at Work

I’m not always the best version of myself when I’m feeling anxious or troubled at work. More times than not, I walk around thinking that people are out to get me when, in fact, the opposite is true. People root for me and celebrate my successes. So, I was both surprised and not surprised to…

word of the year

2017 Word of the Year

I believe that everybody has a “word of the year” whether you know it or not. Sometimes you pick that word. Sometimes it picks you. This year, I thought my word would be “healing” because, after the chaos and turmoil in my life around last year’s presidential election, I wanted to start healing. Also, I…