People ask me about the future of HR. Am I an optimist? Am I a cynic? I think you have to look at the past to understand the future. Business leaders brazenly defrocked HR between 2009-2014 and invested in software, which has largely failed. Meanwhile, a talented cohort of HR professionals became disenfranchised and moved…
Here are 17 truths about working in HR. Create core values like birthdays and puppies. The rest is overrated. Communicate candidly, kindly, without pretension, and directly via text. Fine, okay, use the phone. Avoid email. Never send an email more than five sentences long. Give feedback kindly, with specificity, directly to the person who needs…
Many years ago, I worked for a human resources director who told me it was better to be stupid than wrong. If I didn’t know something, I shouldn’t volunteer an opinion. I should admit that I didn’t know the answer rather than risk offering an incorrect piece of advice. Turns out, nobody knows anything during…
There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch. No government is going to give you anything for free. What you get for free comes out of the pocket of someone else. That’s entirely appropriate when it comes to defending our shared interests as a nation. Unfortunately, we don’t have many mutual interests. That’s what…
Do you remember a couple of years back when the “hero persona” was all over? “Be a hero and save HR. Be a hero and rescue recruiting. Be a hero and bring some donuts to the meeting.” A few years ago, I attended an executive summit where none of the CHROs wanted to be HR…
Doing anything every day is tough. Just ask your kids. How often do you nag them to brush their teeth and make their beds? And how often have you committed to a daily activity such as exercise or reading only to fail on day two? They say it takes 21 days to build a new…
A few years back, I drove to the Outer Banks of North Carolina (OBX) and attempted to beat writer’s block and generate something interesting. Writing isn’t magic, although it can feel magical. It’s intentional and takes great effort, which is why I didn’t sit around waiting for lightning to strike. In my downtime, I took…
Hi, everybody. I am going on a retreat. I will write, do yoga, and take long walks. I will talk to real people who don’t have anything to do with human resources, recruiting or consulting. I will focus on my personal mission statement. I’ll read some books. I will probably eat potato chips before going to…
Hi. My name is Laurie Ruettimann. I was once addicted to Starbucks, but that’s all over now. Before I left for Cuba, last November, a friend joked that I might die without Starbucks. I thought, hey, that’s a little extreme. Cubans have good coffee. I’ll be just fine. Turns out, I did nearly die. My…
Do you know someone with horrible breath? Do you work with someone who starts talking and causes you to reach for the gas mask? You know what I’m talking about, right? It’s the smell of decomposing food coming from the belly of a large, fat water mammal. Turns out that halitosis is a principal indicator…
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