On Being Snarky
Sarcastic people are often passive-aggressive. Snarky people are often right. Remember that the next time you call someone snarky and mean it as an insult.
The LinkedIn HR Hackathon is a Joke
I’ve been blogging about human resources, in one capacity or another, since 2004. While I’m the first to indict human resources for its stupid behaviors, I also serve as a character witness for the men and women who are in office parks and factories around the world—serving leaders and employees who don’t deserve their genius.…
The Planned Obsolescence of HR
Do you have an iPhone 5 or 5s? You’re probably like one of my friends who thinks your phone is slow, or your photos look blurry compared to what you see on Facebook and Instagram. And maybe you’re now waiting for the new iPhone 6s so you can upgrade to a better device—and a better…
Motivational Gurus: Jim Rohn and Jim Rome
There’s one thing you need to know about me: I get Jim Rohn and Jim Rome confused. (One dude is a leadership guru. The other dude is an ESPN guy or something.) And there’s another thing you need to know: I love Jim Rohn quotes, but I don’t always get them right. (Close enough, I…
3 Rules of Reference Checks
I get calls on a regular basis to provide formal and informal references on people in my industry. First things first: reference checks are not background checks. Reference checks are subjective. Reference checks are unreliable and invalid ways of measuring someone’s knowledge, skills and abilities. Reference checks are what you do when you want to…
Forced Ranking is So Old and Stupid
I’ve been doing some video chats for CareerBuilder, and they’re pretty fun. We use a combination of Google Hangouts and Twitter, and what you end up with is a crazy and interesting mix of video and interactive tweets. We discussed talent management strategies and techniques in the last episode. Tim Sackett makes an offhanded comment…
Have Fun at #SHRM15
I let my SHRM membership lapse in 2015 because my employer will no longer pay for it. My employer is me, and honestly, she wants me to spend $190 on spa treatments in Turks & Caicos because she believes in employee engagement. So I won’t be going to the 2015 SHRM Conference & Exhibition in…
Your Questions about Work and Labor
Here are some questions that have come to me from events and via email. If a company has grown organically, how do you start to grow through acquisitions? I worked on the HR/M&A side of the house at a company called Kemper Insurance. I was the only HR kid who understood the internet, so that…
How Companies Pay People Less
Ever since I entered the workforce as a kid, owners have been trying to find a way to pay people less. I don’t mean cutting salaries. Paying people less looks like this: Paying less than minimum wage. I had this happen to me at an ice cream store. I was fourteen and wanted a job.…
Collaborating with CEOs and Founders: Barcelona 2015
I spent some time with entrepreneurs and CEOs, last week, at a collaborative forum where executives can learn from one another in a tweet-free, blog-free zone. It was super fun and interesting. I can’t give you a ton of details from the off-the-record sessions, but I can tell you about my sessions that I chaired.…
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