To be taken seriously, looked at as credible, to feel valued, to be your CEO/COO/CFO’s confidant, of course, having a seat the table. HR, you really want it? Quit putzing around. Quit sabotaging yourself. Quit whining. Most importantly have a little self-respect. How? Quit being everybody’s “Wingman.” Remember Top Gun (“I feel the need, the need for speed”)? Heck yeah, …
The tributes to Tony Hsieh have been pouring in, as they should. I cannot think of any other leader who changed the work environment’s trajectory more than him. Some may say Steve Jobs or others of that ilk, but Hsieh’s differences from the Jobs’ model were stark. Rather than following Jobs’ model of using control tactics and Jobs’ own preferred aesthetic to …
In all professions, not only talent management, at times we feel our jobs are thankless. Some, unfortunately, feel they are thankless all of the time. I’ve heard both HR Pros, Recruiters and other think they are on a merry-go-round that never stops. When it finally does, the riders have a laundry list of woes, grievances, or discontent (why didn’t I …
Note > Other translations may include: ballsy, stupid, crazy, naive, smart, courageous, idiotic, or foolish enough…? October 23rd was a typical day at Casa Burke. My cat jumped on my head to wake me up. I drank my 1.7 cups of Community Coffee (Mardi Gras Blend with sugar-free peppermint mocha creamer). I watched my girl Gail King on CBS This …
I have always loved the idea of a shortened workweek. Not the – let’s cram 40 hours into 4 days – but the true 32 (8-hour days, Monday-Thursday). I so badly want this to be a new US norm. Why not? The not-so-modern 40-hour workweek was created in 1908 in factories. Since then, technology has ostensibly made administrative tasks less …
I’m a fan of the “work video” era. I like the flexibility. I like how, as Apple Facetime ushered in a new way to “personally” stay connected with distant family and friends, Zoom et al. have done the same in the workplace. And I like that I can put a cool light on and make my skin silky smooth. Don’t …
I’ve noticed a recent, frightening phenomenon. And I think I may be a perpetrator (heaven help me). In an attempt to stage a preemptive intervention, I thought there could be no better time than the present to address this odd and interesting tick–one that HR professionals, interviewers, and interviewees abuse unabashedly. The head nod. Or as some others call it, …
We all need a little “saving” right now. But what if we changed our mindsets from being saved to being the person who saves? I’m not implying that we must be the “Saviors” of all around us, instead turn the script in our head from being a victim to victor. That mindset likely gives us a better chance of positively …
I decided to go to a #BLM protest last week, the first protest I’ve ever attended in my 48 years on this planet, to listen and learn. Today, I wanted to write about what I learned, but it’s not the time. I need a lot more time to process what I witnessed and learned. On this topic, I need to …
Recessions, just like a great Stephen King novel or an episode of The Handmaid’s Tale, give us the shivers. Recessions give us the exact opposite of “all the feels.” Recessions are spine tinglers because, frankly, we have no consequential control on the immediate situation. My perception is that nothing I do right now will impact a direct outcome, especially a positive one. …
