I received a job offer a while ago, and it was a good one. Part of the package included an awesome paid time off program. Unlimited. That’s right folks, Unlimited PTO. I can take as much time as I need, whenever I need it, vacations galore. If my wife and I decide to start a family, I can have unlimited …
Don’t Be Greedy: An Argument for User-Centric Design in HR
Imagine a company that puts its needs before that of their customers. Consider what the shelf life of that organization would be. Picture, if you can, the number of good things that would be said about that organization. Zero – the answer is zero. That’s because no one would choose to work with a company that doesn’t put their users …
Guide Towards Career Fulfillment, Not a Stupid Job Title
As people professionals we often are tasked with helping guide our candidates and employees towards the right career paths. Often I find people are either chasing job titles or pushed into career development plans that they may not even be passionate about. One quick example – employees who strive for management positions when they actually don’t even like people. Many …
Focus on Your Training Misses To Win Over the Masses
Meeting the needs of your employees’ development can seem like a daunting task. So is cleaning your entire house; now imagine skipping the bathrooms every week. As I look back at my career as a training leader, this perspective is one that I wish I had learned early on. One must only master an excel pivot table to find easy …
Microlearning’s Macro Mistakes
Microlearning is one of the newest (cough, cough) hot topics in professional talent development. You will hear about it over and over again spouted by professional trainers as a way to make themselves sound knowledgeable and hip. Frankly, you have likely been hearing it for years. People talk about it at conferences, write articles, and use the jargon to sell …
Talk to Difficult People Using… Science!
I was recently asked to give a presentation regarding how to communicate with difficult people. It’s a lofty ask. There are a multitude of ways to do this, and the probability of getting it right is pretty slim. I find that the best way to do this is to employ the good old Scientific Method. Think back to your 5th …
It’s Not Me, It’s You
People are going to leave your organization. Sure, you can say that they left because they found a new industry, they found their passion, or they just got bored. You can brush it off and refuse to take a look at the ins and outs of your business and benefits. While there will be a certain amount of folks who …
I’m An Impostor!
This one is going to feel like a therapy session. You’ve been warned. Read it anyway, because if you are successful professionally, you have probably fallen victim to the same affliction that 70% of us have – Impostor Syndrome. It sucks the success right out of us, robs us of our confidence, and tells us that we don’t deserve everything …
Don’t Drown! Rules For Success circa 1987
When I was a child in Maine, we lived on a lake. My parents were very conscious of the dangers regarding children and water, and so there were often conversations about how to stay safe. Four water safety rules still stand out. First, learn how to swim. We were swimming without a flotation device out to our float by the …
Creatively Critical and Critically Creative—A Different Way of Thinking
I recently had a wonderful conversation with a colleague who was asked to create a training program for our organization that would teach and foster “Critical Thinking”. The request makes perfect sense. We want to nurture the minds of our workforce so they are able to think critically. Or do we? Do we need more Critical Thinkers? Or, do we …