I started my own blog in 2006. Kris Dunn somehow found it and liked some of the things I wrote. About a year later, he called me and introduced himself, gave me the 411 on a new blog he was building with Jessica Lee, and asked if I was interested in providing content. He described it as an HR-focused …
If I Were Looking for an HR Pro I’d Recruit Teachers
Disruption sucks. We’re in the middle of arguably the most disruptive period in 50 years for business. While some might counter with the advent of the internet as the biggest disruption, I’d mention that change happened over the course of a decade. We had time to watch it unfold. We say things happen in internet time. Everything, except the adoption …
12 Karmic Laws of HR
I’ll be honest. The world scares me right now. I feel like we devolved into a global Lord of the Flies Netflix series that, like The Walking Dead, won’t end but just keeps mayhem on infinite repeat. It’s draining and exhausting. I know you feel it too. I also think many of us are starting to look inward to find …
Today’s HR – The Rise of the Polymath
Please. Go look it up. Kidding. A polymath is an individual whose knowledge spans a significant number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. The Good Old Days There was a time in HR when the list of things you had to know was fairly short. Maybe a law or two related to …
Low Tide in the Management Harbor
I know. Every post on the internet is now focused on how to respond to these weird and franky, unprecedented times. And as this is a predominately HR-focused site I’m sure you’re seeing all the ways HR should, could, would handle things. Nobody really knows. We are all making it up as we go along because no one has had …
From Adversity Comes Opportunity For HR
“Every adversity contains, at the same time, a seed of equivalent opportunity”. One of many quotes from the controversial Napoleon Hill, an American Self-help author from the early 20th century. I know your probably saying – Mark where did that come from? No, I did not go to my “go to guy” at Fistful of Talent, Paul Herbert, for the …
For Better HR – Quit Learning About HR
I think the best thing you can do for a career, and for a life for that matter, is read as much as you can. And not just tweets and shampoo bottles in the bathroom. I mean good blogs, well-documented articles, top writers on Medium. And read outside your domain. Wide and far is my motto. Exposure to new ideas …
What Happens When What You Know Ain’t So?
How often do you challenge your assumptions? You know, those things that form the bedrock of your opinions, beliefs and decision making. Do you ever ask yourself if what you think you know, is really so? You should. My experience has been that many poor decisions and failed concepts can be traced back to believing some key fact or piece …
It’s Okay for You to Fail
It’s time to discuss improving employee engagement. Or is it employee experience? Who knows anymore? All I know is we continue to work our butts off to find that secret sauce that will ensure employees connect with the company and pledge their eternal soul to you in HR, the department they work in, and the organization as a whole–yet nothing …
Want Employee Engagement? Just Ask.
Employee engagement continues to be a challenge for organizations of all shapes and sizes. The road map to tackling this challenge is right in front of you if you are willing to involve your employees in the solution. But what should you be asking your people to get that answer? What they value, of course. Pretty simple, but nearly impossible …