Baseball has started again. It is my favorite professional sport and although I am famously a Met fan, I want to talk about Joe DiMaggio, a NY Yankee, and heroes for a few minutes. HR needs a hero to look up to, I believe. These are difficult and odd times for all of us. Professional sports led the way with …
Talent Management Lessons from the 2020 NFL Draft
Normally this time of year, I would be waxing poetically on the start of the baseball season. But this year I will, out of necessity, pivot to the NFL draft. There are a few important lessons to be learned. Most importantly the world moves on, even in the face of a pandemic. For HR and Talent folks, the main lesson …
March Madness Part 3: The “Dear Mark, You Are No Longer An HR Influencer” Episode
Each year I do a post on March Madness and bring you a kaleidoscope of issues and musings across the HR landscape. Of course, I mingle in politics and the college basketball tournament to lighten things up. This year my post is a little darker than usual, as we see the effects of “the Circus” in Washington D.C. rattle all …
See Something, Say Something? (The Astros)
I know it’s still Football season, but Baseball has stolen the backpage headlines with an epic cheating scandal. Today, I will spin a cautionary tale of seeing something and saying something for all my HR peeps… Getting an edge or cutting corners can start out innocently but can eventually lead to crossing the line. And then there is the BRO …
Warming The Bench
A quick prelude to my discussion today: Enes Kantor, the former NY Knick center rode the bench almost all of this NBA season before being traded to the Portland Trailblazers, who had him play significant minutes during the playoffs. It’s a little hard to feel too sorry for him receiving $17 million in compensation to keep his seat warm until …
Defense Wins Championships…and Talent
I’m a college basketball fan, so the NCAA Championship this week was fun to watch. OK. Maybe not the first 5 minutes when no one could hit the broad side of a barn–but the overall tournament and the championship game did not disappoint. Take Virginia and Texas Tech–two defensive-minded teams who made it to the championship game for the first …
Duck Season, Wabbit Season, Conference Season, and March Madness: Part 2
Yes, it is time for March Madness. Spring is definitely in the air. About this time last year, I departed from my political and assertive writing to do a mash-up of topics impacting the HR and Talent community. Well, It’s time for a “Part 2,” so hold on to your hats and college basketball draw sheets, here we go! First, …
Institutionalized: Working for the Corporate Version of Obi-Wan Kenobi/Bill Belichick
There’s a dirty little secret about great companies. Some of them are so great, the experience you pick up actually doesn’t transfer easily to other opportunities. Here’s how this phenomenon plays out: 1– You join a great company early in your career. 2–You are fortunate to work for a master, think the Obi-Wan Kenobi or Bill Belichick of your industry. …
Your Next Recruiting Goal Should be to Make Candidates Feel “Seen, Heard, and Remembered”
Earlier this month, I joined hundreds of talent acquisition pros in downtown San Francisco for Jobvite’s annual Recruiter Nation Live event (full disclosure: I’m employed by Jobvite). In addition to exchanging some new stories, the best recruiting practices, and winning strategies with our peers, I also had the great pleasure of speaking on-stage with the incredible Molly Bloom. In case …
The Ball Is In Our Court
This isn’t a post about women vs. men. Nor is it about the color of someone’s skin or ethnic background. It’s not even really about tennis. This is a post about teaching moments, and how frequently they seem to occur (and blur) in our professional and personal lives. The U.S. Open Women’s Championship match was one of those moments. As …