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. …
Ageism is Real – And It’s Your Fault
“But Paul, you’re different. You like that technology stuff.” That’s what I get when I bring up a new way to manage a process with a new project management tool. Or when I try to introduce a web-based collaboration platform. Or even when I suggest we use group collaboration in Office 365. Real truth? I don’t always like “that technology …
The Movie “Clerks” Proves The Innovators Are The Ones With Great Careers
We’ve said it in this space before. Follow along from home or the office: –Great performers/talent see the world differently than others… –Exceeds performance should be reserved for the game changers… –Innovators do unexpected things others think are crazy… I know, you’ve heard it before. If you’re a top performer, it doesn’t matter what you do for a living – …
The Five New Year’s Resolutions of an HR Leader
2019 is just around the corner and HR leaders everywhere are making their New Year’s resolutions. I’m not talking about false promises to lay off gluten, flatten that spare tire around the midsection, call grandma in Sheboygan more often, eat more kale, blah blah blah. That’s all well and good, but how about making a collective resolution to your employees and …
HR Girl Power in 2019
Ariana Grande proclaimed “God is a Woman,” Keith Urban sang about “Female,” and Jesse J begged girls to feel elevated and say “I am a Queen.” Fearless Girl is on the move to the NY Stock Exchange; Sheryl Sandberg focused headlines read “Fall from Grace” for her part in Facebook’s mishaps, and a new study shows a 51% wage gap …
Walk This Way: What the #GoogleWalkout Means for HR Leaders
The irony of the Aerosmith reference in my title is not lost on me in the wake of the #GoogleWalkout over sexual harassment, gender and pay equality, and transparency in reporting. Check the lyrics if you were born in the ’90’s. What struck me as I was reading about this protest wasn’t necessarily the fact that Google paid executives to …
What Makes a Great Leader? The Very Same Things That Make a Great Person.
Here’s one of the many things I’ve learned from leading and managing people: Great leadership wisdom is really hard to find. For all of the many leadership books that have been written — and there are more than 60,000 listed on Amazon — the really great V-8 moments, the “Blinding Flashes of the Obvious” where a truly great leadership or …
4 Indicators Your CEO is Not Interested in Your Burnout
You think I’m about to slam your CEO, don’t you? I’m not. My definition of caring about something includes both the emotional act of caring and the physical action of doing something about it. I do believe most CEOs care emotionally about burnout, but not enough are actually doing something about it. But let’s be clear, your CEO has the …
Give Me What I Want or I’ll Ruin Your Career (Assertiveness)
When was the last time you blew up at someone at work? When was the last time somebody got all over you to hold you accountable or get what they wanted? In either situation, the person doing the damage (you or the other person) might have a reputation for this type of thing. That type of reputation comes with a …
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 …