I’m thrilled to be hosting my first HR carnival, and that’s for several reasons. First, I get to converse with a few great writers behind the scenes. Second, I get the opportunity to promote those writers all in one place. And third, I get to unveil the new HR Carnival logo, created by the illustrious Allen Robinson (or “LogoMan” according to Eric Winegardner). No longer will carnival hosts have to search for an image to use with their rendition of an HR carnival.

If you haven’t read my last post about how to make the HR carnival really matter , please hop over there and read it before continuing. I promise you’ll get more out if it if you do. Enough about me. Let’s showcase those great writers I was talking about!

Lorrie Lykins and Carol Morrison with i4cp ask the tough question. If we “get it” about talent management and its benefits, then why the heck aren\’t we doing it?

Dan McCarthy with Great Leadership by Dan showcases 10 ways to get the most from 360 degree leadership assessment. I like number 8.

Susannah Cesar with Recruitment 2.0 wants to know if you\’ll be ready to recruit when the recession ends. This is the fourth post of the series.

Melissa Prusher from The Devon Group gives us four reasons you need a formal social media policy. Good points to ponder for those contemplating a response to the social media craze.

Lisa Rosendahl from Simply Lisa just has to know who the leaders are as people. Everything in life affects who you are, and leaders need to embrace their life experiences.

Laura Schroeder of Working Girl admits that she wants to work for Diddy. I say that\’s a good bit better than working for diddly. :-)

Rana Hobbs with InfoHRM implores us to say “yes” to stategic alignment. I love the reference to the janitor that met President Kennedy.

Mark Bennett from TalentedApps tells us why you should improve your analytical intelligence. As a statistics geek, I\’m all over some population analysis (and I wouldn\’t kill the fish, either).

April Dowling at PseudoHR drops a heavy question of “why go into HR?” Some say it\’s because the accounting classes were too tough, but April actually has a good reason.

Wally Bock from Three Star Leadership needs some help. Can you help him recognize a few dysfunctional managers? I recognize them, and not in a good way, either!

Jennifer Miller gives us some help determining the difference between mastery praise and social comparison. Interesting stuff for those in the business of motivating others.

The Benifys team wonders if your organization is losing steam. Hint: if people don\’t know your organization\’s mission, you\’re in trouble.

Sharlyn Lauby, the infamous HR Bartender, brings us a story about the red purse. Okay, so I\’m not a purse kind of guy, but I still got sucked into the narrative. Customer service at its finest.

Gautam Ghosh addresses the issue of knowledge work and collaboration. I don\’t know about you, but I could always use a refresher on that subject.

Mary Jo Asmus with Aspire shows us that excuses for not coaching others are not really valid. If coaching is too hard, should you give up? No, not unless you want to shoot yourself in the foot.

The HR Store deals with the unexpected question after a recruiter mailed the offer letter to the wrong candidate. I\’ll just step out there and say that I\’m glad I\’m not the recruiter who flubbed this one. Ouch.

Lance Haun with Rehaul gives us a great story from HRevolution. From a discussion of the revolution in 1776 to the future of HR, he hits some heavy stuff.

Steve Boese with Steve\’s HR Tech is throwing a party. But it\’s not BYOB, it\’s BYOT (bring your own tech).

Christine Mitchell with the Precept Employee Benefits Blog gives us the bottom line on benefits (hint: knowledge is power). Educating your employees to be educated consumers instead of letting them exist as uninformed drones? I like it.

Mike VanDervort of The Human Race Horses solves an age old question (finally!). In case you didn\’t get the memo, HR people are the smartest people in the room.

Allen Robinson kicks off his brand new Logic Writer blog by reminiscing about his love of HR and technology.

HRPufnStuf, the brilliant guy with a laughable name, sends in the smokin\’ hot post about how failure is spelled “S-H-R-M.” If you don\’t read the comments on this one, then you\’re missing 75% of the greatness.

Mark Stelzner of Inflexion Advisors provides a detailed account of his experience as a speaker and attendee at HRevolution.  If you were there, read it. If you weren\’t there, read it. That should cover the bases.

After I finished the first 25, I received an email from a friend who has been working on getting her very first blog post completed. Sarah at Talentary is wondering about work/life balance. The post includes research, Australia, and an interesting look at what it would mean to try to “balance” work and life. Give her first post a shot!

Takeaway

Please remember the HR Carnival challenge from my last post. Pick your favorite article(s), print it out, and hand deliver it to someone who could benefit from the information. I\’d do the same for you (and I have for many of you, in fact!). Thanks for sticking around. See you guys next time!