This is just a simple thanks. Really. I don’t say if often enough, but I appreciate everyone who listens and participates. I’m working on the next lesson in the free HR Ninja course, so this is going to have to count as my get-out-of-work-free post. :-)
I will ask you to do one thing for me while you’re here, though. Would you think about subscribing? You can get the free updates via email or RSS. I would really appreciate it, and you’ll look like a genius. Win-win.
That\’s a snazzy title if I do say so myself! Where did it come from? Well, I was reminiscing about crazy work stories with my coworker, and I then remembered that I\’d never really told the story of how I set an ATM on fire while on the job. So… Here we go!
In the summer after I graduated high school, I wanted to get a job other than working for my parents as I had for several years. So I talked with a friend who was a branch manager at a local bank and she recommended me for the summer hire program. So for the first time in my life, I went to interview for a job.
Needless to say, I got the job. And strangely like my current profession, I was one of the only men to do the job of a bank teller. :-) Anyway, I had been working at different banks in the area, rotating to a new one every other week. Finally I ended up at a location that I really liked. The other tellers were friendly and really enjoyed having me around.
So. You want to be brilliant, huh? I have a tip to help make that come true. Want to hear?
Now, let me just start by saying that I\’m by no means brilliant. I am painfully aware of that fact. However, I\’m working to change that by paying attention to people way smarter than me.
I\’ll be the first to admit that it\’s easier to interact with people on your level, but making an effort to step that up and surround yourself with smarter people will have a major effect on your intellect. There\’s a fantastic quote I\’ll defer to that makes the point crystal clear. Continue reading
When I participated in a collaborative eBook project recently, I really looked forward to seeing the finished result. However, even though it was a relatively short and to the point guide, I had a hard time focusing on all of the different thoughts. With so many great avenues to pursue, I struggled to do well in any of the areas. So I created a short worksheet and used it to draw some useful, actionable, and personalized takeaways from the guide.
So I took the eBook (thanks to Chris for using a Creative Commons license that allows me to spread the content to anyone I choose) and chopped a few of my favorite pieces out, formatted them into lessons, and created a few resources to help you get everything you can out of this free (but VERY valuable) content. Interested? Here’s what you have to do: Continue reading
On Tuesday I had the pleasure of hearing Laura  Huckabee-Jennings speak to my local SHRM chapter. She did a fantastic presentation titled Leaders Have Followers, and I took a page full of great notes. I had to laugh though. I was thinking to myself that my manager should have attended, because there were some things in there that she would be interested in implementing. Then I looked up and she was sitting two tables away looking right at me! Be careful what you wish for!
Below you’ll find my tweets/notes from the event. Because they’re chronologically ordered, you’ll have to start at the bottom and read up to get them in the right sequence. If you see one that stands out for you, mention it in a comment below. I’d like to know which ones really resonate with you. Continue reading
Today’s post is by a student in my buddy Steve Boese’s HR Technology class at the Rochester Institute for Technology. Carolina Correa, the author, likes my blog. You can already tell she’s brilliant, right? :-)
Her comments on communication are worth reading twice, and I picked my favorite phrase from her selection as the title for this post. She kept the formatting simple, so any emphasis is mine, but the eloquent words are otherwise her own and make my writing look like an arthritic one legged mule in comparison. Please make her feel welcome!
Blog, Blog, blog, blog…. What is the big deal? Let\’s face it-blogging is a form of freedom but not necessarily for everyone. It is a pure form of communication that allows the “blogger†to express an opinion or facts to an audience that either “gets it†or maybe not, and gives the reader a chance to provide feedback whether or not the blogger wants it…
As a tool to the HR community as with many other professional groups, blogging offers a place, a sanctuary of sorts, filled with both familiar and comforting statements and tidbits of industry wisdom stirred together with some thought provoking and sometimes controversial viewpoints.
I digress, the essence of any great blog site has to be value; a message, a connection, a common thread or the clear sense of community and purpose. The usefulness of blogging is pretty much undeniable but nonetheless somewhat misunderstood in the mainstream. To blog or not to blog is a debate that only finds answers when discussed in the context of finding value, this is true not just for the HR community but just about any profession seeking the comforts of connectedness.
Interesting though is the fact that a big part of the HR profession and the community that endeavors to make a living in this field is connection; maybe it\’s a wayward piece of knowledge looking for a home, a missing skill set, the “right†person for the job or maybe just a missing perspective on a particular issue for some poor soul trying to save the world (or just his/her job).
Why blog? Who cares why, it\’s the process that creates the value and the connections that prove to be both powerful and impactful in helping change the sometimes muddled viewpoint found inside our four walls. HR is alive and blogging is giving us depth of understanding, community, connections and meaningful feedback… or not….
Well? What did you think of Carolina’s post? Leave her a comment below to show her some love.
Recently I was working with a friend to figure out an easy (free) way for her to create a place for her coworkers to share documents and connect with each other from remote locations. The half an hour we spent setting up the site showed me just how easy it is to collaborate with coworkers using free and readily available tools.
There really isn\’t any reason not to do it, but you\’ll still get some pushback in several ways.
Too Technical
With thirty minutes of training, I can get someone up and running with a basic understanding of a WordPress (my preferred web software) site. And that\’s for the administrator. Users can usually handle the interface with relatively few problems. These things have been developed by people much smarter than me to be used by people who are beginners in the technology area.
Too Expensive
In the aforementioned solution, I incorporated two tools that I also personally use on a daily basis: WordPress and Gmail. These two highly capable pieces of software come at the steep price of zero, and they\’re not alone. With the extensive availability of free options, there are more useful tools than ever available at no cost (and little risk).
Too Time-Consuming
I\’ll admit that I\’m a geek. But like I said before, I can teach someone the basics of one of these things in under an hour. If you invest that time block in learning to use a new technology instead of chatting at the water cooler, you might be surprised at how much benefit you get from the experience.
As you can see, it\’s really not too difficult to handle. You have to be willing to learn, but if you are, I\’m sure there\’s someone around you who can teach you the basics of one of these tools. And if there\’s not someone nearby, there’s no harm in trying to go it alone. I\’ve done some of my best learning by trying and failing half a dozen times, and that type of experience leaves you with a better understanding overall, too. And if worse comes to worse, just let me know if I can help in some way.
Are you one of those people who has one of these three issues with technology?