Category Archives: General

News, Updates, and Fun Stuff

I hope you guys enjoyed the video series last week. I had a blast, and I’m looking forward to doing it again and delving into other hot topics. This week is going to be a bit different. I have some news, updates, a contest (~$3k in prizes), and my first ever full audience survey. It’s going to be a busy week, but it’s going to be a lot of fun. Let’s jump right in.

Kind of a big deal

I have never done an overarching audience survey, and it’s time to change that. While I sometimes focus on requests from the audience, I think I should be more purposeful with that. I’d also like to have an idea of who is reading this thing–are you all newbies? Are you all experienced pros? Are you all stalkers? I want to serve you guys better, and to do that I need to ask a few questions. Nothing too personal, just your job, general location, what you like/hate, etc. I read every response I receive in every survey–it takes a time commitment, but it also helps me to learn how to best help each of you with the content and tools that I produce.

I will be sending out the survey link on Wednesday morning to all email subscribers. 

Tied into the survey is a contest. I have approximately $3,000 worth of goodies to share with you guys, and I am thrilled about that. The catch: you have to be a subscriber and you have to do the survey.  Not too tough, right? If you are not already on the email list, click here to join the list and get email updates to the blog.

Is ten minutes of your time worth the chance of winning a prize? I thought so. Continue reading →

Unique Corporate Culture Ideas (Video)

Having a unique corporate culture, as I have said previously, can be a strategic differentiator for your organization. But the thing is, there’s no “one size fits all” culture. Some will draw you in like a magnet, and others will repel you. There’s no “good or bad” really, it’s just different. In this video I talk about why you should be okay that some people hate your culture.

This week I’ll be running a series of videos on culture topics, from defining culture to leveraging it in the hiring process and more. I’m a culture junkie and believe that organizations that use it well can differentiate themselves from the competition. It’s a strategic competitive advantage. Use it well. 

 Other videos in this series:

  1. Defining corporate culture
  2. Hiring for culture fit
  3. Using culture for hiring discrimination Continue reading →

Transitioning to an HR Career #nextchat

Yesterday I joined the “transitioning to an HR career” #nextchat on Twitter. It’s basically a discussion held on Twitter where people talk about a specific topic, and yesterday i was all about how to prepare for and break into a career in HR.

transitioning to an HR career.There was plenty of great discussion among the dozens of participants, but sometimes you just can’t fit all of your thoughts into the 140-character limit of Twitter. Below I’ve dropped in the questions and how I would have responded with a little more space. I love talking about this stuff and think it’s very valuable for the entry level (or soon-to-be-entry-level) HR pros.

Key question to kick it off: Why do I want a career in HR?

This question was thrown out early in the discussion and wasn’t even one of the prepared questions. However, I think it’s the key to the rest of the discussion about transitioning to an HR career. So many people think “Hey, I like people. Maybe I’ll do that HR thing.”

And it’s a tragedy. Continue reading →

Culture as a Type of Hiring Discrimination (Video)

Today I’m going to dispel the myth that culture is a form of hiring discrimination. Well, I’ll actually prove that it’s true, but in a different way than most people would expect. I use culture to discriminate against candidates  in every interview for every job we post. I look at how we do things, what attributes we find valuable in a candidate, and how well the person fits into those categories. In the video below I explain this in more detail.

This week I’ll be running a series of videos on culture topics, from defining culture to leveraging it in the hiring process and more. I’m a culture junkie and believe that organizations that use it well can differentiate themselves from the competition. It’s a strategic competitive advantage. Use it well. Other videos in this series:

  1. Defining corporate culture
  2. Hiring for culture fit
  3. Unique corporate culture ideas Continue reading →

Hiring for Culture Fit (Video)

Okay, so we discussed how to define it, so now how do you go about hiring for culture fit? As long as you’re following the steps properly and not just randomly making up questions, then it’s pretty simple to do. In today’s video I discuss how to develop specific questions tailored to your core values. Hiring for culture fit doesn’t have to be difficult, you just need to take the time up front to make sure you’re doing the right things.

This week I’ll be running a series of videos on culture topics, from defining culture to leveraging it in the hiring process and more. I’m a culture junkie and believe that organizations that use it well can differentiate themselves from the competition. It’s a strategic competitive advantage. Use it well. 

 Other videos in this series:

  1. Defining corporate culture
  2. Unique corporate culture ideas
  3. Using culture for hiring discrimination Continue reading →

Defining Corporate Culture (Video)

Today we’re going to discuss one of the methods I use for defining corporate culture. If you’ve never taken the time to define what it means at your organization, I think you’ll find the exercise interesting and potentially valuable.

This week I’ll be running a series of videos on culture topics, from defining culture to leveraging it in the hiring process and more. I’m a culture junkie and believe that organizations that use it well can differentiate themselves from the competition. It’s a strategic competitive advantage. Use it well.

 Other videos in this series:

  1. Hiring for culture fit
  2. Unique corporate culture ideas
  3. Using culture for hiring discrimination Continue reading →

A Tribute to Great Managers

Sometimes you’ll run across articles that discuss managing vs. leadership, and the gist of many is that you don’t need managers if you have great leaders.

heart my bossI don’t know if I believe that.

See, I’m one of those people with a strong entrepreneurial spirit, and I really don’t like having a boss. I like figuring out things for myself, working in areas that interest me, etc. However, I have to bottle that up and be a little more focused when it comes to the day job, and the great boss I had was the perfect person to help me do that in a constructive way.

Naturally, when she retired last year, I was devastated.

I (still) heart my boss

I just finished working for a truly amazing boss, and I can’t help but tell people about her. The list of characteristics that make her a team favorite are many, but here are a few that really had an impact on me:

  • She focused on the team’s needs and on the professional development of its members much more than her own interests.
  • She was quick to say, “I’m not your manager, I’m your teammate.” She never played the “I’m the boss, so do what I say” card.
  • She worked harder than anyone I’ve ever seen, and she demanded high performance from the team she led as well.
  • She could deliver tough feedback in a way that made you want to do better instead of feeling bitter and resentful.
  • She listened in order to understand where you wanted to go in your career and directed assignments that would assist in the growth of those key areas.

After several years working in positions where I was unchallenged and underutilized (that’s a long story in itself!), I flourished under her management style.

While being conscious not to sound like a suck up, I would tell her as often as possible how appreciative of her I was. And, as usual, she would reflect it back on her staff for being great contributors and dedicated to the mission of the organization. Whether she allowed herself to admit that she was great at her job or not, she never once fell back on that as a crutch to stop managing well.

I’ve had varying levels of bad bosses over the years, but she truly was the very best that I’ve ever encountered. I can’t say enough about how much I appreciate her support at such a critical juncture in my career.

To all the great managers out there, thank you for what you do!

Ever worked for an awesome boss? Tell us about it in the comments below!