Tag Archives: Product Launch

My New Kindle Book is Live!

Running is a passion of mine. So is HR. So why not marry my love for the two in written form?

Well, that problem is solved. :-)

I recently put together this collection of stories about running, business, and life. More than half of the content is brand new and not published anywhere else, and the book runs about 35 pages in length (which means virtually nothing in the world of Kindle/eBooks, as I’ve learned!)

It’s on sale for $3.99 right now. Here’s who should read it:

  • If you work in HR, are looking for some inspiration for running, and you like to run, then this will give you some of my stories (mostly humorous) to help you with that.
  • If you’re in HR and you don’t care about running, you can still get some great lessons here. You don’t have to be a runner to enjoy this. In fact, you might laugh even more at some of the silly things I do to try to compete in this sport…
  • If you’re just getting into HR, you will learn some timeless truths about this profession (many of which I’ve learned the hard way).
  • If you’re an expert HR pro, this will expose you to some of the deep passion in this field, whether in my story or in the profiles of other running/HR pros, and will help you revisit that spark that made you choose HR in the first place.

A special thanks goes out to those that responded to my recent survey and allowed me to highlight them in the book. They all share their own inspirational stories about how running makes them better at this human resources thing.

Thanks again for your support and I look forward to checking out the reviews. You can get a copy of What Running Taught Me about HR: Essays about running, work and life right here.

Introducing My TeamType

Tomorrow is the first day of March, and I hereby designate March as National Teamwork Month. Yes, I have randomly declared 31 days as my own unofficial holiday. No, I won’t change my mind. Why? Because we all need a good reminder of what the power of teams can accomplish. And what better way to kick that off than with an amazing tool from noted organizational psychologist, Dr. Daniel Crosby.

teamtypeMy TeamType is an assessment that you can administer for teams in your organization to determine where they fall in terms of overall performance. And for the month of March, I have a special bonus for anyone who orders an assessment for their team(s). Read on for more details.

My experience

When I was testing this tool recently, we had a new manager join our organization. I saw that as a prime opportunity to help them understand where their team currently was on the scale as well as some ideas for how to move them even farther down the road toward an ascending team. That is a good option for any team, but for one with a new manager, I knew that it would be a great way to help get a grasp on how the team saw itself as the new person took the reins as the leader of the group. Continue reading →

HR Certification Training Course

Over the past few years I’ve put significant time and effort into researching, developing, and sharing HR certification training tools. Today I am unveiling a new course I developed over the past few months that I’m excited about. Read on for how you can get it for way cheap (or just go check it out now).

While I had released the very popular SPHR/PHR Self Study Course a while back, I felt like something was missing. I really wanted to incorporate more video content as a way to help students feel more engaged and to help convey some thoughts and ideas that were difficult to translate in a written context.

Then I found the Udemy platform. Udemy is a tool for developing and delivering courses to students around the world. I was itching to try it out, and then I remembered my desire to incorporate more video into a study tool. The HR Certification Study Course was born! A few highlights:

  • This course was designed to be used in conjunction with the HRCP study materials for the PHR/SPHR exams. HRCP offers a money-back guarantee if you do not pass, and I am a big fan of that policy. Plus, it’s much less expensive than the other options!
  • The course includes over five hours of video content.
  • This course is meant to take the place of going to a local study group, sitting there for an hour, and going home for additional studies. Sometimes that isn’t feasible due to geographic restrictions, scheduling issues, lack of local programs, or a multitude of other reasons. Now you can watch the course from the comfort of your home!
  • The promo video for the lecture is below. Check it out!

Get the friend discount!

For the duration of this week, I’m giving blog readers $50 off the price if you use this link. This offer expires Friday the 14th of February, so “get it while the gettin’ is good” as we say in the South. :-) This is for lifetime access, so if you plan to take the exams any time in 2014 or 2015, this is the best price you’ll ever see on this course.

Also, please note that this is my first venture with Udemy, so any input, feedback, or thoughts are appreciated! Thanks, as always, for your support. You guys are the best!

Promo video

Just a Quick Note Today

I’ve had a wild ride this weekend. A few weeks ago my sister-in-law passed me the Hunger Games series. I’m a big fiction and science fiction nut, but other things (see below) have kept me busy ever since she passed them over. I started the first book on Saturday and just finished it last night. I was trying to avoid being caught up in the public hype, but I truly enjoyed the book. About to start the second book, and I’m wondering if it can live up to the high standards set by the first…

The real news

On a more important note, after several months of research, development, testing, shooting videos, and working with my superstar beta tester group, the Entry Level HR course is finally open to the public.

The video below will answer most of your questions (click through if you’re an email subscriber), and for those it does not, you can check out this page for more info.

I’m taking a breather today, so this will be a historically short post. Check back tomorrow for more HR/talent management goodness!

How to Pass the PHR Exam

how to pass the phr examLast week I talked about how to pass the PHR exam. In case you don’t remember or didn’t see it, the discussion was mainly around the motivation needed to stick with a long term study plan. In case you were wondering, the same principle applies for the SPHR and GPHR exams.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the topic of certification lately, because it’s the 4 year anniversary of me starting my own studies for the exam. In November 2008 I picked up a book, locked the office door, and started a 12 week study plan to pass the PHR exam. It’s crazy to think about how far back that was, but time flies when you’re having fun, eh?

An Announcement

I’ve been helping people learn how to pass the HR certification exams for almost 4 years now, and I always felt like something was missing. Yes, I created a study guide that has helped over a hundred people with their exam prep. Yes, I recommend HRCP‘s great tools because they are affordable and comprehensive. But despite all that I still saw a need for something to bridge the gap between those resources and the powerful motivation/accountability factor that is necessary for success.

So I developed a new tool to bridge that gap.

hr self study courseThe PHR/SPHR Self Study Course is an in-depth set of lessons that will help those who are interested in studying but aren’t sure how to set up their study plan, what schedule to follow, etc. Most importantly, it hits you every few days with a new lesson as a reminder to focus on your study efforts. A few details: Continue reading →

Rock Your Corporate Culture Guide is live!

Just a heads up that the Rock Your Corporate Culture guide is now live. It took a lot of hard work (post coming soon on the crazy life of writing an eBook while working full time and making time for family as well!), but it’s finally paid off. This thing is going to help some people rock the culture at their own organizations, and I can’t wait for the testimonials to start pouring in. If you are a fan of workplace culture and how to do it right, this is the tool for you.

Click here to learn more and get your own copy!

The Rock Your Culture guide is coming soon!

I have been working my butt off in the past month or two on my newest guide, and it’s just about ready for prime time. It’s always a lot of fun creating these tangible, helpful tools, and this instance is certainly no different. In order to align with my theme, it’s going to be titled “Rock Your Culture” and will focus (obviously!) on ways to influence your company culture. The three main sections:

  • How to define your culture
  • How to leverage your culture
  • How to change your culture

It’s a great collection of ideas, tips, and strategies for making your organization all it can be. Today I’m actually working a half-day and spending the rest building up the bonuses (many) and fleshing out the finishing touches on the last section. Some of the content is based on a recent culture survey I sent out, so for those of you who helped, this is what you have been waiting for! Stay tuned for more info, and if you have not already subscribed for free email updates, now is as good a time as any! Click here for that.