Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
The headlines have been full of stories about unemployment, the so-called “jobless recovery,” and lately we’ve been hearing about a potential double-dip recession. So when a colleague suggested I tackle the subject of why businesses aren’t hiring, I figured I could throw in my two cents. First let’s talk about unemployment. As of July 2010, […]
The following is a list of the bestselling hardcover business books as ranked by the Wall Street Journal with data from Nielsen BookScan on August 23. 1. StrengthsFinder 2.0: A New and Upgraded Edition of the Online Test from Gallup’s Now, Discover Your Strengths by Tom Rath. Are you unsure where your true talents lie? […]
When a colleague suggested I write about Hewlett Packard’s firing of CEO Mark Hurd, I wasn’t sure there was anything of value to say about this situation. But on further reflection I think there is a clear lesson in all of this. You might recall that on August 6, Hurd resigned under pressure from HP’s […]
People often get hung up on titles. I must admit that they’ve never meant much to me. I really don’t care what name you want to attach to what you do, so I’ve been pretty liberal over the years about giving people the titles that they want. But in many companies, titles bring with them […]
I’ve been thinking about self-discipline a lot lately. Maybe it’s because I’m carrying around an extra 20 — OK, 25 — pounds and wondering how I allowed myself to get to this point. Obviously, I haven’t been as disciplined with my eating and workout regimen as I need to be. But self-discipline is the key […]
I ran across a number of things this week that I thought were worthy of comment. Instead of choosing one, I thought I would try to get them all in. In the “It’s About Time” category, the board of BP negotiated the departure of Tony Hayward as CEO of the oil company and replaced him […]
Wow! It could only happen in Washington, D.C. I’m talking about the dismissal and, ultimately, attempted rehiring of Shirley Sherrod. You’ve likely heard the story by now, but it goes something like this. Last week on Monday, conservative commentator Andrew Breitbart blogged about a speech given by Sherrod, a mid-level Department of Agriculture employee. He […]
The other day a colleague here at M. Lee Smith Publishers suggested I take a look at a video that’s posted on YouTube. The video he wanted me to see was an animation adapted from a speech given by author Daniel Pink. The title of the video was the same as Mr. Pink’s latest book, […]
How hard can it be? I’m talking about BP’s apparent lack of ability to get out of its own way. Time and time again BP has been able to say or do exactly the wrong thing. Forget about what the oil company could or could not have done to avoid this whole tragic mess. Let’s […]
Forgive me for bragging, but I’ve got a group of fantastic coworkers. Many of them were in action again this morning. You see, some of our people volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House here in Nashville today. As I write this, they’ve already served breakfast to the families staying there and another team will be […]