Would You Play Golf on a Weekday Afternoon?

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80-karen-firestoneby Karen Firestone

Last summer, I was invited by a few friends to meet at 4 o’clock on a weekday to play a few holes of golf on a sunny afternoon.   As I got out of my car, a guy I know waved and said, “Hey, great to see you, but don’t you still work?”  (Yes.) Over on the driving range, another man I’ve known for years, came by and said, “So, you’ve finally decided to retire?”   (No.)

Since this was the first time in memory that I had left the office early (and it wasn’t even that early) for a fun activity, I wasn’t used to these questions. I realized, of course, that both men were professionals, as were most people on the golf course that weekday afternoon, and no one was asking them if they still were employed.  So why did they ask me? Continue reading →

The Focused Leader

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by Daniel Goleman

A primary task of leadership is to direct attention.To do so, leaders must learn to focus their own attention. When we speak about being focused, we commonly mean thinking about one thing while filtering out distractions. But a wealth of recent research in neuroscience shows that we focus in many ways, for different purposes, drawing on different neural pathways—some of which work in concert, while others tend to stand in opposition. Continue reading →

Happy New Year

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As we all think about the new year starting, most of us make resolutions about what we want to change, hope for, or improve. I just read this wonderful article, which I guess we would now call a blog, if it were blogged… It was written by a comedian I have always enjoyed George Carlin.

 

 

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as our families and friends did.

SOMETHING TO PONDER: George Carlin Continue reading →

To Optimize Talent Management, Question Everything

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by John Boudreau, Ravin Jesuthasan and David Creelman

Should you hire as if your workforce will stay a month, a year, or their entire career?  The answer makes a big difference in the qualifications you set, how well candidates must “fit” with the job, the team or the organizational culture, and the “deal” you offer.  A traditional employment model may work for some, while a model based on short-term employment may work for others.  At the extreme, it may be best never to “hire” your workers at all, or to “fire” and “hire” them several times.  Leaders need solid principles to build talent strategies that fit the situation, with an optimization approach.  Too often the necessary principles for optimization are lost in the chorus of divergent views and pithy examples.  This chorus can also obscure the need to question long-held assumptions.  Letting go of those assumptions may be the key to seeing new options that make optimization possible. Continue reading →

Every New Hire Should Drive Up Employee Engagement

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Larry Myler By Larry Myler

You already demand skills, education, and experience with any new hire. Why not screen for engagement as well?

Yesterday I was on the phone with a CEO who was lamenting the fact that his two newest employees weren’t working out as well as he had hoped. He may need to let them go, only weeks after they joined his company, because they just haven’t gotten on board with the culture, performance expectations, or engagement levels expected of his workforce. Continue reading →