From the monthly archives:

September 2009

Book Review: The Sharp Employee

September 18, 2009

In preparation for reviewing the Marcus Buckingham’s soon-to-be released book Find Your Strongest Life, I decided to pull some of Buckingham’s earlier books off the shelf and give them a second look.  This review is the first of a three-part series. Now, Discover Your Strengths Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton The highlights: In the [...]

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The Art of Serendipity

September 17, 2009

I was comparing notes on competency development the other day with Mollie Lombardi of the Aberdeen Group*. At some point during our conversation, the talk turned to Twitter because that’s where I met Mollie.  We were discussing the massive flow of information via the tweet stream and Mollie said, “Yes, Twitter gives me a chance [...]

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Book Review: Rule-Breaking Works

September 16, 2009

In preparation for reviewing Marcus Buckingham’s soon-to-be released book Find Your Strongest Life, I decided to pull some of Buckingham’s earlier books off the shelf and give them a second look.  This review is the first of a three-part series.  First, Break All the Rules Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman The Highlights A decade ago, First, [...]

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Join the Carnival, HR Style

September 16, 2009

I’m once again honored to have been included in a blog carnival this month.  This blog carnival is hosted by the irrepressible The HR Maven, aka Dee Honner. I’m giving Dee a shout-out for two reasons: 1) because of her deep knowledge in her area of expertise: Human Resources and 2) she adds the “secret [...]

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No-Cost Ideas for Energizing Your Team

September 15, 2009

In my post Not Everyone Loves Putt Putt, I advised leaders to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of hosting an offsite gathering that’s “fun day” or social in nature.  In a well-intended effort to promote team cohesiveness, these outings sometimes fall short. So what’s a leader to do if the team isn’t interested in an [...]

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Not Everyone Loves Putt-Putt

September 15, 2009

For many of us in the United States, September means “back to school”.  In the business world, that sense of starting anew often prompts team leaders to consider some sort of social off-site activity (lunch, golf, attending a cultural event) as a means to energize their team.  Off-site activities, when properly conceived and aligned to [...]

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No Monkeys!

September 13, 2009

One of our family’s all-time favorite movies is Toy Story 2.  The end of the movie features “out takes” showing the characters’ bloopers. My favorite out take is the one where Mrs. Potato Head is helping Mr. Potato head pack for his big adventure to go rescue Woody. She very helpfully says, “I’ve packed your [...]

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Big Girl Pants

September 12, 2009

I was hard at work at my desk one day, concentrating on a project.  I sensed someone standing in my doorway, then heard chuckling.  I looked up to find my staid, quiet “cube wall” neighbor laughing and pointing. She was directing her attention to framed artwork on my office wall that reads “Put your big [...]

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Are You Filling the Candy Bowl?

September 11, 2009

We were at an outdoor barbeque earlier this summer, extolling the virtues of the hostess’ fantastic array of food.  Talk turned to food at the office and how there’s always some sort of tasty treat being laid out for munching. Pete piped up—“Yeah, I know what you mean—I can hardly resist the M&M bowl. I [...]

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The Story of Pete and Sally

September 11, 2009

One of my favorite book series is the Sweet Potato Queens written by Jill Conner Browne.  Her books are an irreverant, saucy combination of self-help, memoir, philosophical ruminations and recipes all rolled into one. In her books, Conner Browne uses a very clever literary device— all of her friends are named “Tammy” to protect their identity. It occurs [...]

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