Business Management

TEDx Grand Rapids – 8 Ideas Worth Sharing

May 17, 2011

I’ve joined the ranks of TED aficionados. Last Thursday, along with 599 other lucky people, I participated (on-site) in the first-ever TEDx event in Grand Rapids, Michigan. A TEDx event is a spin-off of the popular TED Conference. For those unfamiliar with TED, it’s a unique conference format designed around “riveting talks by remarkable people, [...]

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Can a Computer Show Altruism?

February 17, 2011

Super-Smarts without Compassion: A Dangerous Combo I’ve been enjoying the press surrounding this week’s Jeopardy game show match-up of IBM super-computer Watson against two of Jeopardy’s most prodigious players, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter.  Of course, there have been many accounts of the “man versus machine” angle. My personal favorite came from an interview in [...]

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Integrating Talent the Hewlett Packard Way

December 17, 2010

A Look at HR’s role in Mergers and Acquisitions One of my colleagues, Dave Carhart, a former technical recruiter, is studying for his MBA/MILR – (Masters of Industrial and Labor Relations) at Cornell University. He recently sat down with me to discuss the lessons learned from his internship with Hewlett Packard (HP). Dave was part [...]

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When Leaders Let It All Hang Out

December 10, 2010

Organizationally Speaking, That Is I heard an interesting interview last night with Ned Breslin, CEO of the nonprofit Water for People on American Public Media’s Marketplace radio program. Water for People’s mission is to provide safe drinking water all over the world. The interview explored the level of transparency that was created when the organization [...]

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The Urban Legend of Command and Control Management

December 3, 2010

An email arrived the other day; it was a request for assistance from a person who is gathering research for his Master’s study program. His thesis will explore, in part, a study of the demise of the command-and-control management style. I was happy to supply the information he sought. After sending the email, I found [...]

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Time Management and the Great DANE

November 30, 2010

During this time of year, people typically have more on their “To Do” lists because of holiday activities.  According to Mental Health America, 34% of people surveyed listed “having too much to do” as a major holiday stressor. When overwhelmed, I use a time management tool that I learned from the late Jennifer White of [...]

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Black Friday and Employee Burnout

November 26, 2010

Early in my career I was a Human Resources Generalist for Marshall Field’s department stores. Autumn was a busy time for the HR department as we ramped up the hiring and training for the seasonal staff. Black Friday was the official start to our industry’s busiest time of year—a fiscal “make it or break it” [...]

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Change Management According to Granny

October 22, 2010

Dissatisfaction is Part of the Deal for Change Agents While working out at the gym the other day, I indulged in bit of TV nostalgia and watched the Beverly Hillbillies.  This particular episode had Jed and Granny discussing how to deliver some disappointing news to Jethro. “Now, don’t worry Granny,” Jed said reassuringly, “I’ll go easy [...]

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How HR Can Create Value: Fixing the Broken Button

June 22, 2010

The other day I was at a client’s office listening to a presentation.  The topic was how to effectively complete the company’s online timecard system. As the group was discussing the details of how to complete the online timecard, the talk turned to how to notify ones supervisor of impending PTO (Personal Time Off). One [...]

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Author Interview with John Spence

April 20, 2010

  Earlier this year, I discovered the book Awesomely Simple and wrote a book review on it for this blog. I admired the book’s down-to-earth approach and wanted to learn more, so I reached out to its author, John Spence. John agreed to sit down with me last month for an interview.       [...]

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