Practical HR Tips, News & Advice. Updated Daily.
Dan Oswald, CEO of Simplify Compliance, writes about management, leadership, and the workplace. Occasional guest articles are written by other leaders and C-Suite executives from BLR.
by Dan Oswald “Be all that you can be.” For years, that was the recruitment slogan used by the U.S. Army in its advertising. I think most of us would say we want to be all that we can be. We unabashedly claim we want to be the BEST. People don’t claim they want to […]
by Dan Oswald May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears. —Nelson Mandela Life is full of choices. Some big, some small. Every day we are faced with choices, and once we decide between Option A and Option B, we head down a new path. What occurs after we make the choice is a […]
by Dan Oswald Have you ever had someone encourage you to dream big? Someone who said you could be anything you wanted to be? Maybe you were lucky enough to have a parent or grandparent who convinced you that there are no limits. Or maybe a teacher or coach inspired you to consider opportunities that […]
by Dan Oswald When the going gets tough, how long does it take for someone to ask, “Who’s to blame for this mess?” Unfortunately, the answer is not very long. We live in a world in which everyone wants to place blame. You don’t have to look any further than the Great Recession. Republicans blamed […]
by Dan Oswald In 1987, Michael Jackson released a song titled “Man in the Mirror.” The theme of the song is clear: If you want the world to be different, if you want it to be a better place, the change needs to start with you—the person in the mirror. The song included the lines, […]
by Dan Oswald We live in a world of “What have you done for me lately?” And when we say “lately,” we mean today or this week. Our society suffers from an acute case of instant gratificationitis. Wall Street wants to see a return on its investment—now! It’s not necessarily concerned about seeing a company […]
by Dan Oswald It’s October, which means it’s time for the baseball playoffs. Usually at this time of year, I watch with casual interest as the best teams in the game eliminate one another until the World Series champion is crowned. But not this year. This year, my beloved Chicago Cubs are in the playoffs. […]
by Dan Oswald For each of us, our career is a journey. It can take us many places. We may change locations, employers, or even professions. And each experience we have along the way provides us with knowledge we can use at some point in the future—what to do differently or what not to do. […]
by Dan Oswald In the 2000 movie Pay It Forward, a seventh grade social studies teacher gives his students an assignment to create and put into action a plan that will change the world for the better. Young Trevor McKinney, played by Haley Joel Osment, comes up with a plan in which the recipient of […]
by Dan Oswald A few weeks ago, our company held its annual strategic planning session. In a meeting of our executive team, a consultant we work with shared an insight that I want to pass along. What did he say that I found so profound? He told us that successful leaders “make it clear which […]