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 We talk a lot about teams in the workplace today. When we recruit to fill a position, we say, “We’re looking for team players.” When the team achieves success, we say, “We win as a team.” When we consider whether we have the right people on the team, we say, “The team […]
by Dan Oswald Either you love the New York Yankees or you hate them. I’m a hater. I grew up hating them. They were the antithesis of my beloved Chicago Cubs. That is to say they were winners. But I didn’t hate them because they were winners—well, maybe a little. I hated them because of […]
by Dan Oswald Penn State University found itself at the center of another controversy when it told faculty and employees they must participate in the school’s new wellness program or have $100 withheld from their paychecks every month. The wellness program, which required employees to fill out an online wellness profile and visit a doctor […]
by Dan Oswald When Queen Elizabeth I ascended to the throne in 1558, England was, in a word, a mess. The country was struggling financially with runaway inflation and a debased currency. It was a cultural wasteland that was far behind other countries when comparing achievements in literature and the arts. And it was a […]
by Dan Oswald I recently was reading on the subject of leadership, and one topic that came up was intelligence. So I set out to do some research on the importance of IQ in leadership. I must admit, it’s not easy to find a lot written about the intelligence of leaders. Type “leadership and intelligence” […]
by Dan Oswald Last week I took my second child—and my only daughter, which is a significant distinction for a father—to college for her freshman year. I knew it would be an emotional time for her, her mother, and me. And I wanted to offer some sage advice as I left her behind in her […]
by Dan Oswald Have you ever known someone who was incredibly intelligent but had absolutely no common sense? I’ve known a few. So the other day when a colleague was describing to me a book he came across that contained “cowboy logic” and the line, “I’ve learned that common sense ain’t so common,” it got […]
by Dan Oswald Maybe you’ve heard the story of Dick Hoyt and his son, Rick. Rick was born so severely disabled that the doctors told his parents to put him in an institution so he could be cared for, but his parents refused and took their son home with them. Rick has been confined to […]
by Dan Oswald Last month, Ryan Braun, the Milwaukee Brewers star who was the 2011 National League MVP, was hit with a 65-game suspension that ended his season for his use of banned substances provided by a Miami clinic accused of distributing banned performance-enhancing drugs to Major League Baseball players. This was after he had […]
by Dan Oswald I have the always desirable but elusive teamwork on my mind as I write this. The dictionary defines it this way: “cooperative or coordinated effort on the part of a group of persons acting together as a team or in the interests of a common cause.” There’s a lot in that definition. […]