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.
On October 26, 1967, John McCain’s plane was shot down during a bombing run over North Vietnam. He was captured and imprisoned at the Hoa Loa prisoner of war camp, which also was known as the “Hanoi Hilton.” McCain’s captors soon learned he was the son of the commander of all U.S. Forces in Vietnam, […]
The other day, I was faced with a situation where things were not progressing as I had hoped. My frustration led me to have a conversation with a colleague. I shared my dilemma with him and asked what he thought the key was to resuming progress. His response was, “You need to build trust. Obviously […]
As I write this, it is the final day of 2010. We are on the eve of a new year and with it comes a clean slate, a blank canvas on which you can create the type of year you want in 2011. January 1 marks the beginning of a new year. Janus, for whom […]
On Saturday, a friend and I were returning home from a hunting trip with our two sons. About halfway home, on our four-hour-plus trip, we stopped for gas and to grab a sandwich. After filling up the truck with gas, I sat outside the sandwich shop waiting for my friend and the two boys to […]
Some of you professional football fans may have heard that earlier this week the Washington Redskins suspended their All-Pro defensive lineman, Albert Haynesworth, without pay for the rest of the season. You see, Haynesworth and Redskins’ head coach Mike Shanahan have been feuding since the pre-season, when Haynesworth skipped off-season workouts, refused to attend a […]
Over the Thanksgiving weekend, my youngest son pulled out his favorite holiday movie to get himself in the Christmas spirit. You see, my wife was planning a day of putting up the Christmas tree, stringing lights outside, and generally decorating our home for the holidays. You might say that not everyone in the family shares […]
Last night, my wife and I were discussing our respective personalities and those of our three children. I must say that my wife views some of my personality traits more harshly than I do. Things that I consider strengths don’t sound quite as positive when I hear her describe them. On some things we do […]
I’ve been thinking a lot about employee communication lately. I’ve been thinking about what makes for good, effective communication and how it can be a powerful force within any organization. I’ve decided that good communication must be H.O.T. H.O.T. stands for honest, open, and two-way. Honest. To me, honesty in communication is the bedrock. If […]
I saw a sign the other day that read, “Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want.” It sounded pretty true to me. Sure, you get experience when you succeed, but if you think about it, the truly valuable lessons are learned when we don’t get what we want. This short […]
Just the other day I read a story in one of our publications about Kara Jorud. Kara worked for the retailer Michaels as a store manager beginning in 2001. By all accounts, she was an exemplary manager and a hard worker. Her job required her to work extremely long hours, including weekends. In late 2007, […]