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 Elizabeth Petersen By way of introduction, my name is Elizabeth Petersen, and I’m the executive vice president of BLR’s healthcare division. And my personal “fun fact” is that I played and coached rugby for 12 years. Although I’m unofficially retired from the sport, I still very much identify as a rugby player. The sport […]
by Dan Oswald When I was in elementary school, it wasn’t unusual for my report card to come home with a note from the teacher at the bottom that read something like, “Danny is well-behaved, but he must learn not to talk so much in class.” I somehow escaped the “Danny” moniker by middle school, […]
by Dan Oswald President Harry S. Truman famously had a plaque on his desk that read, “The buck stops here.” It was a reminder to himself that he couldn’t pass responsibility for the way the country was governed. Ultimately, he was responsible. Responsibility comes with leadership. If you’re in a position of authority, you’re accountable […]
by Dan Oswald Recently, one of my colleagues suggested that we have a “bring your parents to work” day at the company. It’s a great idea and one that I, frankly, would have never thought of even though it makes perfect sense. Many companies have a “bring your kids to work” day, although many people […]
by Dan Oswald Let me apologize in advance, but today I’m going to write about the Chicago Cubs. On Saturday night, the Cubs clinched a trip to the World Series by defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-0. It’s the first World Series trip for the Chicago baseball franchise since 1945. The 71-year drought had been […]
by Dan Oswald Employee compensation is a complicated issue that can stir passion in people. Recently, the now-former CEO of Wells Fargo was taken to task by Congress for his company’s compensation practices, which many believe contributed to widespread fraud on the part of bank employees. There are no easy answers when it comes to […]
by Dan Oswald What is it you really love to do? Sometimes we lose sight of that and end up settling for something much less. If you don’t love what you do, you won’t do it with much conviction or passion. —Mia Hamm What’s the saying, “Find something you love to do, and you won’t […]
by Dan Oswald Fifteen years ago, country singer Toby Keith had a number one hit with his song “I Wanna Talk About Me.” The chorus of the song goes like this: I wanna talk about me Wanna talk about I Wanna talk about number one Oh my me my What I think, what I like, […]
by Dan Oswald Have you ever received a battery-operated gift only to discover you didn’t have the batteries required to make it work? If so, you understand the initial excitement that came with the gift and the corresponding disappointment of realizing that without the energy source, the gift was completely useless. So you run out […]
by Dan Oswald It’s the evening of September 11, 2016, as I write this, the 15th anniversary of the attacks on our country that resulted in 2,996 deaths. If you’re like me, you remember both the horrific and the heroic from that day. I’ll never forget the scenes of destruction that resulted from the cowardly […]