Why Morons Win

By mark.stelzner | Published: September 2, 2010

In the fall of 1997 we were working on final negotiations with a Fortune 1000 firm. This was an extremely large opportunity and the relationship was absolutely critical to our success. As a condition of closing we had to brief their president and I was extremely nervous. Did we have all our ducks in a row? Was there some consideration we hadn’t controlled for? Would he balk at the final pricing? As a young professional my mind was reeling with doubt and uncertainty.

As you’ll see, my concerns was completely unfounded.

When I entered the conference room I was met by a disheveled middle-aged man who was bowled over in laughter. I smiled (to fit in) and he just kept waving me away as he stomped the ground repeatedly, wracked by the pleasure of (I found out later) his own joke. His team smirked apologetically and we eventually got him settled down, although the occasional burst of popcorn laughter would slip out unexpectedly.

Yes, this was their glorious leader.

He didn’t really listen to anything we said. Once he picked up the phone in the conference room and couldn’t remember how to dial out, punching numbers whac-a-mole style with a furrowed brow, spitting, “Why – can’t – I – get – this – damn – thing – to – work!“. When it came to the pricing, I accidentally presented the wrong numbers and he didn’t even notice. “Fine, fine…whatever“, was his somewhat annoyed response as he rolled his chair around the room like a two-year-old. And he was a one man band – belching, clearing his throat, clicking his pen, tapping on the table. It was painful. So yes, we secured the deal, but this was the moment I realized that smart people don’t always win.

A Systemic Problem

As employees, most worker bees tend to assume that those in charge either have better information or a superior intellect when it comes to decision making. Therefore, when edicts come down from on high you can accept that someone, somewhere, somehow made the correct choice. But if you work long enough (and you will), there will come a point in your career when you are exposed to the illogical, irrational, emotional and even unforgivable actions of an idiotic executive or board member. At this pinnacle moment of awakening one truth with rise over all others …

… sometimes morons win.

But Why?

When I was a kid I was introduced to the term, “smart enough to be dangerous”. To me, this is one of the ways stupid people can get ahead. Most of the morons I worked for were political animals who knew how to capitalize on the fear and weaknesses of others. They were bus drivers who would back over anyone who got in their way and conniving enough to hide the bodies.

Another term that’s bandied about is “Failing Upwards”, such as ABCNews.com’s piece from 2007 lambasting CEOs who channeled their inner Chris Angel to levitate to the top of the pyramid. In the article, Ken Siegel of The Impact Group offered his assessment:

“The higher you go up, the less rigorous the situation becomes,” Siegel said. “Familiarity breeds some tolerance of incompetence. We typically have more excuses for those internally, and that contributes to reasons why they should be promoted.”

In his post, Why Stupid People Succeed, author Avish Parashar chalks this phenomenon up to “confidence unbounded by logic“:

“With an inability (or unwillingness) to be open-minded, see the angles, and realize that others may not think the way they do, the stupid person allows their confidence to bloom unfettered by the chains of reason. All of us smart people could learn a thing or two from the stupid.“

Despite their roots in logic, most of these responses may be as unsatisfying to you as they are to me. I want to believe that business smarts and hard work pay dividends, but perhaps Parashar sums up the situation best:

“Sadly, our world is not a meritocracy. The best do not always succeed the most. This is a tough pill to swallow, because it seems so unfair. Especially to us smart folk who were taught growing up that all we had to do was do well in school and we would be fine.”

Why do you think morons win? Share your stories/thoughts below before they take over the world. Then again, it may be too late…


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They Don’t Make Nets For Sidelines

By mark.stelzner | Published: August 25, 2010

A few weeks ago Laurie Ruettimann, Yasha Stelzner and I began our grand experiment called New Media Services. Sure, we spent a lot of time thinking about the markets we’ll serve, the needs of our future clients and how we’ll add value. But at the end there was a critical point where we just had to step to the edge, hold hands and make the leap.

And what a leap it’s been. In just a few short weeks we’ve launched Voice of HR, provided free job seeker webinars, planned the most progressive and exciting lineup of thought leaders for a global Career Summit and contracted to provide new media services to two of the largest events in the human resources industry (one of which we’ll be announcing shortly).

My point isn’t that we’re awesome rock stars and the smartest kids on the block. In fact, I’m certain we’re going to make mistakes along the way. My point is that you never know if you’ll succeed unless you try. And after all the talking and conjecture, all the grandstanding and pontification, there comes a time to start doing.

I also know something about each of you. Yes, I’m talking directly to you, that person with an ideation itch they can’t seem to scratch. The one who takes the extra long shower to work through your own big plans. The person who sketches on airplanes, brainstorms in coffee shops and sits in corporate meetings wondering how much longer you can take it. I talk to you every single week. You pitch me your ideas and we work them over, but at the end of the day you need to decide if it’s finally time to make the leap.

I have one bit of advice for you.

Do it.


Posted in General Thoughts, Human Resources | Tagged , | 17 Comments

A Means To An End

By mark.stelzner | Published: August 18, 2010

It happened every single night. I’d finish up my shift at the Cookie Factory by tossing the unsold product into a brown bag, the butter-soaked goodies sweating through the thin paper and threatening to break free at any moment. Lights turned off, door locked and cage pulled, I’d begin the midnight slog back to my dorm room. It was freshman year and I was about to deliver hope to the tired and hungry masses.

It was one of three jobs that I held simultaneously that year, but this was the one people talked about. This was the crappy job that had my friends lined up awaiting my return. The means might be obvious, but the end? Well, every night I spent time with people I cared about while providing them a valuable service – free cookies.

The point of my very short post (for me anyway) is that every job we have is, in fact, a means to an end. For some, that end is as simple as a paycheck. For others, it’s about gaining valuable experience, learning from someone you admire, pursuing your passion, following your degree path or simply pausing the treadmill long enough to catch your breath and regroup.

I think the temptation to lament missed opportunities or elusive hopes and dreams can be overwhelming. But what about today? What about now? What about that thing your doing this very second? Sometimes I wish we could just stop and think about how what we’re doing today might bring us – perhaps in some small way – closer to our ultimate destination.

And if that doesn’t do the trick, just line up outside of room 1423. I’ll have a cookie with your name on it.


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The Future of HR

By mark.stelzner | Published: August 11, 2010

For those of you who aren’t aware, I was actually born in Wisconsin and spent many of my formative years in a suburb of Milwaukee. Last week I returned to my home state, a nostalgic visit that reminded me of what nice, honest, hard-working people occupy America’s Dairyland. And at the invitation of the good professor Matt Stollak, I was asked to provide the closing keynote at the Wisconsin State SHRM 2010 Leadership Conference on a topic that would be challenging for any speaker – The Future of HR.

Upon my arrival in Sturgeon Bay last Thursday, it was Betsy Mitchell who first greeted me, asked about my trip and immediately struck up a conversation. Betsy is the VP of Organizational and Staff Development for the Green Bay Packers and was a featured speaker. Despite “19 seasons with the Packers” (which is how they measure time…in seasons), Betsy is one of the most self-effacing and approachable leaders I’ve ever met. She doesn’t pull punches about her initial reservations in joining such a “testosterone laden” organization. A hilarious storyteller, Betsy has had some very interesting experiences, including one with former Coach Mike Holmgren that involved her stealing his cookie after he walked out of a lunch meeting in a huff. It’s a great story about power and sticking to your principals, something which Betsy clearly embodies while speaking to the values and culture of the legendary Packers. Suffice it to say that there were a number of enjoyable moments at this event and Betsy was a highlight.

Although a tough act to follow, I intended to carry Betsy’s lead forward by combining levity with provocative and challenging ideation. There were several other sessions that preceded my keynote but I was ready to roll when the time came. However, after ninety minutes on the microphone, I’m wasn’t sure if I accomplished any of my original goals. Much of the audience seemed genuinely shell-shocked by what I had to say and it was only afterwards that individual attendees provided me with a bit of context relative to the confusing (from my vantage point) reaction to the material. Let me try and explain.

The slides (which you can download here and are embedded below) may not do justice to the conversation we had and certainly miss many of the important developments and future considerations you may see for our industry. I attempted to focus explicitly on those big picture issues where HR can either proactively take a stance/position or pay the price by letting others shape our destiny. Take a look at the deck and you’ll get a sense of what I am talking about.

The Future of HR

My expectation was to dialogue with this terrific leadership team and really dive deep into some of the more challenging concepts. Instead, some of the fundamental premises which shaped my underlying thesis were perceived to be unfounded. Outsourcing transactional HR? Some audience members either felt that their firms were too small for consideration or that outsourcing was a four-letter word. Third-party payroll providers? Less than ten percent have these relationships in play today. And the list of misses went on and on….

Naturally I started to second guess myself and wonder if I was way off base. Students aside (and there were many present), this audience had a fairly standard distribution across both size of organization and the experience level of attendees, so that wasn’t at play. And I don’t want to paint a picture of a group of out of touch, small town HR folks – remember these are the leaders of one of the more progressive state SHRM councils. Their desire to improve our profession was palpable in every other instance that I witnessed. However, in my case I think the problem is this…

It wasn’t safe to have this conversation in public.

I spoke with about a dozen attendees before heading back home and each of them (in their own way) thanked me for saying what they’ve been “wanting to say for years“. Add to that the several dozen emails I received with the same tenor and we start to reach a consensus. So I sit here today both pleased that my ideas resonated with so many and gravely concerned about our ability to address difficult issues together.

I firmly believe that it is only through open and honest dialogue that we’ll progress as an industry, but how do we overcome the gravitational pull toward the status quo? Isn’t it our leaders who need to demonstrate the courage to challenge the norm and question that which came before? And what of the students who were hoping to learn from their seasoned colleagues prior to beginning their adventure into our industry? I see this as both a tremendous success and a missed opportunity.

I want to thank the Wisconsin State SHRM leaders for their hospitality and interest. I enjoyed meeting so many of the attendees and appreciated the opportunity to push us out of our comfort zone. But now it’s your turn to weigh in – did The Future of HR deck resonate with you? And what of our need to discuss these challenges openly and honestly? Please share your thoughts below and, as always, let’s keep the conversation going.


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The Art of Saying No

By mark.stelzner | Published: July 31, 2010

“I did not ASK your opinion Stelzner. Just do it and get the hell out of my office!!” He was spitting mad and kicked at the air, accidentally crashing his toes into the edge of his desk.

So I did two things – 1) I got the hell out of his office; and 2) I did what he asked without hesitation. In retrospect, I wished I would have said no and stood my ground, but it was the end of the quarter and he desperately needed me to bring in some revenue from one of our strategic partners. Although watching him limp around with (likely) broken toes offered some solace, I was young and lacked the courage or experience to know how to handle an irate boss. Like many of you, no one had taught me the art of saying no.

As working adults our daily decisions can be very complex. The implications of how we handle situations can range from taking on more work than we can handle to covering the shortcomings of those around us. In doing so, your more generous colleagues may recognize you as a “team player” who really “pitches in during crunch time” and doesn’t ever “question the assignment“. The manipulative types, however, will zero in and see you as an “easy target” who can “carry the load” while betting on how far they can push before you crack. Yet other more innocuous workmates may simply acknowledge the reality that everyone is doing more with less (and that everyone includes you).

Given today’s precarious world of employment, I’m finding that it’s harder and harder for people to say no. Author Leo Babauta summarized the criticality of this issue:

“What’s so hard about saying no? Well, to start with, it can hurt, anger or disappoint the person you’re saying ‘no’ to, and that’s not usually a fun task. Second, if you hope to work with that person in the future, you’ll want to continue to have a good relationship with that person, and saying ‘no’ in the wrong way can jeopardize that.” - Source: Lifehack

So how does one artfully decline without finding their office possessions in an unmarked cardboard box? Clearly it’s important to be judicious in your thought process, but is there a good means of deciding whether no is the right answer? Tammy Strobel of Rowdy Kittens shares her tips on how to make up your mind:

“Sleep on it. Maybe you were invited to a big event, but aren’t sure if you should go? Then sleep on it. If you’re feeling unsure about something a good night sleep might do the trick. I know when I’m sleep deprived my decision making skills aren’t stellar. Don’t be rash, be thoughtful.

Go for a walking meditation. I’m a big fan of taking really long walks (between 2 and 3 hours) in the park. I usually bring my camera, a writing pad and my thoughts. I listen to the birds, insects chirping and wind blowing through the trees. Walking clears my mind and helps me focus on the right choice.

Listen to your instinct. Listen to your gut, instincts, 6th sense or whatever you want to call it. The value of instinctive insight has been disregarded by many people. But I think our brain stores and holds onto information we might not be consciously aware of. We have these kinds of feelings and hunches for a reason, but we tend to ignore them when we should be listening.” – Source: Rowdy Kittens

Now that you’ve decided that no is the correct response, how should you handle the situation? Therese Haberman at Suite101.com offers these words of wisdom:

Location, location, location. – “Find a good place to talk to your boss privately, without ringing telephones or unwanted intrusions. Pick a less stressful time of the day, like after hours, when she is not preoccupied with getting the work done.“

Be logical, calm and concise. – “Be mindful and sensitive to the fact that she will likely have a knee jerk reaction to your request, so be tactful and diplomatic in your explanation of what you are declining to do and your reasoning.“

Choose your words wisely. - “Do not phrase your refusal in the form of a refusal. Instead of saying that you will not do the task, start by stating that you are having difficulty with completing the assignment. This will give her a chance to rethink the situation in a way that does not undermine her effectiveness or authority.“

Redirect. - “Offer an alternative solution to how she can get it done (e.g., assigning others or a team to complete it).“

Avoid public confrontation. - “Do not make her look bad or question her motives in front of others. This will be a losing situation for both of you.“

Know the rules. – “If the task presents a moral dilemma, many employers have a code of ethics that would allow you to refuse to do something, such as lying to a customer, to protect you from reprimand. This is a last resort, as it may damage your relationship with your manager.“

Take notes. – “Document the situation, circumstances and any action taken against you for future reference.” – Source: Suite101.com

Good stuff, but now it’s your turn. Please help everyone increase their skills by sharing your advice on how to say no (or you can practice your newfound skills and just say “no” to my request for assitance.) And if you happen to invent a time machine, please go back to find a younger me and share your words of wisdom. It won’t avoid a raging tirade but just might save my pride.


Posted in General Thoughts, Human Resources | Tagged , , | 23 Comments

Uncle Bill Wants You!

By mark.stelzner | Published: July 27, 2010

Bill Kutik doesn’t really ask me for much, so when he suggested that I let you all know about the upcoming 2010 HR Technology Conference and Exposition, it was kind of a no brainer. Why is that? I covered last year’s HR Tech event here and concluded that it was “a rousing success”. This year my expectations are even higher, and here’s why September 29th to October 1st in Chicago should now be on your calendar.

Kutik and fellow co-chair David Shadovitz have really stepped things up for 2010 and some of the individuals that I most admire in the industry will be active and vocal participants for this year’s festivities. And there’s something for everyone, including:

  • Naomi Bloom and Jim Holincheck going mano y mano in “The Great Technology Debate”
  • Lexy Martin unveiling her 13th Annual CedarCrestone HR Systems Survey
  • Phil Fersht and Lowell Williams showing off their big brains in “The Great Service Delivery Debate”
  • Laurie Ruettimann as the Pied Piper of new media in her “Twitterversity” tutorial
  • Kris Dunn introducing you to some of the freshest voices in the market via his “Blogger Insight Panel”
  • Jason Averbook and Gerry Crispin returning to moderate their respective (and respected) panels on talent management and job boards

And if you’re really not into great content, you can network your way to success on the expo floor, at the tweetup, over dinners, coffee meetings and the like. This is the one event that players in our industry do not miss, period.

Finally, I’d ask you to come so you can ridicule and humiliate me personally. Last year I was openly critical of the “Shootout” that HR Tech is famous for. In a very tactical and creative move, HR Technology has silenced yours truly by getting me personally involved. This year’s Shootout is now plural as my good friends Steve Boese, Mike Krupa and I will each be moderating (and judging) head-to-head battles between some of the industry’s top service providers. Let’s see if I do any better. :)

Oh… one last important note. Because Bill loves me and I love you, he’s offered you a discount on conference registration. Simply click here now and enter promotion code “INFLEXION10″ (note that this is case sensitive) for $500 off the onsite price. I may even let you buy me a drink with your savings.

(Checking my notes)…. okay, let’s review. Great show. Great content. Great people. The great Stelzner. Great discount. Well, that about sums it up. If you have thoughts about this show, the schedule, what I should wear or how death feuding vendors should be judged, please share your comments below. I’ll look forward to seeing you there.


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Winning The War On Talent

By mark.stelzner | Published: July 15, 2010

Source: The Economist

When I think about winners in the ill-defined “war on talent”, a few attributes come to mind. First, you’re not apologetic about who you are and what makes your organization tick, so aspirational employee branding efforts are counter-culture and somewhat abhorrent. Second, you use research, data and analytics to study the real actions and resulting outcomes of your candidates and employees. Numbers aren’t scary but instead empower your thinking, decision making or overarching strategic plans. Finally, you are fully transparent about your goals and aspirations. You are running a business and can concisely convey your objectives and how each employee’s cog fits into your wheel of commerce.

A few weeks ago Bill Kutik and several other industry representatives (including yours truly) were invited out to Philadelphia to attend a fairly standard analyst briefing with Kenexa’s leadership team. My expectations for these events are fairly straight forward – you meet with the executive staff, hear their predictions for the coming year and gather information on product releases, feature specifications, client successes, revenues, etc. It’s a fairly prescribed event and some leave more cynical, others more enlightened, and yet others indifferent to what they saw or heard.

And here’s my top takeaway from the day. Kenexa, if it executes successfully and stays focused, is about to crack the code in this area. This is not something I say lightly and is not guaranteed, so I’ll explain my reasoning below. Know that although my travel and expenses were paid (as they were for all attendees), I received no incentive (financial or otherwise) to write this post.

Back to Philly…

Mid-morning arrived and we were asked to split off into separate tracks depending on our areas of interest. I went with the much smaller recruitment process outsourcing group due to my personal and professional curiousity about this rapidly growing (yet highly confusing) market segment. If you’re interested in what happened in the other track, be sure to read Kutik’s column, Kenexa Puts Its Pieces Together by clicking here. He offered a terrific summation and I wholeheartedly agree with his conclusions.

About eight of us huddled in an extremely warm wood-paneled room in the Union League Club, a Civil War-era time capsule in downtown Philadelphia. Yes, they have a dress code and women’s restrooms appear to be a fairly recent addition. This is not your venue of choice for a diversity conference, believe me. I digress…

I won’t bore you with a lot of what we discussed. Yes, Kenexa is a player in RPO and talent management. Yes, they have a full service solution, global footprint, and so on. That you can find out by reading their literature or visiting their website and it’s all really table stakes for competing in today’s environment. The “Wow!” factor comes when you learn more about their research and how they are deconstructing data-driven market insights.

Kenexa’s Research Institute (KRI) is a bellwether of workforce analytics and an extremely small (but incredibly valuable) portion of Kenexa’s overall infrastructure. If you haven’t heard of them or studied their findings, you’re missing out on some terrific insights, including:

Remember, I’m married to a researcher and understand the value these studies can bring to an organization. But for many, putting that content into the context of their specific organizational needs is a barrier to action and change. And this is where the secret sauce of Kenexa’s new strategy really comes into play.

For several strategic clients, Kenexa has applied its KRI team for the specific purpose of attacking the “quality of hire” question. The insights gathered in this initial consultative research fundamentally change the sourcing strategies and resulting screening and assessment process. The outcome is a “tunnel” versus “funnel” candidate experience with the explicit goal of supporting only quality hires. It is this piece specifically – including competitive market research, top performer research and company culture assessment – that could change the face of recruiting as you know it.

You’re thinking, “But Mark, this stuff isn’t new! I mean c’mon, seriously. They’ll ‘win the market’??” I think it is new, and let me give you an example.

Regeneron is a biopharmaceutical company focused on medicines for the treatment of serious medical conditions. They worked with Kenexa to develop what was at the time a very controversial campaign to attack their market needs. Here’s an extract on the partnership from a recently published piece in the Journal of Organizational Excellence:

“A strategic partnership required that this successful biotech company add, in just one year, nearly 50 percent more employees, including top-notch scientific talent, and then do it again just two years later. A key challenge was to preserve, in the midst of high organizational growth, the unique cultural DNA that has been part of the company’s code for success. The authors describe a major employment branding initiative, which included a cultural assessment based on Jungian archetypes, that enabled the company to position its culture as the key differentiator in its recruitment strategy. They discuss the surfacing and articulation of five key cultural attributes that exemplify the culture and how they are used to attract and select new employees for a strong cultural fit; engage existing employees around the defining values and behaviors needed for success; and define the company’s external brand. They also describe how HR practices have been implemented or modified to sustain these characteristics as part of the organizational fabric.“

Regeneron and Kenexa named this initiative The Five and you’ll see that it’s an extremely candid and transparent representation of who they are, who they are not and what it takes to be successful at their firm. This campaign served as a screen to let candidates know that unless you’re comfortable with these five truths, Regeneron is not the firm for you. Beyond the “five things to know”, this also included a controversial list of reasons why you would not fit into their organization complete with a big DON’T APPLY graphic followed by… “If science isn’t your obsession”; “If you’re content being the smartest person in the room”; “If you’re afraid to fail”; “If you think good enough is good enough”; and “If you need a routine to define you”. I love this approach and you won’t be surprised to learn that scientists responded in droves, some enraged by the idea that they may not be the right fit for Regeneron. It’s brilliant and it worked.

And Kenexa isn’t waiting for HR and recruiting to wake up to their newer strategies. Instead they are forming CEO and board-level relationships to ensure that the criticality of discussions on talent and employee engagement see the light of day.

It’s rare for me to declare a winner and I remain very bullish on Kenexa’s chances of fundamentally changing the talent conversation. However, there are three challenges that they must immediately overcome:

  1. Kenexa’s marketing budget is fractional compared to the competition. CEO Rudy Karsan is aware of this issue and knows that, in his words, Kenexa needs to address “how quickly we can expand the microphone“;
  2. The Research Institute is thriving under top-notch leaders such as Dr. Anne Herman, but it’s an underfunded group and needs to expand significantly if Kenexa is going to fully capitalize on the opportunity; and
  3. Kenexa currently houses a twenty-person employer branding group. I think this is a distraction as this is not (and should not, in my opinion) be a core competency of the firm. I think all stakeholders would benefit from an alliance strategy in the branding space.

I know this was a long one so thank you for hanging in there. Now it’s the time in our program for you to share your thoughts. What do you think of these initiatives? Are they ground breaking or am I ill-informed? What will it take to win the so-called “war on talent”? You’re smarter than I am so share your thoughts below and let’s keep the conversation going.


Posted in Human Resources, Research | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

New Study: HR and Social Media

By mark.stelzner | Published: July 12, 2010

We’ve heard a lot of discussion related to HR and its use (or lack thereof) of social media – ranging from terrific success stories to the horror of litigation and employee abuse. After reading hundreds of blogs and articles, participating in dozens of presentations, studying the market and assessing the thought leaders, it became clear that a cohesive study on the role of social media to today’s human resources function was sorely needed. With that, we released a survey intending to sort through the noise and get to the root of questions plaguing today’s HR leaders, beginning with…

Is Social Media all that it’s cracked up to be?

Although many operational functions are embracing social media, human resources is left wondering how and if they should participate. We are surveying the market to capture valuable information on these emerging tools. Beyond benchmarking social media use across industries and organizations, we will also answer the following questions:

  • How is use of social media changing?
  • How are other HR functions using social media?
  • Which function owns social media policy and strategy?
  • How “deep” are organizations in social media?
  • Can you dabble in social media or do you have to be cutting edge?
  • How are organizations measuring the benefits of social media?

The survey should take no more than 15 minutes to complete and your responses will be kept strictly confidential. We are pleased to provide you with a copy of the findings report in exchange for your participation. The aggregated results will be presented to the market in a variety of formats, including webinars, seminars, white papers and the like.

Take the survey now and add your voice to this important conversation. And if you have questions or comments, either email our Chief Research Officer or feel free to post a message below. Together we will demystify new media and help to clarify the path forward.


Posted in Human Resources, Research | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Employing America’s Heroes

By mark.stelzner | Published: July 8, 2010

Emily King gave me an embarrassed grin as she struggled not to cry. “I always choke up when I tell this story”, she said sheepishly. I smiled broadly and encouraged her to go on. She did, and thus began the first of many lessons she’d share with me that afternoon.

In her own words:

“After checking into [my] hotel, I proceeded to the wrong bank of elevators and rode it for awhile before realizing my mistake and getting off. Waiting with me for the next car down was a young guy – early 20s at most – with one arm covered in tattoos, and the other arm gone. Beside him was a canvas tote bag with a large prosthetic arm sticking out.

He was not in uniform; rather, he wore a plain t-shirt, jeans and a baseball cap. I wanted to acknowledge him but hesitated, thinking, “This has to be a war injury. But…what if it isn’t? No, it has to be – why else would a 20-something have such an injury?” Before opening my mouth to ask him about it, he asked me a question. “Ma’am, do you know if you have to turn in your room key?” I said I wasn’t sure but didn’t think so. I asked him if he had served and, when he said yes, I thanked him. He replied, “Oh, thank you, ma’am. It was my pleasure and I served with a smile.”

He took his room key out of his pocket and said, “I hate walking through the lobby with this prosthetic arm, getting stared at.” I said, “Let me do it. It’s the least I can do.” He seemed relieved. I felt humbled.

As I walked to the front desk with his key, I thought to myself, “This is what it is going to mean for us.” “Us,” meaning us Americans. Civilians. Going about our daily lives, we may encounter someone with a visible war injury. My friends who work in the DoD’s Wounded Warrior program have said that wounded veterans don’t want pity from civilian employers and co-workers, but a little patience is helpful. “Soldiers are used to being active and they want to be active again, even if they are injured. They will be active again.”” ~ Emily King

Emily is someone you need to know. She’s the founder of MyMilitaryTransition.com, is a nationally recognized expert on military-to-civilian transitions, spent over a decade with Booz Allen Hamilton in HR strategy and holds a MS in OD and applied behavior science. In short, she’s smart, she understands the problem and has developed a wonderful sense of how to address this systemic issue facing America’s veteran workforce.

Emily recently presented as part of SHRM’s wonderful two-day program, Military Veterans: Transitioning Skills to the New Economy. I applaud SHRM for their work in this area, and as their research shows below, we have a long way to go in educating employers on the benefits that our veterans can bring to their organizations.

SHRM Poll – Hiring Veterans

But beyond hiring, retention becomes the next key issue, and this is the where Emily’s work really shines. Based on her deep understanding of the differences between military and civilian work culture, she translates civilian culture, expectations and behavioral norms for transitioning military personnel so they experience early and lasting success in the private sector. That’s right – early and lasting success, and this helps bolster the dialogue and understanding between both groups so that veterans succeed as civilians. In turn, organizations accelerate productivity and increase retention among this invaluable segment of the workforce. You really couldn’t ask for anything more.

I’ll leave you with a final thought from Emily King. It was one of the most important lessons she shared and I’d encourage you to truly ponder the meaning of her words. After that, please share your thoughts, comments and stories below. We need to speak more openly about our returning veterans and the challenges associated with their transition into sustainable employment post-service. In my opinion, silence and inaction are simply not an option.

“For those of us civilians who have only experienced war through the media…where we might want to look away, we need to look ahead. Where we want to be silent we need to say thank you. It is only our own discomfort that stands in the way. My encounter today with the young serviceman who had lost his arm showed me a bit about what the war meant for him. Bearing witness to it as we welcome soldiers home is what it means for us.“


Posted in Human Resources, Public Sector | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

SHRM 2010 – Observations & Conclusions

By mark.stelzner | Published: June 30, 2010

Well, it’s hard to believe that another SHRM Annual Conference has come and gone. And like last year’s event, we witnessed some of the same challenges and opportunities. But before I offer my thoughts on this year’s gala, let me suggest a few of the wonderful bloggers who provided fantastic coverage of SHRM 2010:

Ok, let’s get down to business:

The Venue/Location

I’m a big fan of San Diego and the convention center really did offer a terrific venue for the event. There were plenty of places for exhausted, swag-laden HR pros to find a little corner to relax and even catch a brief nap (I saw more than a few sleepers). Although San Diego was geographically too distant (and therefore costly) for many, the convention center was conveniently located within walking distance of several hotels, dozens of restaurants and nightlife, as well as on the shore for those who needed to get away from the chaos of the expo hall. My only nit is that there were not enough coffee shops as the lines were very, very long. If there’s one thing to know about HR, we love our java.

SHRM’s Organization/Speakers

I said this last year and I’ll say it again – I really can’t imagine the difficultly in hosting more than 11,000 attendees, coordinating hundreds of sponsors, securing hundreds of volunteers and making it look relatively effortless. My hat goes off to the organizing committee for another terrific job. Moreover, this year we saw some new offerings including the introduction of a social media lounge and what I felt was a much more comfortable press room. With plenty of power strips, good high-speed internet, pre-configured laptops and desktops and all the beverages and snacks you could handle, our merry band of misfits were connected, caffeinated and ready to roll. A personal “thank you” to SHRM’s new social media guru Curtis Midkiff for doing a great job in his inaugural appearance.

Now let’s talk about presenters. Regardless of your political views, nearly all attendees I spoke with were thrilled with Al Gore having spent the time and effort to truly tailor his speech to human resources. It wasn’t just a casual mention but a full-blown call to action. My suggestion is that SHRM work with Michael J. Fox and Sir Richard Branson (SHRM ‘11 keynoters) to ensure that their presentations are similarly on point. It is member dollars that are funding these speaker fees and they deserve to walk away with something relevant.

My last point on speakers is this – where is the diversity?? I’m hoping someone kept score but it appeared that only white males were available for a trip to San Diego in late June. Of course I’m exaggerating, but I did not see a proper representation on stage. Hell, SHRM itself only has one female executive leader in the hopper, and she hasn’t started her job yet. In an industry dominated by women, we need to do a better job of lifting them up and celebrating their contributions and accomplishments. This picture does not do the membership justice (and people really do take notice).

Executive Presence

I want to hit this on two fronts.

First, SHRM rolled out their entire leadership team and we witnessed some (unfortunate) dancing from a few of them. Much to my surprise, CEO Lon O’Neil even launched his Twitter account (although he had some phantom tweets appear while he was on stage). However, I did not walk away feeling the level of transparency and openness that we saw under prior leaders such as Sue Meisinger. Where’s the annual financial report? Where are those heartfelt and unscripted moments? And Lon, where in the hell is your SPHR certification? You can’t claim that it’s a tremendous asset to HR leaders while never having secured it yourself. It’s been almost two years, so either acknowledge that it’s not important (which will never happen) or make this a top priority. Pot, meet kettle…

Second, I was sadly disappointed by the attendee reaction to a keynote featuring a panel of HR leaders, including Google, Northrop Grumman, Kaiser Permanente and Deutsche Bank. SHRM’s membership is generally not comprised of the senior-most HR professionals from the world’s largest firms, so when they actually take the time to show up, share best practices and offer advice, you damn well better pay attention. Attendees swarmed from the session, first in 2’s and 3’s and then by the dozens. Are you there to listen to Steve Forbes and Al Gore or should you perhaps learn from those who have theoretically arrived at your career destination? And if you did walk out early, you missed a gem from Deutsche Bank’s Conrad Venter when he predicated that HR will be obsolete in ten years if we stay on our current course. I tend to agree.

Attendee Behavior

The oddity began the moment I arrived on Sunday. While walking through the expo hall, a senior VP of HR locked eyes with me from fifty yards away. She was trashed on free margaritas from one of the vendor booths. Swaying down the red carpet, she made her way toward me as I looked over my shoulder to assess who in the hell she was looking at. When she grabbed me by the shoulder, I realized I was her target. Holding my shoulder with her left hand, she then silently stroked my cheek with her right. (Yeah, this really happened.) Then gravity took over, she swayed around me to the left and continued her bumper-car journey of bliss.

She never said a word.

I know, you’re thinking this must be one out-of-control attendee from a sea of well-behaved professionals. But let me tell you something. I have been to well over one hundred HR conferences in my career and this is more “normal” than you might expect. HR people get shit-faced, misbehave, rant, party, dance and flirt to excess at these shows. My theory is this – all year long they have to model behavior as the dream corporate citizen. So, when the opportunity arises to hang out with their peers and finally let their hair down, they take full advantage. In some respects, I can’t blame them, but I would ask that people get their act together and maintain some dignity. While walking to my car last evening, I saw two thirty-something SHRM 2010 attendees, one rubbing the back of the other while she threw up in an alley. Both were still wearing their badges.

Engagement

This continues to be SHRM’s number one challenge. Many attendees came for the party, others came for the HRCI credits, and others probably realized they needed pens, dolls, stuffed animals, notepads and bags of other bizarre tchotchkes. I saw droves of attendees just sitting around, doing crossword puzzles, checking email, walking in and out of sessions and generally moving listlessly through the convention center. Some were just simply overwhelmed by the sheer size and scope of the event, and that really concerns me. I suggested to some SHRM staffers that they consider a pre-event orientation (via video) that can be viewed remotely and help prepare first-time attendees for the experience. Heck, this would even help the veterans understand the venue, logistics and surrounding areas. Or, how about a mentor/protege program where more experienced attendees would help their newer peers?

Although this is SHRM’s biggest revenue generator, something needs to change. Attendance does not guarantee learning or action, and if SHRM truly intends to use this event to advance the profession, the issue of engagement must be addressed. I know, I know… it’s difficult to meet the specific needs of 250,000 members and over 10,000 live attendees. But when dozens of people say to me, “maybe SHRM is just too big?”, you know that there is a groundswell of discontent and a questioning of value.

And this brings me to my last point – member voice. I am very concerned that SHRM is no longer capturing the true needs of its constituency. For example, I asked at least twenty SHRM staffers how the legislative agenda is set. No one knew. So when millions of dollars are being poured into lobbying and policy changes, is SHRM confident that it’s voice is truly that of it’s constituents, or is this an educated guess made by a sequestered committee? I’d like to know.

What Do You Think?

Whether you attended or not, I’d love your thoughts. My goal with this 1,500+ word post is not to rant and complain, but instead to bubble up some of the systemic issues facing our industry. I implore SHRM – the largest, most influential body in our industry – to read these words with an eye toward member value (versus top line revenues), engagement (over sponsorship) and the future needs of the profession (over certification credentials). We’re all in this together, and we must keep an open and honest dialogue going. I’ll look forward to your comments.


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