Category Archives: General Thoughts

5 Career Lessons From The Road

By Mark Stelzner | Published: January 12, 2012
During a flight last week I overheard a tearful conversation between a husband and wife. Both were shocked by news received just prior to their departure, namely that the wife’s position had been eliminated and her severance, although generous, would not support them for long. The husband had lost his manufacturing job eighteen months prior [...]
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Are You A Corporate Hoarder?

By Mark Stelzner | Published: November 30, 2011
A close friend recently transitioned from an extremely large organization to a small, fast-paced and entrepreneurial startup. We met shortly after he completed his first all-hands meeting, during which the CEO said something that got his (and my) attention. Namely, that the difference between the new firm and their much larger competition was based on [...]
Also posted in Human Resources, Research | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

Two Easy (And Legal) Ways to Gather Competitive Intel

By Mark Stelzner | Published: November 1, 2011
According to a February, 2011 Financial Times article, US intelligence sources estimate that industrial espionage will cost American businesses between $100-250 billion dollars annually. Increased global competition, pressure to rapidly and persistently innovate and pure profiteering are oft-cited motives for both physical and electronic means of securing proprietary information. Even the seemingly benign HR industry [...]
Also posted in Finance & Strategy, Human Resources, Public Sector, Research | Tagged , | 6 Comments

6 Tips for Stress Free Business Travel

By Mark Stelzner | Published: October 17, 2011
Erin Palmer wrote me in the midst of some of the most horrific business travel I’ve experienced in my career. Cancelled flights. Broken luggage. Stinky rental cars. Overbooked hotels. Terrible food. In other words, I needed some advice. So when she pitched me on the idea of tips for stress free business travel, I jumped [...]
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How To Talk To A CEO

By Mark Stelzner | Published: July 21, 2011
My first meeting with the CEO of a Fortune 1000 firm was a complete disaster. It was fifteen years ago and despite the cool breeze that was blowing outside, I was sweating bullets. This guy was a titan of industry so my mind jumped frantically between the thrill of the opportunity and the terror of [...]
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7 Ways You’re Ruining My Business Travel

By Mark Stelzner | Published: June 3, 2011
Remember that (not so great) movie several years ago which featured Tom Hanks living in an airport terminal? For the bulk of 2011, that has been me. And although I’m not exactly setting up camp at O’Hare or living out of a vending machine at Logan, I’m rapidly approaching 100,000 miles of domestic business travel [...]
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4 Reasons Change Is So Damn Hard

By Mark Stelzner | Published: May 18, 2011
While flying somewhere over the Midwest I started chatting with a very senior executive from an organization you would instantly recognize. Without taking a moment to assess who I was, he began to lambast his firm and lament how “back-asswards” they were and that they were “destined for failure“. Given that he was responsible for [...]
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Will I Fit In?

By Mark Stelzner | Published: April 27, 2011
For many it begins the moment Mom or Dad first releases our hands, eyes shining as we step into the strange and often unfamiliar surroundings of pre-school. Walking reluctantly away, this trickle of self-doubt may swell into a flood of uncertainty. Will I get along with others? Will I be met with kindness and warmth? Will [...]
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Finally, Safe At Home

By Mark Stelzner | Published: March 28, 2011
Although a bit of a departure from my usual rambling, this post is in response to a request by Lean HR’s Dwane Lay. A consummate HR pro and host of this week’s HR Carnival, Dwane has asked each of us to take the simple title “Safe At Home” and make it our own. He’ll be posting [...]
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JobAngels: The Journey Continues

By Mark Stelzner | Published: February 28, 2011
Several weeks ago I was working in my office when the phone unexpectedly rang. Upon answering I was greeted by an exasperated woman who was in desperate need of assistance. Crying, pleading, fearful and hopeless, she had difficulty articulating the series of unfortunate events that taken her from an unexpected layoff to her daily struggle [...]
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