Category Archives: General Thoughts

Social Honesty

By Mark Stelzner | Published: February 14, 2011
During a recent pundit retreat several of us discussed the age-old problem of lying on your resume. And although we touched on some of the typical issues, my friend and colleague Kris Dunn brought a very original perspective when he described LinkedIn as a potentially trustworthy source of an individual’s actual work experience. In his own words: [...]
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The Leadership Development Carnival – A Love Story

By Mark Stelzner | Published: February 7, 2011
The emotions attached to February 14th range from wide-eyed hopefulness and heart-pounding anticipation to downright disdain and overt hostility. As many attribute the same feelings to their organizational leadership, I thought we’d focus this month’s Carnival on our favorite Hallmark holiday. That’s right, it’s the leadership development carnival of love featuring fifty of the sweetest [...]
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Don’t Let Them Break You

By Mark Stelzner | Published: January 18, 2011
Would you be able to stay alive on a raft without food or water for over a month? Could you fight off hungry sharks with your bare hands? Or how about eating less than a tablespoon of rice a day for years? What about enduring daily beatings that left you bloody, afraid and often unconscious? Any [...]
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What Are You Afraid Of?

By Mark Stelzner | Published: January 12, 2011
In today’s rat maze rush of conflicting demands and overbooked schedules appears a resurgence of the corporate/team meeting. These reluctant (yet seemingly necessary) collisions of personality and perspective force participants to pause – even for a moment – and look one another squarely in the eye. All the while phones buzz and distractions abound as [...]
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What Motivates You?

By Mark Stelzner | Published: January 6, 2011
It was about 6:00 am when my Dad entered the kitchen to prepare his second cup of Folgers Crystals. I was already hovering over my cereal bowl, little sugary pieces of multi-colored deliciousness losing their battle with my furious spoon. Placing my empty bowl in the sink, I saw my father reach for a coffee [...]
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On Choices And Tradeoffs

By Mark Stelzner | Published: December 22, 2010
When crammed into close quarters at 36,000 feet, eavesdropping is often unavoidable. While on my way to Denver this past Sunday I overheard the couple behind me heatedly arguing about holiday gifts for friends and family. The husband’s voice hissed through gnashing teeth as he made the case for a somewhat expensive present for his [...]
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Amateurs and Professionals – HRSouthwest 2010

By Mark Stelzner | Published: October 19, 2010
As many of you know, last week our Voice of HR team joined HRSouthwest for the presentation of their 69th Annual HR Conference and Exposition. In my initial coverage of the event I was very critical and even recorded a pasty-faced rant on the “stamp-ede” of HR professionals seeking nothing more than giveaways and prizes. [...]
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The Power of Doing

By Mark Stelzner | Published: October 15, 2010
My very first business was called “M&M Worms”. My brother Mike and I started it out of our garage when we were little kids living in a suburb of Milwaukee. To drum up interest, we peddled our banana seat bicycles all over town with cardboard signs and a staple gun to advertise “the best worms [...]
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HRSouthwest Day 1 – Why Are We Here?

By Mark Stelzner | Published: October 11, 2010
My day began at 3:00 AM in a Hill Country Marriott outside of Austin, Texas after spending Sunday evening celebrating the 10-10-10 wedding of two very close friends. Sure, there was the odd cricket problem (officially written off by the hotel as, “we’re experiencing a migration or invasion of crickets” – umm, okay, so which [...]
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Five Lessons from HR Technology 2010

By Mark Stelzner | Published: October 4, 2010
Let me begin with a confession – I’m exhausted. Not that usual, “boy I really need a good night’s sleep” kind of tired, but instead that deep feeling in your bones that screams, “take a serious breather, step away from the laptop and just chill.” This is how I’ve felt since returning from the 2010 [...]
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