Category Archives: Research

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 General Thoughts, Human Resources | 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, General Thoughts, Human Resources, Public Sector | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Winning The War On Talent

By Mark Stelzner | Published: July 15, 2010
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 [...]
Also posted in Human Resources | 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 [...]
Also posted in Human Resources | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The Shiny Object Problem

By Mark Stelzner | Published: May 26, 2010
Like you, my weekdays typically consist of an endless series of conference calls and meetings. I run from place to place and call to call with barely time to breathe, clear my head and shift focus to the matter at hand. Days turn into weeks and before you know it a month has passed. You [...]
Also posted in Human Resources | Tagged , , , , | 19 Comments

3 Ways To Kill A Conversation

By Mark Stelzner | Published: November 13, 2009
I’ve been told that I am a master conversation killer. Is it a gift? I’m not sure, but in the past week alone I have managed to single-handedly grind over a dozen discussions to a screeching halt. Conference calls? Killed. In-person meetings? No pulse on this one. Webinars? DOA. Even drinks with friends? Call the coroner. So why, [...]
Also posted in General Thoughts | 7 Comments

Immigration and HRevolution

By Mark Stelzner | Published: November 6, 2009
News flash – sourcing talent can be tough. Sourcing talent across international borders can be even tougher. And as many of you are painfully aware, coping with immigration and visa processing for talent is just not something that gets HR professionals excited. It can be complicated, time consuming, and the application process can be very [...]
Also posted in Human Resources | 1 Comment

Spending HR Dollars Wisely

By Mark Stelzner | Published: September 15, 2009
Given the state of the economy, HR executives are being forced to make increasingly difficult decisions regarding their current and future expenditures. And with open enrollment season right around the corner, many are wrestling with the correct mixture of benefit offerings that are right for their population. This brings us to our guest post by [...]
Also posted in Human Resources | 1 Comment

The Disney Institute – Observations & Conclusions

By Mark Stelzner | Published: August 25, 2009
In case you missed my posts from last week, I, along with several other bloggers, was invited to Walt Disney World to audit a Disney Institute program and report on our observations.  In full disclosure, Disney paid for our travel and expenses while on property. However, we were not compensated for our time, our analysis, [...]
Also posted in General Thoughts, Human Resources | 10 Comments

Common Sense Is Not So Common

By Mark Stelzner | Published: July 27, 2009
Twelve years ago I was working for a rapidly growing technology provider who was preparing for one of their most important client meetings to date. The deal alone – if secured – would crush their revenue goals, so preparedness was key and professionalism paramount. Keep in mind that we were a “fun startup” in the [...]
Also posted in General Thoughts, Human Resources | 6 Comments