The People Equation

There’s nothing more satisfying than contributing to a great cause.  That’s why I’m honored to be part of Mike VanDerVort’s  HR Carnival of Global Giving. Mike set out to smash Jon Ingham’s  previous record of 50 contributors.  Mike has sweetened the offer by agreeing to donate a dollar to the charity of choice for all [...]

Reputation Management.  Personal Branding. Credibility-Based Relationship Building.  No matter what the name, it all comes down to the fact that your interpersonal behaviors create an impression of “who” you are as a person. Are you reliable? Trustworthy?  Do you get things done?  The people with whom you interact are making these judgments about you based [...]

Lately my musings on the people equation have turned to the human tendency to compare ourselves to one another.  It must strike a chord with people because the blog posts have generated some lively discussion.  See my posts on the effects of praise and how to “run your own race” to see the thread of [...]

One of the best things about social media is how it can connect you to really talented people you would have never otherwise met.  Case in point is Ben Eubanks, host of the blog UpStart HR. Ben brings what I call a “fresh voice” to the HR table.  His blogs are clever and unique.  For example, [...]

The other day I had lunch with a colleague.  Sally is a mentor to me and it’s always a treat when we get together to talk shop. At one point in the conversation Sally said, “Do you ever look at someone else and wonder, “They’re so successful [running their business]. How do they do it? [...]

I’m reading the book The Power of Respect by Deborah Norville.  She cites a very interesting study from the journal Motivation and Emotion. In this study, a group of researchers from Reed College in Oregon studied whether one form of praise was more effective than another.  The researchers used two different types of praise: “mastery”, [...]

During the month of November, people often take the time to reflect on things for which they are grateful. Being new to blogging, I’ve learned so much and am truly thankful for those who have takent the time to educate me in the ways of the online writing world.
One of those people is Dan McCarthy, who has [...]

Years ago, I attended a company-wide meeting in which the company’s President Pete addressed the employees.  During his presentation, he declared, “It’s great to work here at XYZ Company.  It’s like family here.”  At the time I thought, “Well that’s a nice thing to say” and didn’t really give it another thought.
So imagine my surprise [...]

I recently gave a presentation on Networking Styles to members of the GRAPE organization (Grand Rapids Area Professionals for Excellence.)  Several of my colleagues indicated interest in attending, but could not, so here’s a summary, divided into three parts. Part I, “What Savvy Networkers Know”  outlines my “nuggets” gleaned from years of building a strong [...]

I recently gave a presentation on networking to members of the GRAPE organization (Grand Rapids Area Professionals for Excellence.)  Several of my colleagues indicated interest in attending, but could not, so here’s a summary, divided into three parts. This post is Part I, “What Savvy Networkers Know”. It  outlines my “nuggets” gleaned from years of building a [...]