Over 20 years ago, I raised the question of whether corporations were prepared to recruit, select, develop and utilize a diverse talent pool. I also wondered aloud whether managing a racial, gender and ethnic diverse pool of human resources called for a different capability than that of managing a relatively homogeneous group of people. I contended that two different sets of processes were called for, and I labeled the process for a diverse pool “Managing Diversity.”
The goal of this process was “full utilization of human resources” in pursuit of competitive advantage and productivity gains.
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When I was asked to write about what makes a dream job, I first thought about describing my own job. I love what I do! After deciding such a column would be a little egotistical, I made a list of friends and clients and asked myself which one had a dream job.
To me, a dream job does not mean a job with lots of money or status. It’s a job that allows you to fulfill your dreams—whatever they are—and do what is most meaningful and fun for you. I decided one person on my list who has a dream job is my friend Mark Tercek, who works for Goldman Sachs (GS). He has a job unlike any I have ever encountered, largely because he designed it to match his dreams. He cares deeply about education and the environment, and his job allows him to work in both areas. Edited excerpts from our recent conversation follow.
What is your job, and how is it a dream job for you? Continue reading » »
John Fleming and Jim Asplund are the co-authors of Human Sigma: Managing the Customer Encounter. They believe that when it comes to human systems—a company’s employees and their relationships with customers—businesses have dropped the ball. Their view is that by moving the customer experience away from face-to-face, bricks-and-mortar channels and into call centers (BusinessWeek, 09/27/07) and Internet sites, companies have ripped the soul out of business. John and Jim contend that companies can put people back in business while simultaneously increasing value and profit (BusinessWeek, 10/25/07).
My undergraduate degree is in mathematical economics. In my work as an educator and coach, I always believe in measuring positive change in human interaction. I love John and Jim’s idea of increasing the application of measurement in the human dimension. Here are some edited excerpts from a recent e-mail interview with them.
What is Human Sigma, and why do companies need it? Continue reading » »
To create the conditions in which women’s vision can flourish, organizations must learn to value diverse ways of knowing, encourage mindfulness, support webs of inclusion, and respect the power of empathy.
Organizations need to become more proficient at acknowledging diverse ways of knowing rather than continuing to privilege what can be quantified and empirically supported. We do not mean to suggest that intuitive ways of knowing should be preferred to rational analysis — an inversion of the present practice. Rather, the full spectrum of cognition — the rich complexity of means by which humans come to know — must be recognized as having potential value. This requires abandoning the common practice of asking anyone who makes a suggestion to immediately back it up with numbers. Instead, people should be encouraged to share insights that may still be in process or that may contradict expectations.
Even insights that are ultimately discarded can have value by leading to other fresh ideas, whereas overfocusing on numerical models forestalls this. Continue reading » »
My friend John Izzo is a fascinating person who combines an interest in spirituality with an interest in corporate life. His latest book, The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die, is based on 250 interviews conducted with people over 60 on what they learned about the keys to fulfillment in their professional and personal lives. Following is an edited version of our conversation:
This project—interviewing people over 60 about the secrets of life—sounds like great fun. I wish that I had done it! What gave you this idea? Continue reading » »
