Regardless of what business you are in, in today’s economic whirlwind, if you aren’t good at change and adapting, you are probably having a tougher time than those people who are. It’s time (actually, past time) to get good at change.
Here are some beginning steps:
1. Make a declaration. Say what you are committed to accomplishing. Don’t wait for your fears, concerns to subside. Be willing to step up, whatever that means for you. Make your commitment publicly; tell your staff. If you are a solo-preneur, tell a buddy. Find allies; invite others to join you with their declaration, tell the naysayers to … Continue reading » »
It’s still a lesson to remember. In less than a year, MacDonald’s went through four CEOs. A sign of a company in distress? Usually, but not in this case. When McDonald’s was stumbling in the early 2000s, it avoided the knee-jerk instinct to pluck some celebrity CEO from the ranks of another company. Instead, it looked to its own culture and asked Jim Cantalupo, a retired executive, to right the ship. Significantly, one of Cantalupo’s first acts was to put a successor in place who would lead the company in the future. The future came more quickly than expected when Cantalupo died of a heart attack a few months later, hours before a major speech to McDonald’s franchisees. The succession plan was so solid, however, that Cantalupo’s successor, Charlie H. Bell, was able to give that speech as the company’s new CEO. Now that Bell has stepped aside because of colorectal cancer, his own carefully chosen successor, James A. Skinner, assumed the position without confusion. Mr. Skinner said he would continue with the strategies of his predecessors.[1]
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It’s been fifteen years since I attended my first Human Resources conference in which the grand rallying cry was “turning HR into a strategic business partner.” Recently, I attended another conference and saw a show of hands which revealed that the same issue was still the primary one on participants’ minds. How much progress has Human Resources made in assuming that leadership position, I wondered? The answer, although dismaying, contains a silver lining: the future is brighter than the statistics would indicate.
First, some bad news. Continue reading » »
We were all proud of my youngest brother when he played basketball. He was so good that he became a starter in his freshman year for his NCAA Division I school. He was proud of his success on the court, too. He loved to play and succeed at top levels.
Which came first, my brother’s pride in being on the court or his passion for the game? That’s a question that came to mind after I read Jon Katzenbach’s latest book, Why Pride Matters More Than Money: The Power of the World’s Greatest Motivational Force. Katzenbach has written an excellent primer that touches on an issue I think is completely misunderstood in corporations today. People don’t work for money – what motivates them is something entirely different.
But what is that motivator? Continue reading » »
At Human Resources conferences, it is not uncommon to hear a frantic call from professionals, in companies large and small, seeking help: “My CFO has just told me that I either show an ROI (Return on Investment) on our Human Capital initiative or it will be hard to justify the Human Resources budget!” It’s an agonizing plea coming from people who truly care about learning and development, but are afraid that it is going to be sacrificed on the altar of short-term profitability.
The question points to some deep conundrums. Can the human capital side of any business be measured in traditional dollar and cents terminology? What numbers are relevant to your human capital ROI? How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?
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