I had lunch recently with a colleague who coaches HR professionals on how to become more strategic. Ah yes, that elusive destination called “the seat” at the corporate strategy table. Whoever said “it’s the journey not the destination that matters” might be living in what ought to be the cobwebbed halls of human resources. Let’s […]

In our recent HR Executive Forum, a peer coaching community built by Suzanne Elshult of HRNow, some 20 or so of my peers and I explored “OD.” Two driving questions guided our discussions:     What are the prevailing schools of thought around OD. Why should business leaders care about it? I learned a lot […]

    Enjoy the mix of professional and personal highlights in my May 2015 YakNews – loss, learning, and reflections, K9 search and rescue, coaching and peer group events, and family experiences – a medley of stories! http://bit.ly/1Hy1J7A  

At one of my recent roundtables I eagerly listened as my marketing executives discussed how their jobs have  evolved. The change is nothing less than breathtaking. No wonder marketing leaders feel stressed! Here are some of the highlights I took away from this session: While we used to focus on creating consumer demand and awareness, […]

A couple of weeks ago two dozen+ of my HR Executive Peer Group members met to discuss the shift from “wellness” to “well-being” strategies. The latter is a more comprehensive and holistic approach to defining organizational success than our traditional wellness initiatives. Wellbeing strategies often include physical, emotional, social, career and financial components. I walked away from this discussion with a […]

Once a year my HR executive peer group  has a freeform session (instead of our typical format which tends to anchor the conversation in a theme). It is always exciting to not know what issues will pop up. This year we covered a number of interesting areas, but two in particular caught my interest. One […]

Last week my marketing executive per group explored rebranding. Matt Duncan, VP of Marketing with DatStat and Cathy Cooper, VP of Marketing with Washington Federal were discussion catalysts. We ended up having a rich exchange mostly revolving around how the NEW NORMAL has made it OK for brand to support good causes and make money […]

“Burned into my memory are the images of him, on that slick rock, grasping for something, anything, to hold on to, as he slid slowly but inevitably toward the edge. Worst of all is the memory of him looking back at me, desperate and helpless,  as he soundlessly disappeared. That moment is forever etched into my […]

Over the past several weeks I have been engaging with about fifty executives on the topic of how they manage their careers. It’s been an eye-opening journey. The landscape is definitely changing and you are running the risk of being left in the dust unless you keep up. I will try to distill my key […]

In a recent conversation with my marketing executive peer group we explored internal branding and the importance of effective marketing/HR relationships. If you consider recent research suggesting that organizations lose up to 40% of their marketing expenses if all employees are not able to articulate your brand promise and live it, it behooves us all to […]