This is the first in a series of three posts dealing with “brand.” A post on personal brands (YOU), and “how-to-do” examples will follow this first overview piece. As someone who’s been in the people (and teams) coaching business for over 25 years, and also been directly responsible for hiring thousands of people through roles running large staffing / recruiting operations, I have a pretty good idea why some firms recruit well (and others don’t), and how people can take their best foot forward as either a job candidate or consultant / vendor.… Read the rest
P.S. – “I Love You” and Other Forms of Communication
When I ran Human Resources for the drug distribution side of McKesson , prying 15 minutes from a distribution operating shift for employee communication basics was like taking bear cubs away from their parents.
Why is this important to you? Because the lessons McKesson supervisors learned should inform the communication practices of anyone who manages people from senior execs to first line supervisors.… Read the rest
[Life Back West] April 2009 – The Hummingbirds Return
As I suspect it’s been for a number of other people, the last 12 months have been choppy, marked by some high highs and low lows and any number of very bumpy bumps – economic and otherwise – in between. Paradoxically, those lows in our lives may let us experience the exhilaration of the highs.
My thoughts for the future, though, have stayed somehow optimistic.… Read the rest
[Land O’Spin] How to Find Great Talent: Susan Boyle and Other Discoveries
I got a chance to catch up with my friend CB yesterday. Bright, hardworking, smart as a whip, and results driven, she’s one of about five people in my life who I would both hire AND work for. Like a lot of others in the bumpy economy, she was in the wrong place at the wrong time recently – is between roles – and is now looking for her next opportunity.… Read the rest
[Through the Glass Door] Roche’s Genentech Talent Acquisition: 20 Questions
Neither Roche Chairman Franz Humer nor CEO Severin Schwan have called me up to ask how I’d handle the talent side of their Genentech acquisition. Perhaps they will, but they’ve also been pretty mum on their plans moving forward for the talent at 1 DNA Way .
As someone who has made their livelihood in the talent assessment business as a coach to managers and teams for over 25 years – and to save Franz and Severin a long distance phone call charge – here are some things I’d be thinking about if I were on point with the talent side of the Genentech project.… Read the rest
Naismith’s Pride: Teamwork Spells Success
Eight United States teams – four men’s and four women’s – of sweaty, baggy-shorted collegiate basketball players will be running up and down a wooden court that is 94 feet long and 50 feet wide trying to claim the winner’s trophy in what’s known as basketball’s Final Four over the next few days.
Basketball, more than any other sport, is the ultimate team experience: nothing else comes close in the way five players must play well together and the lessons for business are endless.… Read the rest