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Excellence

Look For the Eureka Moments

The ancient Greek scholar Archimedes was wrestling with a problem. Hiero II, king of Syracuse, suspected that he was being cheated by the goldsmith who had cast a votive crown for a temple. He had asked Archimedes to confirm or deny his suspicions, but substituting other metals for gold in an irregular object was not something that was easily done in the days before laser scanning and 3-D imaging. One day while lowering himself into… Read More »Look For the Eureka Moments

The Grapevine Knows

Millions of dollars are spent each year by companies trying to find out information about their competitors. Business intelligence is big business. Reversing that concept puts the whole idea of knowledge management in a different light, “What do my competitors know about me?” More important than the aggregate numbers are what individual people think and say. Walls, firewalls and fences can’t stop people from talking with each other. In-house perceptions are probably more critical to… Read More »The Grapevine Knows

From the Archives of Make HR Happen – Those Times We Challenged Mediocrity

An inside joke is one shared by a few people that will instantly draw howls of laughter… but only if you happen to be an insider. One such incident was in my Army days when a bunch of us smart but rebellious officer candidates banded together as a protection against indiscriminate harassment by the TAC officers. One day we were called out for being a group of the “…most mediocre soldiers I have ever seen!”… Read More »From the Archives of Make HR Happen – Those Times We Challenged Mediocrity

Reviewing This Week on Make HR Happen – Absolutely No April Foolery

Rules? We don’t need no stinkin’ rules! But we started off the week with the rules for breaking all the rules. Following up on that concept, there were articles on the five rules for building trust, then three more rules on exposing the past, multiple rules for considering contingent employment, and finally five more rules for dealing with toxic people in the workplace. Actually, these are more like lists of guidelines that are the result… Read More »Reviewing This Week on Make HR Happen – Absolutely No April Foolery

Institutional Archaeology

Often overlooked in the undeclared war between generations in the workplace is the fact that most people are not stupid. Thin skinned new entrants into the workforce meet and mingle with the bias of overconfident old timers and chips begin flying off of everybody’s shoulders throughout the organization. Unlike most wars, neither side really has any advantage. It is virtually impossible for either side to win… or lose. The most likely casualty is the business.… Read More »Institutional Archaeology