Joe,

i am awakening from my long winter's nap to finally reply to your post.  At least this time, I don't think you are too far into left field.  I agree that work-life balance is a flawed premise, but it's one that I think we need for now.  It is my opinion is that each person should pursue work that fits with their passions and interests.  Employers should also seek out individuals who "fit" well with their jobs and create environments where individuals can bring their talents, passions and interests to the job.  When both parties do their part, it brings balance because work doens't feel like work.  It feels natural and energizing. 

Unfortunately, I think we find ourselves talking about work-life balance because neither party (the individual or the employer) is holding up their end of the bargain.  I am disheartened daily to talk with people who are "trapped" in jobs they dislike, working for companies they don't care about.  The troubling part for me is that they are only trapped by their lack of courage to do something about it.  I recognize that we are in tough times right now and jobs are hard to come by, but that doesn't mean that an individual shouldn't be networking and building contacts or maybe going back to school right now.  Both of these actions create forward momentum towards a better job situation. 

On the employer front, we need this work-life balance discussion for now.  While it's flawed, it at least keeps the issue top of mind.  Organizations need to continue to think about the individuals in their company and try to create a culture where people can bring all of themselves to work.  Only when this happens and organizations realize that it's about capturing the hearts and minds of people will this work-life discussion end.  In the mean time, we need to continue to fly the work-life balance banner to ensure that employers continue to struggle with this issue. 

-Jason

Jason-

Maybe this is one of my semantic hang-ups, but much of the conversation around the issue of work-life balance is becoming a bit of a pet peeve for me.  I am in absolute agreement that employers need to do more accommodating to meet the unique needs of an increasingly complex workforce, but in my perspective "work-life balance" is a flawed framework.  To me, "work-life balance" speaks to an antiquated belief that I have two separate identities...."work Joe" and "home Joe", and that my employer needs to support me in balancing the two. 

I may keep it to myself, but I am going to bring whatever is going on at home to work with me.  And today we have more going on at home than at any time in the past.  There are more families with two wage earners in the workforce now than ever before, and there are more people in the workforce now that have dependent children and / or parents at home than ever before...so, as employees we have "stuff going on." 

While it is easy for employers to support employees spending time working while they are home in the evening or over the weekend, it requires a greater understanding of human capital for those organizations to support employees taking care of "personal stuff" while at work. 

To me this issue is really about:
-fluidity
-measuring productivity rather than activity
-hiring the right people
I think that it is about these things much more than it is about on-site dry cleaning or oil changes, but it seems that most of the conversation around this issue is about "programs and perks" more than the org culture and the actual employer-employee relationship.

Maybe I am out in left field on this, it would not be the first time.  Interested in your perspective on this.
-joe

The time has come for the Talent Anarchy team to mix things up a bit here in our "blog space."  This is what we have in mind... we are going to (hopefully on something close to a weekly basis) take a look at a specific issue.  We are going to examine our issue through a back and forth conversation between the two of us (Jason and Joe)...of course you are welcome to weigh in as well. 

We have an idea that while there is value in considering our common perspectives and opinions on various issues, there is as much or more value in also taking a look at where and how we differ.  It is not going to be a debate or fist-fight, there is plenty of that to be found on the "interwebs", we are shooting for more of a collaborative dialogue.  At least in theory.  We will see how it goes.  I am going to tee things up with a topic sometime this weekend and then over the next week Jason and I will have some dialogue.

Let us know what you think.

-joe

I had one of those reflective moments of clarity recently.  You know, one of those times when you see or hear something from someone else that you find offensive but then realize that you do the same thing.  That was me. 

As I sat at a conference a few weeks ago, I listened to a woman present on the use of online social networks for corporate recruiting purposes.  The presentation lacked much depth and it felt like a sales pitch for LinkedIn.  She spoke about how they were using the search functionalities within LinkedIn to find candidates for jobs at her organization.  Once they found the profile in LinkedIn for the person they were interested in, they'd use phone and email to contact them.  Not terribly progressive in my opinion, but good practice non-the-less. 

Since she was presenting as a subject matter expert on social networks in recruiting, I asked her how she was approaching Twitter.  You see, Twitter had illuded me to this point.  I'm not sure if I was intimidated or fearful of the technology, but I had stayed away from it.  My badge of honor response when asked about Twitter (despite the fact that I'd never used the site and hadn't really researched it) was this: "I just don't get it." 

So, back to the presnter.  In response to my question about Twitter, you know what she said?  "I don't get Twitter."  That seemed like a really lazy and probalby irresponsible answer.  That's when my moment of clarity came like a slap in the face.  As a leader in HR, I was being lazy and irresponsible about my knowledge and experience of social networks.  Afterall, I would be the first to make an argument that social media is changing how people interact with one another.  Clearly this holds enormous potential consequence and opportunity for HR in the future.  So, I dug in.  I'm working on building a depth of experience in many diverse social networks and sites.

There were two lessons for me in this experience.  It's amazing how comfortable I (and probalby everyone else) was in putting forth an opinion about something I had no real information about.  Uneducated opinions are dangerous because they limit our options by narrowing our perspective of the world.  I will be keeping my opinions to that of which I know in the future.  Secondly, Twitter isn't as bad as I thought.  I'm still not sure I completely grasp the significance or utility of the site yet, but I'm beginning to realize that not even the "experts" in social media understand what Twitter is going to be.  It's emerging still. 

Howeve, when it becomes "main stream," ask me about it.  I'll have an educated opinion. 

-Jason

When times are uncertain and chaotic like they are today, our tendency is to become tentative and even fearful of risk.  If you were looking for a new job yesterday, today you might be thinking about staying put in your "this-job-is-killing-me" current job so that you can feel secure.  It's good to be prudent in making a career change, but it might also be causing you to miss out on a great opportunity.

Other people across the country are likely having the same reaction you are.  So, if you are talented and willing to keep your eyes open right now for new opportunities, your personal stock may be rising.  There are still great companies out there who are still needing to find great people.  While your competition for these jobs is "playing it safe" in their current dead end job, you should be out there playing the field.  Always remember, when you are job searching, nothing has changed until another company makes you an offer you accept.  So, there's no risk to being out there doing some interviews.  You can always say no. 

So, as fear creeps in and you begin to think about putting off your job search.  Fight that urge off and keep pressing on.  It's becoming a job seekers market.  Take advantage. 

-Jason

Our country is in a recession.  That's what everyone is saying.  And with my limited economic expertise, I am in no position to argue.  Do you know how it's impacting you?

There's no question that some people are being hit pretty hard as they lose their homes due to this mortgage fiasco.  But, I think that we need to be cautious.  As an HR leader, there's temptation to over react when times like these are upon us.  Last week, I participated as a panel member of HR leaders for a podcast to respond to questions regarding how the down economy is impacting HR.  One panelest began talking about how people will "hunker down" in their current jobs even if they hate them because they are scared of leaving.  This should make it tougher to recruit.  On the other hand, another panelist suggested that companies are scaling back on hiring, so there are fewer jobs.  In fact, many companies are laying people off.  The net result should mean that there are more people in the market to fill our open jobs--easier to recruit.  These assertions came with suggestions as to how we should respond to these changing conditions. 

My perspective on this is that you should keep managing your business as normal and watch your metrics for indicators that things are changing.  Turns out, despite the fact that my team recruits a couple hundred people per month in locations across the US, we haven't seen any change in our ability to execute on this hiring at this point.  We are still having to work just as hard to find people and they are still just as willing to move jobs when we do. 

I'm not here to suggest that the down economy isn't having an impact on business, but rather that we can't simply assume that it is.  Know what impact it is having.  Don't guess or assume.  If it's not impacting you now, that's great.  Keep on, keeping on.  But, start planning for the impact to come in the near future.  As HR professionals, it's our job to manage our areas and make decisison based on real data and evidence.

-Jason

I'm thankful that this election  is nearly over.  I actually look forward to the nasty political ads being replaced by beer and car commercials.  At least the car companies have evolved to a place that when they lie to us, it's not completely transparent.  But I digress.

Elections are an interesting time to observe and think about human behavior and our decision making process.  I've kept my own observation limited this year because, frankly, I get depressed if I look at it too closely.  One person said to me the other day that she was fearful that if Obama was elected, the terrorists would come after us.  I asked her to share with me how she arrived at that conclusion and she didn't really have a good answer.  I suspect it's something she saw on a McCain commercial. 

Then, the other night, my son and his friend were talking about the election because they had gotten the opportunity to vote in a staged election at their school.  My son's friend was saying that his friends were calling him a racist because he voted for McCain.  My son, despite the fact that he voted for Obama, was incensed by the idea.  Turns out, this young man voted for McCain because of his education policies.  It's too bad that the most enlightened political discourse going on in our communities is with our children but they aren't allowed to vote. 

The list of intersting and depressing election related observations goes on.  The few conclusions on the surface for me are these.  First, when our children are casting more informed votes than we are as adults, we are being lousy citizens.  There's no reason not to be informed in this world of the intranet and information overload.  Second, people make decisions emotionally and with no regard to what's rational.  It's a nice notion that we think we are rational beings, but it's simply not true.  Let's hope our emotions lead us to a new leader who will right the ship in the next four years. 

-Jason

We had the privilege to present at the YP Iowa Conference last week.  As an Iowa native, I was blown away by and incredibly proud of what’s going on with young professionals in Iowa.  This is a group that has passion and a vision for the future.

 

We met some great people at the conference and came back really energized by the experience.  If you want to see state that’s doing some great things for young professionals, check out one of Iowa’s statewide initiatives at www.generationiowa.com.  

 

Thanks to YP Iowa, specifically Annie Thomas, for putting on a great event and inviting us to be a part of it. 

 

Rock on Iowa! 

I was recently asked by someone for some advice.  The question sounded something like this, "Since we are both the same age but you have gotten farther ahead in your career than I have, I was hoping you could provide me with some advice on how to promote myself better to my employer."  What a great question! 

The person asking this question is on a journey to success.  He's asking the right questions and taking ownership for his own results.  As I though about the question more, I realized that while he perceieved this issue was promotion of his own skills and talents, the real question he was asking was, "How did you get where you are?" He was hoping that he could then take the answer and replicate it for himself.  I wish it were that simple. 

As I thought about how to answer the question, I decided to share with him a few things that I believe have enabled my success thus far in my career.  The bulk of my answer boiled down to two key things.  First, I have always had a plan.  Since graduating from college, I've always been one who had a 5 year goal for my career.  Certainly, my goals have changed over time, but the goal has always been there.  These goals have kept me focused and motivated to drive my career forward. 

Once you are clear on where you are going, being intentional about getting there was the second piece of advice.  That means taking advantage of opporutnities when they are presented.  Most often, opportunities don't come when you are fully ready for them.  You have to be ready to sieze those opportunities when they come.  It also means investing in training and experience that prepares you to achieve your goals.  As an example, if your goal is to move into management at your company and an opportunity to work on a high profile project at work comes along, you should volunteer for that project, even if you don't have the extra time in your day.  You may need to work extra for a while, but consider it an investment in your career.  Those who invest daily are the individuals who are getting promoted and getting ahead. 

After sending my response, what I realized is that it's a powerful exercise to ask yourself the question, "what did I do to get here?"  If your answer isn't pretty clear and easy to determine, you probably are letting life happen to you.  You may be relying on luck as your main strategy.  You probably should and could be farther ahead than you are.  All you have to do is decide where you are are going and begin the process of intentionally taking steps and making decisions that will get you there. 

-Jason

I am sure you use e-mail.  Congratulations.  You probably get some news on-line, maybe you do some shopping and you probably "do the google" from time to time.  But did you know:

• Over 12 million American adults currently maintain a blog.
• More than 147 million Americans use the Internet.
• Over 57 million Americans read blogs.
• 1.7 million American adults list making money as one of the reasons they blog.
• 89% of companies surveyed say they think blogs will be more important in the next five years.
• 9% of internet users say they have created blogs .
• 6% of the entire US adult population has created a blog .
• Technorati is currently tracking over 70 million blogs .
• over 120 thousand blogs are created every day .
• There are over 1.4 million new blog posts every day .
• 22 of the 100 most popular websites in the world are blogs .
• 120,000 new blogs are created every day .
• 37% of blog readers began reading blogs in 2005 or 2006 .
• 51% of blog readers shop online .
• Blog readers average 23 hours online each week

Seems to me, that while you might not get it yet, blogs present a pretty powerful opportunity to reach and connect with customers, potential customers, potential employees, etc.  Are you a part of the revolution, or is it leaving you behind?
-joe