Aren't you amazed that senior executives of major companies still believe that succession planning works! I know I am. From the looks on the faces of Hosni Mubarak and Colonel Gadhafi during their last televised rants to their street side citizens, I can tell they are surprised their sons won't be succeeding them in the family business.

Why is it we (meaning just about every large company) aren't able to develop and plan our successors any better than the average tinpot Middle East…

Here’s a scenario for you to try out: One of your management team rushes into your office one cold Monday morning all out of breath. She is one of your sharper managers and she seems to be very excited about something. She pulls up just short of your desk and, after several sharp intakes of air, she announces, “I want to implement a new human resources practice here at Widgets Inc., one that we will…

I was reminded, again, the other day, that the best recruiter for a small business is an engaged and valued employee.

Big businesses rarely have the opportunity to convert a customer into an employee. Even Starbucks has become a poster company for poor customer service stemming from poor employee experience. Small businesses, however, have a daily opportunity to check both their customer service and their recruiting brand. Just ask your customers if they would like to work for…

At lunch today I was reminded that the mythology of generational differences in the work place is still out there. You know, the belief that twenty year olds are dis-loyal gaming fanatics who lack discipline, focus and patience, while boomers are the opposite of all that, whatever that makes them. Whenever I hear this stuff I am reminded of a seminar I attended where David Foote, author of Boom, Bust and Echo, reminded us that twenty year olds have always behaved like twenty year olds, and…