Thanksgiving
Next week is Thanksgiving … and of all the holidays, this is by far my favorite. I am originally not from the US, and never had experienced Thanksgiving until coming over here 20 years ago.  I marveled at how families, no matter how geographically dispersed they were in this vast and wonderful country, always traveled to be with each other. There were no gifts to buy, or fireworks to explode, or religious ceremonies to attend (not that there is anything wrong this these), but you just had to sho

Victim vs. Victimized
This past weekend I spoke at an event. Fellow people of color were in the audience. That got me thinking… many of us were at some point or another victimized by others because of the color of our skin. Some of us in the room were the first people to endure such prejudice decades ago. What prejudicial actions other people chose or choose to do to us, whether you’re a person of color, a minority, or just a human being with some different outward characteristic, is what

High Potentials
I saw the following from Human Resources Executive Online: “High performers have been disproportionately affected by organizations’ responses to the recession. The 2009–2010 U.S. Strategic Rewards Survey by Watson Wyatt and WorldatWork found that employee engagement levels for all workers at the surveyed companies have dropped 9% since last year — but the number

Constantly Connected
I was in Silicon Valley last week and met with several folks from the tech sector. There is quite a good bit of buzz around some of the new hardware and software coming out soon. What caught my attention was a new laptop scheduled for release next summer that apparently will be “constantly connected” to the Internet. This may sound odd at first, but you only have to think of your cell phone to understand what that means. Your phone after all is “constantly ON” – meaning anyone

No More IDPs
So how much fun do you have with your IDPs or ADPs (Individual or Annual Development Plans)? You know, the ones you have to fill out, schedule time with your boss, and then review. Most people report that these sessions are either very non-chalantly orchestrated or emotionally draining for both sides as development areas begin to be discussed and skeletons from months ago surface. Let me propose a solution – get rid of them. While I like the idea of accountability and being