My new book, Success for Hire (ASTD Press) features employee recruitment and retention practices that a lot of people think they know but in reality, don’t put into practice.  One of those practices is effective in-person interviewing, which can ensure that you hire the right candidate the first time around.  The next time you speak ...

I love this post from Michael McKinney at Leading Blog.  It’s based on a new book from Alvin Felzenberg, The Leaders We Deserved (and a Few We Didn't): Rethinking the Presidential Rating Game.  Felzenberg devised six criteria to best describe various U.S. presidents’ contribution to history.  Based on this exercise, he ...

Admittedly, staying on HR’s good side is probably not at the top of your list of managerial priorities, but HR has the power to make your life easier…or very difficult.  Over at HR Capitalist, Kris Dunn has five great tips for how managers can make HR love them. You clearly communicate expectations.  Your employees understand ...

Touche, Scot Herrick.  Over at Cube Rules, Scot suggests that innovation may be overrated, and that innovation means very little without the ability to execute on great ideas.   Innovation is important, says Scot, because we all need to be adapting to the changing business environment.  But too often, we see innovations as meaning ...

In their 2008 Investor’s Guide, Fortune Magazine offered ten tips to help us prevent the heat of the moment from melting our better judgment. The tips form an acronym – Think Twice – and are worth keeping in mind no matter what you’re thinking about or what decision you’re trying to make. Take the Global View. Always keep an eye on where ...

Now that I’m a manager, I’ve found that it’s partly up to me to ensure that my reports have good work/life balance. I’ve seen other supervisors ignore this issue, expecting that work should be the only thing that matters to employees, and the department is a revolving door.  Here are some of the methods I’ve used or seen used ...

Most people involved in hiring have read hundreds, maybe even thousands, of resumes.  But is there any method to the madness?  If you want to give every candidate a fair shot while getting through the pile quickly, there should be.  To start, you should have your job analysis and job description in front of you when looking at a ...

The customer’s always right.  This is the mantra that customer service representatives have to repeat to themselves every day – if they want to keep their jobs.  But what happens when you come into contact with a particularly angry customer, who is determined to give you a piece of her mind?  When I was writing They Don’t Teach ...

[ImageAttachment]   This week, my friend Lisa Haneberg at Management Craft had a great post on ways to inspire others.  Here are some of the highlights:   Take a stand. Share your perspective and be open.  The most inspiring leaders have a strong vision for how things ought to be. Listen more, speak less.  Show ...

[ImageAttachment] Chris Brogan at the Lifehack blog had an interesting perspective on what your boss wants – and doesn’t want – from you this year.  Some of his ideas: Your Boss Wants… You to “get it” quickly, develop a plan quickly, and then take action You to clear all the smaller roadblocks yourself, exercising creativity without ...