Pink Hair and the Power of One Voice

File this post in the folder labeled, "Inspiration comes from unexpected places."

A couple weeks ago, I was heard Howard Stern interview Perez Hilton on my Sirius radio as I was driving from one place to another.  For those who don't know Perez Hilton, he's a celebrity gossip blogger on his blog: www.perezhilton.com.  Originally, his blog became popular because his posts were snarky and sometimes nasty towards celebrities.  Turns out that there was a big market for that sort of thing and seemingly over night, he became famous.  Today, his blog is a more mainstream celebrity gossip blog that is regularly read by millions of people.  Another social media success story that couldn't have been written 10 years ago.

I've heard Perez Hilton interviewed before.  He's a bright, energetic, interesting dude.  But, not the kind of guy I would usually expect to provide me a lot of inspiration.  And yet, in this interview, he proved to be inspiring on several different levels.  First, he is making a pile of money today by blogging--which appears to be his passion.  Granted, it sounds like this guy works incredibly hard and for long hours, but he sounds like he loves what he's doing and he's not got a website that he believes is worth over $100 million.  Not too shabby.

But, this website success story wasn't what got me in this interview.  Instead, it was their conversation about the new children's book that Perez has written titled The Boy with Pink Hair.  Here is how Perez summarized the book in his own words.

"It's about being different, finding what makes you special, and sharing it with the world."

Wow, that's powerful stuff--and a particularly great message for children.  Perez Hilton is teaching children how to fly their freak flags.  That's cool.  In this interview, he shared some of his own journey on which he's become much more aware of his own language and impact on others.  At the same time, he's learned to embrace who he is and share that fully and authentically with the world.

But, of everything in the interview, there was one quote that stood out to me as he talked about the book and it's message.

"Sometimes, all you need is one person to not look at you like a freak to make all the difference."

This is so true.  And it speaks to the power we have to make a difference with others.  We have the ability at any moment and at every moment to give others the gift of acceptance, of support, of belief.  All it takes is one voice.  And we each have the opportunity to use our voice this way.  The question is, do we?  Do we take the time to acknowledge others who are taking the risk of being different, being themselves, thinking big thoughts and dreaming big dreams?  You have to power to provide fuel to those brave souls.

Take the time to acknowledge those around you who don't try to fit in.  Let them know that you see them and that you appreciate them and that you support them.  It could make all the difference.

#Quotes for Inspiration, Vol 3

Begin somewhere. You cannot build a reputation on what you intend to do.

- Liz Smith

Good ideas and innovations must be driven into existence by courageous patience. 

- Hyman G. Rickover

Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work. 

- Stephen King

When love and skill work together, expect a masterpiece. 

- John Ruskin

Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing.

The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it. 

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Giving up doesn't always mean you are weak.  Sometimes it means that you are strong enough to let go. 

- Source Unknown

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. 

- T.S. Eliot

Why Don't You Just Fix it?

A few weeks ago, I discovered this sign hung above the toilet in the men's room at a small cafe where I was having breakfast (email subscribers may have to open this post on the web to view the image).  The original sign was apparently created by management of the cafe to address a problem with the toilet.  Nothing terribly noteworthy about that. 

What caught my attention about this sign was the note written in by a patron in pencil on the right side.  For those who can't read it, it says "Why don't you just fix it . . . ??"  At first, this made me laugh a little bit.  But, then I got to thinking about it.  

The people who run this cafe at some point realized that they have a toilet problem.  They determined through some experimentation (I assume) that the toilet wasn't flushing correctly.  At this point, they had a choice.  They could fix the toilet.  But, that might take time and cost a little money.  Alternatively, they could put up a sign informing those who use the toilet to take some extra action to ensure the toilet functions properly, effectively shifting the burden to their customers to make the toilet work.  They chose the option that was less burden and cost to management at the detriment (albeit a minor one) to the customer.  

I wonder how often we do this in our own work.  We don't do it maliciously, but how frequently do we save ourselves time and money by shifting burden to our employees or customers?  

• We shut down social media access to our employees because of what they might say about the company.  If your company is doing things to employees that are so bad that you need to worry about this, why don't you just fix it?
• We make customers click 6 times to get to what they want rather than getting there in one click because it would require some redesign.  Why don't you just fix it?
• We make employees type their resume details into an online job application when they could just send a resume or import their LinkedIn content.  Why don't you just fix it?  
• We know that customers have a difficult time finding our store front because our sign isn't visible from the main road, so we have to send out detailed directions on how to find us.  Why don't you just fix it?  
• We know that everyone hates traditional performance appraisals: employees, managers, HR . . . everyone.  We can't find evidence they actually improve performance.  And yet, we spend a lot of time and energy forcing people to do them.  Why don't you just fix it?  
• We make a mistake on one of our major customer accounts.  We then rally together a committee to determine what we should do and what we should tell the customer.  Why don't you just fix it?  (And then tell the customer the story about how you fixed it.)

The more I think about this, the more examples I can come up with.   I'm sure you can think of examples from your own experience.  So, next time you encounter an issue, before you start thinking about all the options, maybe we start with the question:

Why don't we just fix it?  

You control NOTHING. Get over it.

I've been thinking and talking a lot about HR strategic planning lately.  And one of the common issues that comes to the surface when you get into planning discussions is control. Here's an example of how it usually plays out.

Through the planning process, your team identifies that one of the critical objectives for the organization is employee retention.  Your diligent discovery efforts during the planning process revealed that employee productivity increases with tenure and that you have too many newer employees voluntarily leaving the company currently.  So, your team determines that you should make increasing employee retention one of your key strategic objectives of the plan.  This also means that it will be a key measure of your success.

But, then someone makes this comment:

"But retention isn't entirely within our control.  We can't control how managers treat people.  We can't control what happens in an employee's personal life that might lead them to make a job change.  There's too many things we don't control.  How can our success be measured on something we can't control?"

Sadly, this can grind the process to a halt.  The underlying logic of this statement appeals to most reasonable people.  Control has a lot of allure and we are drawn to it like moths to a flame.  But, we must resist getting caught in this trap.  Control, my friends, is an illusion.

I think that this desire for control is probably the single thing that holds most HR leaders back.  Somehow we've come to believe that we should only be held accountable for things that are 100% within our control.  The problem is that nothing is 100% within our control.  The only thing truly ithin our control is our personal attitudes, behaviors and choices.  And even those things can be manipulated without our awareness some times.

Control doesn't exist.  And if an HR leader would slow down and look around the organization, they'd realize that none of their peers have control either.  The head of sales is saddled with a sales target that her team must hit.  She doesn't control what the customers will do.  She doesn't control how the economy will look.  She doesn't even control the choices her sales team makes about what to do or how hard to work.  Very little is within her control.  But, she has great ability to influence what happens.  She makes plans and crafts strategies for what to do to make it highly probable that her team will hit the goal.  She acknowledges that there are a lot of variables at work, and she takes the actions that are most likely to lead to success.  What she doesn't do is waste time fighting against the goal because it's not within her control.  She knows that her job is sales and that regardless of what she controls, she's got to find a way to make it happen.

This same things happens at all levels of leadership.  Control doesn't exist.  The sooner we realize that, particularly as HR leaders, the sooner we can elevate our game and our standing within the organization.

So, back to the retention example.  HR doesn't control all of the variables related to retention.  True.  But, HR can or does influence every variable related to retention.  So, measuring HR on the organizational retention isn't unfair.  Quite the contrary, it's a perfect measure of the outcomes that HR should be influencing to help the organization be more productive.  In my example particularly, the HR team should embrace retention as their measure and then use all of their energy and focus to drive up the organizations retention.

As a leader, when you fully embrace the reality that you control nothing, you get focused on far more productive activity like listening, building relationships, planning, teaching, thinking, etc.  The illusion of control is crippling too many leaders.

Let go of the need for control.  It will set you free.

Great Partnerships are Life Changing

Over the past six months, things have been changing in my life.  Professionally, I made the decision to transition from corporate HR executive to full time consultant and speaker for hire.  Personally, my family and I have moved to a new house in a new small community.  Both pretty big changes in their own right.  Together, they have made for a pretty wild ride.

Through this change, I've had a lot of time for learning and growth.  One of the things that's I've learned is that I am best when I'm half of a great partnership.  For me, there's something really powerful about having the right partner.  A partner works with you, supports you, challenges you, and makes you better.  A great partner is that person who's always reminding you that you can and will do it.  I'm blessed to have several great partnerships in my life.

Professionally, I get to do work with my best friend, Joe Gerstandt, as we create havoc together speaking and writing as our super hero alter ego, Talent Anarchy.  This partnership has been growing for a decade now and it's great fun.  Joe makes me better and he's the one who's been the constant voice in my ear when I was wearing down from the fight against the status quo, reminding me that "it's not you who's crazy, it's them."

As I've mentioned here before, I'm launching a new consulting business called Bulletproof Talent (more on this soon) with my long time friend, mentor and now partner, Cy Wakeman.  Cy has reminded me what it means to work with someone who believes in you and wants you to be exceptional on your own terms.  We push each other to be constantly better and think constantly bigger.  I'm incredibly excited to discover what kind of exciting places our partnership will take our new business.

But the thing that has become more clear than ever over the past year is that I have the greatest partner in the universe in my wife, Angie.  It has been her unshakable belief in me and my abilities that has kept me focused and positive throughout all of this change.  Despite the fact that I'm not sure she always understands exactly what I'm up to, she always supports me.  She knows me better than I know myself and she recognized that this was the path I should chose long before I did.  Unquestionably, the greatest stroke of luck in my life was finding my wife and somehow convincing her to be my partner to travel this journey of life together.  I am not who I am without her.  She inspires and grounds me at the same time.  She is a remarkable partner.

Great partnerships are remarkably powerful.  So, I write this post both selfishly to pay tribute and give thanks to my partners, but also to illustrate the power of a great partner.  If you want to change the world, change your life, or just change your immediate situation, find a great partner.  And know that great partners aren't always easy to find.  It took me years and many failed partnerships to find the great one's I have today.  The key is to invest in relationships and put yourself out there.  When you find someone who might be a great partner, be willing to explore where it can go and formalize the relationship.  And, on the other side, when you are in a partnership that isn't working, move on.  Because, as powerful as a great partnership can be in lifting you up, a toxic partnership is equally powerful to drag you down.

Today, I give thanks to my amazing partners and I wish for you to have or find the same great support in your life.

Singing Pigs Don't Exist

Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time, and it annoys the pig. 

-- Folk saying

I was gearing up to share another round of my favorite quotes with you this morning when I stumbled across this one and it stopped me in my tracks. This is one of those quotes for me that has power because on first read, it makes you giggle. Then, when you read it again, it makes you think. The third time you read it, it starts to set in that this isn't funny, it's profound.

It's really easy to get sucked into the exercise of pig singing lessons where we invest our efforts, programs, and resources trying to change something (usually someone) who we know will (or can) never change. Hopefully we've all learned by now from our personal lives that you have to chose a partner to be with who you can accept as they are. They aren't going to change. If you date or marry someone who you need to change in order for them to be your ideal mate, you are in the singing pig business. Zero point zero probability of success.

In our workplaces, we do this all the time. We try to motivate the employee who hates the job, or you, or working in general. We try to fix the manager who clearly should have never been put into management and doesn't really want to be there. We try to convince employees to put the company's interests before their own. Welcome to the singing pig business: wasting time, annoying the pig.

So, what's the alternative? First step, wake up to reality. Pigs can't sing. No matter what you do or how brilliant you might be at teaching singing. You will never be successful at teaching a pig to sing.

Then, decide if you are in the pig business or the singing business. This means figuring out what your purpose is. Taking the example above of the bad manager. Are you committed to great management (singing business)? If so, then that manager needs to immediately put into a different role or moved out of management in another way so that you can put a real manager in his place (or at the very least someone with the potential to be a real manager). Alternatively, maybe you just want to minimize the damage being caused by this bad manager (pig business). So, maybe you add an assistant manager to the team to make up for the managers weaknesses and short-comings as a manager and to protect the people from this bad management. Either way, you are finally able to take some meaningful action. Trying to teach the pig to sing (making the "I don't have the basic capabilities to manage" manager into a good manager) is a waste of your time, and it isn't much fun for that manager either.

Instead, invest your time where you have a high probability of success. Help people be more of what they naturally are. Help them build on and become their best selves. Stop trying to make them what they aren't and will never be. It's an exercise in futility and it hurt

No more pig singing lessons.

You're not Crazy

Go to Gapingvoid.com for other cool stuff like this cartoon.

I was reminded again yesterday how hard it can be at times to stand alone as the lone voice for change in a sea of people who would rather preserve the status quo.  As I shared lunch with one of my former colleagues who is a brilliant young HR star, it hurt me to hear her talk about the dysfunction she can see within her organization and how she feels like she's the only one who either cares or has the courage to talk about it.  She's becoming more jaded and cynical by the day.  And, she's beginning to question herself.  After all, when you are the only one who seems to see the dysfunction, maybe you are the problem, not the things you see, right? 

Wrong.  

If you are passionate about your job and your care deeply about helping your organization succeed, you are going to recognize ways your company should change for the better.  You will see the things that should be fixed.  You will want to take action.  And, you are likely to be alone in your quest, at least early on.  

Sadly,too many people around you have either lost hope of change or have decided that maintaining the status quo is the best way to survive and get ahead.  Others are a product of the current way of doing things, so driving change would actually be an act against their self-interest.  So, you are likely to feel like you are all alone as the person who sees the need for change.  After a while, you might even start wondering if you are the crazy one.  

You aren't crazy. 

Being a change agent is hard.  Speaking the truth is hard.  Being the outlier is hard.  

Do it anyway.  

In my experience, the key to being a change agent and sustaining your passion for progress is having that one trusted person in your life who will say these key words to you when you most need it:

"Your not crazy.  It's them, not you.  Keep up the fight." 

Experimentation and Discovery: How Science Can Help you Transform HR

The Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) launched a new website earlier this year called We Know Next.  They describe the site as the leading resource for business executives, policymakers and human resource leaders to explore and discuss the latest workforce and workplace trends—providing the in-depth research and insights needed to adapt and take advantage of what’s next.  It's a worthy endeavor on SHRM's part and I"m happy to support it.  I am fortunate to have the opportunity to contribute a monthly blog post to this site.  The following post is my first contribution and was posted yesterday.  You can find the original posting here.  

Experimentation and Discovery: How Science Can Help you Transform HR

For being a profession with heavy detail and conformity requirements, I’ve always wondered why we aren’t better at using the rigor of science within our work in Human Resources.  It would seem to me that the structure and process of the scientific method would appeal to us since we spend much of our time working with structure and process all day long. 

And yet, when we look at how we approach our work in HR, there’s not as much science involved as there should be. Science, afterall, is really the practice of studying the nature and behavior of the universe and trying to organize that into a system of explanations that helps make sense of it all.  I would argue that HR is really the practical application of science of the workplace. 

Because my undergraduate degree is in Biology, maybe I am biased to view my work a little differently than others.  I was trained in college in the process of scientific discovery, which is informed by the scientific method.  This is the same scientific method that we all learned about in our grade school years but have probably long since forgotten.  Here is a refresher of how that process works. 

 The Steps of the Scientific Process:

1. Observation.  Science starts with observation.  This requires the scientist to have a curious mind and an insatiable appetite for discovery and learning.  A great scientist is constantly observing their environments and recording these observations.   Often these observations are focused on a particular area of interest, but can also be very broad.  These observations, over time, provide the foundation for their experiments.
2. Hypothesis.  Based on their observations, the scientist will then create a hypothesis.  A hypothesis is the scientist’s assumed explanation of what he has observed.  Newton hypothesized about the force we now call gravity based on his observations of objects falling to the ground.  The hypothesis really is a best guess as to why something is happening. 
3. Prediction.  Once a hypothesis is formed, the scientist will make one or more predictions based on that hypothesis.  These predictions are the answer to the question: “If my hypothesis is true, what would I expect to happen if X scenario occurred?”  One hypothesis will generally yield several predictions. 
4. Experimentation.  The scientist now conducts tests (experiments) to see if these predictions are accurate.  If the first tests reveal that the predictions were accurate, generally several more rounds of testing are conducted to gain confidence in the results.  If the subsequent testing reveal the same results, then the scientist may declare that their hypothesis was true (in science, they call it a Theory).  If any of the testing reveals the predictions are false, then the scientist will take those results and consider them with their initial observation and formulate a new hypothesis, essentially starting the process again from the beginning. 

Do you remember memorizing these steps in grade school?  It’s a great process because it’s really a reflection of how we learn as humans.  And, it’s a terrific framework for how to improve your systems and processes within HR and elsewhere.  Let’s look at how this might play out. 

Here’s the scenario.  There’s a lot of discussion within your organization about social media.  There are a lot of opinions about how the organization should approach it, but no one seems to have the answer.  They look to you to make a recommendation.  You decided to take a scientific approach to determining the solution.

 Here’s how you might approach it using the scientific method. 

1. Observation.  You start exploring social media technology to become very familiar with how and why it works.  You pay close attention to how people are using it.  Every time you have an interaction with an employee in your day to day work, you ask them what sites they use and what their thoughts are on social media, specifically at work.  You also do some searching online to see how your employees are using these sites and which sites they are using.  In addition, you probe the company leadership about their perspectives and opinions on social media.  Finally, you seek out examples form your company and competitors where employees are using social media in their work.  You gather a lot of information.
2. Hypothesis.  Based on all of your observation, you formulate this hypothesis:Your organization would gain significant benefit from allowing employees open access to social media at work given the proper guidelines and training.
3. Prediction: Based on your hypothesis, you formulate a couple predictions.
   a.     If we give employees open access to social media and provide them with guidelines for appropriate use, there would be no   productivity loss and minimal issues with inappropriate use by employees.
   b.     If we give employees open access to social media and provide them with training on how to use it to create value in their job, the performance of the organization will increase in a measureable way. 
4. Experimentation.  You then implement your plan with a department who is interested in helping you test your hypothesis (an early adopter).  Before you begin the test, you establish the timeframe of the test and specific targets for how you will measure success (in this case, productivity levels and incidents of inappropriate activity by employees on social media sites).  At the end of your test, you compare your results to your predictions.  If you have favorable results, you either do another test in another department or you present your findings to the organization’s decision makers and recommend rolling the test out more broadly.   If the test results weren’t positive, then you collect your observations of what happened and formulate a new hypothesis to test. 

This may seem really obvious or simple on the surface, but my experience has been that we simply don’t apply this kind of rigor to our work in HR (at least not in most cases).  All too often, we race to implement a solution without having any type of hypothesis or predictions against which to compare results.  When you skip these steps, it’s really difficult to articulate if your solution worked or if it flopped.  As a result, our credibility within our organizations has suffered.  All of the greatest scientific breakthroughs in history have been a result of following this simple process.  Why not use it to create some significant breakthroughs in HR?

Human Resources is a complex and dynamic body of work.  People and conditions are constantly changing.  In order to bring some order to this chaos, try bringing a little more science to your approach.  

Putting Your Job on the Line - Video Blog #2

Do you love your work enough to put your job on the line to do it the right way?  Here, I react to some comments made by Bill Conaty, former Sr. VP HR at GE and author of The Talent Masters, in a keynote presentation he made last week at SHRM Strategy.

This is the second installment of my video blogging journey. Thanks for the feedback last time, I hope this one is improved.  For those of you who get my blog by email, you may have to click the title to go to my site to see the video.  

Got Community?

Last week, I had the opportunity to be part of two very different events.  First on the agenda was HRevolution in Las Vegas.  Then, I was off to Chicago to present a session at the annual SHRM Strategy Conference.  Both events were very good in their own ways--and very different.

HRevolution is a gathering of HR pros who are trying to push the envelope and stretch their thinking about HR and the future of work.  Many of the attendees blog and most all of them are well connected via social media.  The mix of people at this conference spans from HR practitioners to HR technology vendors to consultants.  There's a lot of passion at HRevolution about how to do things differently to move the needle.  This gathering feels sort of organic and informal.  There's a palpable energy of anticipation that exists in room.

SHRM Strategy, on the other hand, is a more traditional and formal conference.  There were probably 500 HR leaders gathered together from across the country to talk about how to design and execute more strategic HR to drive organizational results.  The tone of this conference was much more serious.  It was clear that most of the people there were searching for meaningful and practical information that they could put into use when they return to the office this week.  While this conference was less playful than HRevolution, it made up for it with intensity and focus.

So, two very different conferences with one big thing in common.  The thing that I felt at both conferences was something that we increasingly overlook as our worlds become more and  more digital--community.  In both cases, it felt like I was among my people.  You could feel a sense of belonging and acceptance in the room at both events, particularly in Chicago.

Community is a powerful thing.  Being among people who understand your language and can relate to your struggles is fulfilling.  Members of your community can help you in ways that others, even those who love you the most, cannot because they understand what it means to walk in your shoes.  Leaders need to cultivate community for themselves and for those who follow them.  The community can provide us stability and support.

Community is critical.  Conferences, and particularly those like SHRM Strategy and HRevolution who have focused attendee criteria, are a tremendous way to experience, build and grow community.  The thing about community though is that it requires your participation.  It requires that you get out and be a part of it.  Too often, I talk to HR and other leaders who don't attend conferences, don't use social networks, and generally don't put any energy into connecting beyond the people they are required know to do their jobs.  They have decided to forgo the community, thinking that they lack the time for it. Unfortunately, that means they sacrifice the support, growth, resources, and insight that lives within the community that could help them do their job better.  They miss out on the relationships with people who, on the days when the burden of the job is heavy, could say that they've been there and share with some experience on how to survive it.

My advice is to make time to be with and grow your community.  Go to a conference once or twice a year and actively connect with others there.  Build your social networks and find groups to join and connect with where they discuss what you are most passionate about.  Get involved in your local professional organizations and networking groups.  You will be thankful that you did.

I know that I feel more inspired, connected and motivated today as a result of spending time with my communities last week.

Moving the Needle

This weekend, I had the opportunity to be a part of the fourth iteration of a great event called HRevolution.  I've now been to three of the four HRevolution events and it is always an energizing, rewarding and thought provoking experience.  If you work in HR or sell to HR, this is a great event to be a part of.  

One of the themes that came up a couple of times during the discussions at the event yesterday was that a big thing holding HR back from significantly moving the needle within their organizations and making more substantial change is that we are always in search of the perfect solution.  When we design a program or need to implement new software functionality, we tend to want a solution that delivers everything we want and need in one package.  Because of this desire for the perfect solution, we set ourselves up for failure.  When we don't get the funding or support or buy-in we need on our perfect, all or nothing solution, we are back to the starting line.

It was commonly suggested that we could make greater progress in HR by looking for smaller and more iterative ways of driving change that don't require extra budget or any permission from anyone else to make them happen.  Here a few thoughts about how to do that.

1. Maximize your current systems and tools.  There were comments yesterday about how frequent it is that organizations implement a software solution, but only use a fraction of it's capabilities.  It's likely that some of the tools you already have can do things you would really value.  It's a matter of being curious about capabilities and engaging your vendors in a conversation.  
2. Find out what you are doing that makes the most major impact and leverage that success to drive change.  Think about the things you already do well (training, benefits enrollment, recruiting) and think about how you could make small tweaks to those processes to make progress on key issues.
3. Work with the willing.  We all have have managers and leaders within our organizations who are willing to try new things.  Engage them to create small projects to test out ideas and concepts that might be challenging to sell on a broad scale without evidence that it works.  We all have those partners within our organizations who trust us and are willing to be your guinea pig.  Take advantage of those situations to try out new solutions and ideas on a small scale.  Then, once you've made it work in this way and have evidence that your solution delivers results, you can tell the story to the rest of the organization.