HR Management

Sleep on This!

We are not sleep experts. We do find recent research in this area fascinating, however. Flying in the face of our belief that “super-” men and women really don’t need much sleep, it turns out that those who are not getting sufficient sleep are suffering... Read More


Let’s face it. The best leadership and human resource management minds in America have been trying for decades to find the formula for optimizing human performance. We’ve looked at sports teams, extreme adventurers, and heroes for ideas about how to get more with less. We’ve... Read More


Some days, you come to work early to get after that long list of things to do to meet your commitments, work hard all day, and find as you are leaving the office that you can’t check off a single thing from your list. If... Read More


We have focused on marketing, finance and specific technical skills associated with our products and services to maximize the results of our business. There is only one piece left – the people. Today’s focus on people can sometimes be thought of as manipulative. “How can... Read More

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Managing Performance: A Fool’s Errand

In a recent post from Harvard Business Review (Why Does Criticism Seem More Effective Than Praise) the authors offer a collection of weak science and poor thinking that will distract business leaders who don’t see through it. Let’s investigate. The authors, Linda Hill and Kent... Read More


“We pay a substantial price for the success of rewards.”  – Alfie Kohn A popular myth in our society and especially in the hallowed halls of business is that you get what you pay for. There is only too much truth to this. The question... Read More


Learning to learn can be the next key to business success. We probably want to give up thinking we already understand it. How can we use our understanding of what motivates learning (see Learning: The Next Big Break in Business Management and Results?) to help us have... Read More


Rethinking Employee Surveys

What actually happens during the surveying process is not actually what we want to have happen. In fact, it is not helpful and actually has serious downsides. Do you use “employee surveys” – also known as culture surveys, engagement surveys, and opinion surveys, to name... Read More


Ask Rich and Diane: Does Training Work?

I run the leadership development for my firm and I find myself more and more frustrated by the lack of impact. We have been training our first-line supervisors repeatedly for years, and we get as many complaints about their leadership today as ever. Perhaps it’s... Read More

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“My organization has shifted its product focus over the past year, but the sales team continues to bring in the “low hanging fruit” that keeps our manufacturing floor busy with products that will soon be obsolete. We have made clear what we want from them,... Read More