Category: Random Thoughts

Let’s go camping !!

The forecast said – High temperature 37, low 21 with a 90% chance of precipitation . . . makes you want to camp, doesn’t it ??

Well, that’s exactly what I did this past weekend.  You see, I’m very fortunate to be the Scoutmaster for Troop 941 in West Chester, OH.  My son is in the Troop and we went on our first campout of the year to go horseback riding with 23 other boys and 6 adults.

It was amazing !!  I love going on these weekend jaunts with my son and with the other kids.  I learn so much with them.  We laugh, tell stories, play tons on Euchre, and most importantly, I get to see people grow into adults right before my eyes.

Today, there is so much that can be daunting, tragic and even horrifying.  We continue to fill our days with junk when the majority of our “news” isn’t news at all.  When the lead in story is about some celebrity train wreck vs. the real human condition that all of us face, I can see how we get cynical.

But I digress . . .

From Friday to Sunday I had no cell coverage, no Twitter, no Linked In, no e-mail.  However, I had EVERYTHING I needed and more.  To hear my son recount the exhilaration of his first ride on a horse, Zeus, was better than any distraction I fill my life with.  To sleep in the cold, to eat fresh meals cooked in a dutch oven from recipes my son found, to sing I’m a Little Teapot at a campfire to the tune of We Will Rock You by Queen, and to have kids pick you to imitate during Adult Impersonations – phenomenal.

In the midst of all that is going on around us, I have to ask . . . do you enjoy yourselves?  Are you taking time to take everything in?  Do you see the miracles that happen literally everyday with the people you work with?

Or, are you too busy rushing to check that next e-mail, make sure you get that next appointment entered into Outook, while ignoring the great people you work with so you make sure YOUR needs are being met?

When my son and I got home on Sunday, I collapsed from the full weekend.  My body isn’t as young as it used to be.  But, I collapsed full of joy and great experiences !!

Here’s my challenge to those of you kind enough to even read my blog – take time to enjoy what life brings you !!  Ask the person you work with what they did this weekend and  . . . stay there long enough to really take in what happened !!  Quit ignoring all that is good going on all around you.

Now, I have to get recharged.  We camp again in 2 weeks (and I can’t wait !!)

And the Mentor goes to . . .

On Sunday night, much of the United States will watch some, if not all, of the Oscars, and we will talk about the stars.  We’ll talk about how they dress, who they’re with, what party they go to, etc. etc.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge movie fan !!  I love to see almost any movie and there are some great choices this year. But, have you noticed something?  The key awards where the stars win are given the best spots, the most time to gush during an acceptance speech and we expect them to be memorable.  However, the people who are behind the scenes like the screenwriters, make-up, score and others are clipped short even though they have reached the same pinnacle.  We just don’t WANT to see them.  It’s sad.  To make a movie you need hundreds of people and yet few ever get credit.

It’s a lot like mentors.  Great mentors are people who are there for you throughout your career either to move you ahead, stop you from falling into a career-ending ravine, or just to listen.  Mentors are something that is essential for every person in today’s business climate of constant change.  You need an anchor !!

Let me tell you about my mentor.  His name is Fred Eck and he is the current HR Manager for Atlas Roofing.  He’ll probably kill me for making this much about him, but you have to hear about how a great mentor does this naturally.

Fred has held almost every SHRM leadership position there is at the chapter, State and Regional level.  In fact, he’s the Program Chair for me this year for the 2011 Ohio HR Conference, and I couldn’t think of a better person to be in this critical role to our conference’s success !!

I talk to Fred two to three times a week just to check in, talk about life and get a piece of wisdom – which he always has.  We are inseperable at Conferences or SHRM meetings.

Now, if you look for Fred online, you’ll find him on Linked In and I even convinced him to join Twitter, but you won’t see a lot of Tweets from him (yet). You see Fred is like that great screewriter or the the cameraman who captures the perfect scene.  He’s not the visible person up front who gets all the accolades, but you couldn’t do the movie without him. He’s taught me several things, but one pearl of wisdom has set the stage for me.

“You can’t be a mentor – without having a mentor.”

I am a mentor now too to a few people.  I won’t tell you who they are because that is not necessary.  I want them to grow to be future businesspeople who will make anything I ever get to do seem minor.

So often lately, I get the feeling that we keep focusing on the HR voices who are edgy, visible, contrary and larger-than-life. I think they are doing great work, but I don’t want us to forget the thousands who are behind the scenes making this happen.

So the Mentor goes to . . . Fred Eck !!  I’m going to sit back now and listen to his acceptance speech no matter how long it goes !!

Image courtesy of There from Here Blog

No apologies

It’s time for HR people to quit complaining about knowing each other. Instead, we should be doing all we can to get to know our connections as real people.

Disclaimer – (all good HR people know how to do these . . .)

The following post may seem like name dropping, but it’s not.  It’s about the value of getting to know the people we choose to follow and be connected to.  If that makes me a “clique” former – so be it !!

Now for the post:

Last week the coolest thing happened !!  I received a DM on Twitter from Bryan Wempen asking me what my day looked like. I was a little confused by this since Bryan is normally in Tulsa, OK and I’m in Cincinnati, OH, but I responded.  Turns out he was in town and wanted to see if we could get together. To say I was GEEKED would not give this enough credence !!

Bryan is someone I met through Twitter and also through his incredible blog radio show, Drive Thru HR, which he co-hosts daily with another friend – William Tincup.  We went to our Boudinot location for LaRosa’s and had some great conversations over great pizza !!  I learned more about him, his family and great stories about career, college, etc.

You see, Bryan was inadvertently helping me reach a goal I set for myself for 2011.  I want to meet as many of the people I’m connected to as possible in real life !!  I think this really matters.

I think HR people in the Social Media space are struggling with “what’s next?” when it comes to where things are going.  The piece that’s missing is that we long to really know each other.

Coming up in the next few months, I get to go to the Northern Ohio HR Conference to present and catch up with Joe Gerstandt as well as 100’s of other attendees who may/may not be involved with Social Media.  Also, in April I’m going to HRevolution 2011 and couldn’t be excited enough to meet others that I read about, learn from and communicate with.

There’s more to come in 2011 including the Ohio HR Conference in September where I’m fortunate enough to be this year’s chair !!

I feel that too many HR people keep their heads down when they go to great events like these and worry too much about HRCI credits, where to sit in the room and if the person sitting next to you is going to “bother” you by tweeting instead of listening to the speaker.

Time for this to stop !!

The GREATEST resource at these events are the people sitting next to you, the people in the exhibitor halls and the people milling through the halls !!

So, no apologies.  I plan to meet ALL of you – and I can’t wait !!

Guess what I got for Christmas ??

Announcing the blog launch from a person who is in HR on purpose !! A different forum which promotes HR strategically and as an integral function in today’s business world.

My family is different from most in today’s society (in a good way).  You see we actually like each other, enjoy getting together and look forward to time catching up and sharing what’s happening in our lives.

Ten years ago, our family started a Christmas “tradition” where the adults and kids were supposed to make something for someone, give something to a charity in their name, or regift something you liked from the other family (like an heirloom or something that had deep meaning to someone).

My amazing sister-in-law, Kathi Browne, had my name this year, yet there wasn’t a gift for me under the tree. I was curious because the tree was inordinately full even though each year we say we’re going to “cut back.” When my turn came to open my gift, Kathi opened her laptop and showed me my Twitter handle as a URL . You see, my sis-in-law gave me a blog !!  How cool is that?

I’ve had people mention that I should do this someday, and many of you have been kind enough to let me be a guest on your great blogs.  I appreciate  you letting me get my feet wet.

Now, I guess I’ll be out here with you.  I’m just getting started and I’m sure that I’ll be reaching out to others to have them guest here as well.

It’s a great way to start 2011 !!  Let’s see what happens . . .