Archive for the ‘Career’ Category

What is a Human Resources Business Partner (HRBP)? – Guest Post

March 9, 2013

Today’s guest post is from Paul Vagadori, VP of Human Resources at Lahlouh. Paul is a good friend of mine and HR consigliere. He is a veteran in the art of people management ranging from Tech start-ups to manufacturing & service environment.

So a little bit of background – I’ve heard the term Human Resources Business Partner mentioned in the context of human resources and thought it would be useful for Paul to weigh in on what this means to him and his trade.

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What is a Human Resources Business Partner (HRBP)?

Formally stated, the HRBP is responsible to measurably contribute to the organization’s success, which align with and accelerate the business strategic objectives.

It has been more than 15 years since Dave Ulrich introduced the concept of the Human Resources (HR) Business Partner as a future model for impactful HR.  At its core, the HR Business Partner (HRBP) represents a function integral to and imbedded in the organization, at the business unit level in large organizations or small.  It doesn’t have to “align” because it is already “part of.”  And yet, some organizations and industries are unfamiliar with the concept.

The good news–It is about YOU, and your skill set, your contribution — more than the title or the reporting relationships. Query most HR leaders who found the way to the much lauded “table” and they share a common path — whether they had the title or not, they operated as partners — from the beginning.

The skills and experience of a successful HR Business Partner should encompass the following:  analytical ability, accountability systems, courage, power and influence, and ability to see the big picture, to name a few. The success of this role is achieved by applying thorough HR knowledge and experience, utilizing a broad range of human resources solutions, strategies and processes, and working closely and collaborating with leadership teams.  Specifically, the practitioner provides HR consulting, insights and solutions to the leadership team and managers that address business challenges; and contributes to the development and attainment of successful business results.

Does this make sense for my organization?  So what specific actions and relationships should you expect to have with an HRBP?  Generally speaking, they can be categorized as the following:  Partner, HR Expert, Workforce Planner, Coach, Change Agent, and Culture Champion.  Imagine a savvy collaborator that thinks strategically and possesses applicable HR acumen, business knowledge and strong ethical and personal credibility.

Bottom line….call the function whatever you wish, it provides a valuable resource.

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Purpose, Passion and Mission – 5 Points that might help you find yours

February 13, 2013

From time to time I’ll be posting a guest piece. Today’s post is by Bill Gordon. Bill is a friend, mentor and soon to be my kiteboarding coach (he doesn’t know that yet). Thanks Bill.

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Every month I meet with a small group to focus discovering for each of us what is our purpose and mission and why we are here in this world?

Being practical people we also talk about how that relates (if at all) to “being successful” and the normal financial commitments we all have for such things as monthly house payments, utility and car payments, taking care of our families, etc.

After many useful discussions, and books, and journaling, I haven’t made as much progress as I’d like.  However, this week I heard a talk from a man named John Ortberg who’s insights I found useful.   I wanted to share these in case they help you get any closer to clarity around your mission and purpose.

The idea that I took away from the talk was that finding our Mission or Purpose has to do with finding the intersection of 5 key things.  The 5 things are:

  • Passion – what fires you up?  Is it injustice, education,  hunger, sickness/health, helping people grow, making people happy, something else…
  • Gifts – what gifts do I have?  Everyone has gifts to offer.  Hospitality, administration, organization, encouragement, communication, teaching and many more.
  • Scars – where have I been hurt?  How can I use this experience or pain to inspire me to help others?  The knowledge and experience of the pain will equip us to help others and will inspire our passion.
  • Partners – Finding a person or people who share a similar mission or who may want to be part of your mission.
  • Need – where is there a need in the world?  Where is there need around me?  Where is there pain or annoyance or frustration that needs to be solved?

If you’ve been keeping a list of thoughts and ideas on where you might like to focus your time and energy, run those ideas through this list of 5 items to see if there is an answer around the 5 that makes sense to you (and if you haven’t been keeping a list, I encourage you to start).

I hope this gets you closer to finding your path and purpose!

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Ethics – Go with your gut

February 9, 2013

Ethical questions get really tough when you start to intellectualize them.

Here’s a mock question? Should you allow tobacco companies to advertise with your company. This means exposing their brand and messaging to your community.

Here’s the dilemma…the evidence tells us that smoking causes cancer and host of other health problems, but the tobacco industry creates jobs and it’s a free country, people can smoke if they want to, so who are we to judge? Smoking related illness cost the taxpayer millions of dollars per year in healthcare resources and burden the already strained healthcare networks. That’s not a good thing right?

What about the cash these advertisers give you? You could use that money to experiment and build life changing products.

What about the optics? How much revenue will they bring in for the company? What is if it’s only 10% of total ad revenue vs. 50%? Is there a threshold % that makes it acceptable? By allowing these brands to advertise are you indirectly enticing more kids to start smoking?

Other companies take their money, why shouldn’t you?

See what I mean…it’s starts to get really sticky when you try to answer the question within an intellectual framework. You could probably justify a yes or a no answer.

Why not try something different? Ask your gut the same question with the following context – Are you making the world a better place by [insert question]. In other words are you contributing to a better world by advertising cigarettes to your audience. Avoid the temptation to define “better” or “world”, just ask yourself the question. Your gut will give you the answer. It may not be the answer you want to hear, but my advice would be to go with it.

When I don’t go with my gut on these things, I normally fall on my face.

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Instagr.am’s fatal flaw

December 16, 2012

What a pity that Instagram removed the ability to view photos within the Twitter feed. In doing so they turned the ability to quickly review a potentially crappy photo into a full blown time waster. Not every photo is relevant to me, so in a way a photo is just like a tweet … it needs to be easy to skim like 140 characters. I can then choose to engage or move on.

I view the majority of my photos via Twitter (I use Twitter way more than I use FB) and it’s a schlepp to click through into Instagram site and I’d rather not. The new Twitter photo app is painful but I’ll learn and the UI will get better. In the interim I’m using the Flickr App and might stick with it.

Hubris may end up being Instagram’s fatal flaw. My hunch is they’ve overestimated user loyalty and underestimated the power of the Twitter platform. I for one will stick with Twitter and continue to share photos that can be quickly accessed within the feed. I’m already filtering out instagr.am pic links, in favor of Twitter pics and Flickr

I get it that FB and Twitter are competing for people’s time and that Instagram is trying to become the next Twitter, but this move has inconvenienced me and pushed me away. Instagram may have miscalculated here … it’s very slick photo sharing app that hit the market at the perfect time, but it might find out that convenience trumps fancy filters.

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UPDATE: Today Instagram released a new terms of service that has alienated its loyal users. Instagram can now sell your photos to third parties for advertising without telling you. Here’s the link 

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Raise your game

December 4, 2012

During my school years I played in a tennis league on Saturday afternoons. I remember being paired up against a 60 year old opponent. As a 15 year old with youth, energy and infinite wisdom on my side I thought this would be an easy match. The game plan was simple…out power and run him ragged. An easy match…and I’d be walking home in no time.

From the very first game things didn’t go according to plan. The old fox was all about small chop shots to my backhand and drop shots that died on impact. He hardly moved around the court and every time I increased the power he responded with a sliced lob that took the power out of the rally.

Frustrated and four games down in the first set I needed a change in strategy. I made the decision to beat him at his own game. My game changed from hard serve and top spin forehands to unfamiliar sliced back hands and top spin lobs. The whole game slowed down and I ended up getting thrashed love and love.

My mistake was changing my game to match my opponent’s strengths. In hindsight I should have raised my own game and gone back to core principles that worked for me. The old fox was playing to his survival strengths of low tempo, precision shots and unforced errors…not the best style for a 15 year old opponent.

Next time you are confronted with an opponent or competitor in your space, try raising your game first. Resist the urge to morph into and replicate what is beating you. Work harder and focus on your strengths.

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Band of Hackers – The power of collaboration

March 24, 2012

“If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants ” - Isaac Newton

Last week we held a very successful hackathon at work. Employees pitched their ideas and recruited team members. Teams had a week to build the idea and then present the finished product on the final day for judging. The ideas were incredible and reaffirmed the belief I have that people who are empowered will self motivate, hold themselves accountable and create amazing results.

Another lesson for me was how fun and creative it can be to have people from different product groups team up and work towards a common goal. It was inspiring to watch diverse teams crouching over computer screens hashing out ideas, debating pros and cons while also having a laugh. Maybe even more important than the brilliant creations were the new friendships and working relationships that were forged during the week.

It got me thinking about teamwork in general. Collaboration and shared memories are so beneficial and integral to building strong relationships. Travelling and exploring a new city with friends is so much more fun than a solo experience. It’s the shared memories that make relationships stronger and are the kindle for new friendships. It’s the same with sport…and it doesn’t have to be a team sport either. It’s more about exploring something with like minded people. Take a yoga class for example. Some of the most productive classes are where the entire class synchronizes. The synchronicity increases the energy in the room and everyone benefits. When someone gets impatient, breaks rank and moves into the next pose before the group it throws off the rhythm of the class and actually fragments the energy. It’s the same as cycling, The pack breaks the headwind and conserves energy…everyone wins.

Individual customization is what everyone is doing right now, we are constantly being asked to create solo silos, and position yourself as an individual contributor. It’s good to remind ourselves about the power of team effort. When there’s synchronization it it’s like adding rocket fuel to the fire…the energy produced is mind blowing.

A group environment will always have challenges and compromises but most of the time you’ll be more productive and more importantly you’ll probably make some great friends, have shared experiences and meet new people along the way who may even teach you a thing or two.

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Move on to the next question

March 11, 2012

A good rule when writing an exam is to attempt all the questions. There are easy points in every question and the majority are scored in the first 40% of time spent, after that you experience diminishing returns. Estimate time per question then be super disciplined and stick to the clock. It’s always tempting to noodle with that final math solution and so so hard to cut your losses and move to the next question. We become fixated with the final solution and lose sight of the goal, which is to pass the exam. It’s a great example of over optimization.

People over optimize in their careers all the time. They stay in the same role far too long and stop learning or being challenged. Think about how much we all learn during the early stages of a new role…new responsibilities, new negotiations and new connections…it’s some pretty serious brain yoga. Moving on means walking into a new orchard with easy pickings on the learning front.

It shouldn’t be seen as cutting your losses, but more as taking an opportunity to bank your wins and keep going forward.

Take a look at the clock, it might be time to turn the page and start the next question.

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