What is Coming Up in the Next Few Months

I’m approaching my one year anniversary of starting my own business and there are tons of things going on in the next few months to celebrate it.  Ok, this post might be self-serving for some (or most), but I really like meeting new people on a variety of topics either for business or fun.  So, here’s the rundown:

• I will be attending a few social media and recruiting club meetings.  Check both of my Twitter account for listings.
• I’m 50/50 of attending Mashable’s Summer of Social Good Tweetup in DC, but I will be going to the Washington Twestival Local Event on September 10 (albeit it coincides with the opening of the NFL Regular Season).  Met a lot of great people from the Twestival event last February, why not attend another Twestival event?
• I will be a guest at HR Happy Hour, tentatively scheduled for August 28.  The topic is “Sports and HR”  Come join me and my Johnnie Walker Blue because I am going to get loaded on the show and cause visitors to drop.
• Going to the first Washington Capitals Convention on September 26.  Hit me up if you’re attending.  I also might attend Caps Training Camp in September.
• My birthday is on September 24…not a big deal.
• I will still do my virtual offices in the DC Metro Area. If you want to have an informal chat or discuss business, I’m open.  Again, check both my Twitter accounts for listings.

There are two big events will happen during the next few months:

• I will be doing my first workshop on “Social Media for Businesses” in October.  The details are vague right now, but email, Twitter, or call me for more details and/or you’re interested.  It’s going to happen, but I need to know who will be attending.
• Finally, the biggest news of them all…TONY KORNHEISER IS BACK ON THE RADIO!!! Mr. Tony will be back on September 8 on WTEM 980 in DC.  There will be live-streaming and podcasts.  Spread the word on Twitter, Facebook, or the old fashion way…talk to people about it.  Give thanks to Jim Zinzi for the information.

There will be more events I will be attending and I’ll announce it on my social media profiles.  I’ll see you on the flip side and give me a heads up.

If I Was Running A Company…Blending

There was huge cooler talk in New Orleans when Jack Welch came as the keynote speaker for the 2009 SHRM Conference and mention that there is no such thing as “work/life balance.”  There was a split among the attendees and the people who watch his speech about work/life balance.  The thing is, we are using the wrong word.

I disagree with Mr. Welch that work/life balance did exist in the 1980s and 1990s when women started to become prominent in the workforce and they had to pre-plan their schedule with kids, work, after school, and dinner.  In today’s workspace, we have the capabilities to work not only at our offices, but at home, in our car (but not driving and working at the same time), at a coffee shop, outdoor area, or any area that has wireless signals.  I do agree with Jack that in our current working culture, work/life balance does not exist…it’s a work/life blending.

Let’s admit it: if work is now 24/7 and home is 24/7, then life is 24/7.  I think of work/life balance as an arbitrary number that forces us to pre-schedule your day and week.  It would of worked in the 9 to 5 days, but work has infiltrate our lives outside the office and vice versa.  Work/life blending is setting your own domain. Instead of setting a schedule and force people to do tasks and attend meetings, why not give a deadline and details of what you want on this assignment or simply put, give them a canvass and work on a masterpiece or a script of Curb Your Enthusiasm, which is basically bullet points of what is going on in the scene since most of the lines are improvisational.  This process is called Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE), where employees set their own agenda and do whatever they want between where the project starts and ends.  ROWE maybe chaotic, but if business want to see results, they must do what is best for their employees to perform.  Thanks to all the toys the employee and employer has, the work environment is changing and everyone needs to adapt to it.

So when you go out to work and your manager wants to see results, think of yourself as Chef Robert Irvine and tell yourself…What Would Robert Irvine Do (except the lying on the resume part)?

Tracy’s Random Thoughts: July 2009 Edition

Oddly, this summer has been mild, but the heat is picking up and now my body is up to the test.  Here we go:

1. Michael Jackson

It’s tragic that  Michael Jackson died at age 50, which is very young and the press coverage went on overload and we agree the media went overboard to this story and did not help when Joe Jackson, Michael’s father, held a press conference to promote his record company.  That press conference alone tells about Michael Jackson.

As a music talent, Michael Jackson was off the charts great and deserve his superstar recognition.  Off the Wall and Thriller transcended the music industry and that is where Michael Jackson’s star peaked and went down in 1987 with Bad and his skin turning to white.  As a person, he never controlled his own life.  Of course, Michael was very weird and deserve the name, “Jacko.”  However, if you know his back story, he never had a chance to grow up since he was stuck in the spotlight all of his life, which was attributed to his abusive father.  Then, when the years go by, his body matured, but his mind went the opposite.  The Michael Jackson is truly a modern tragic of a talent, who peaked in the 80s, was wasted by friends and family surrounding him to make a profit for themselves.

2. Steve McNair

Another tragedy is Steve McNair was shot and killed by his alleged girlfriend, who took her life as well.  We would never know the whole story, but from the gist of it, Steve was having an affair with this 20-year old woman and unfortunately got a love-struck woman.

The overall story is that on the outside, McNair was one of the toughest players in the NFL, a nice and charitable guy, and had great support.  However, the one incident where he cheated essentially, might of change our preception who he was really.  In all honestly, I think McNair had a great heart and wanted to do the right thing, but I think we’re in a age where everyone needs instant gratification or want new challenges.  Professionally, that might be a good thing, but on a personal level, it could lead to life-altering decisions.  What I think of what McNair did was terrible for his wife and 4 kids, but should we be shocked at all?  I will still remember him for his play and his last act was just a blip on the radar but with major circumstances.

3. Walter Cronkite

I never witness Walter Cronkite on air since he left the CBS Evening News in 1981.  Thanks to YouTube and other archival footage, I see why Cronkite innovated TV journalism.  His straight shooter approach, his presence, his knowledge for seeking truth is why he was called the “Most Trusted Man in the News.”  This brings up another point that with his symbolism of his death, is mainstream journalism dying?  People are relying less of TV journalism and more of online content from blogs and citizen journalism.  Is the true Cronkite replacement online?  You bet.  Which leads me to this…

4. Celebrity

We associate celebrity on who ever is on the movie or tv screen, or broadcast to millions on radio.  Now with social media, has the term celebrity being deflated?  People can make their own videos and podcasts.  There will be still stars who are going to be celebrities, but the difference is that the PR people, the networks, the studios, and elites are not in control…it is all about us on who should deserve celebrity, which it should it be, although I still don’t get why American Idol is still popular since almost none of the singers have hit superstar status.  Oh well.

5. Jon and Kate

It’s terrible that Jon and Kate will have a divorce and feel sorry for the 8 kids.  This brings up one terrible thing for future references: Jon is not making the Asian men look good for marriages.  Now, I’m worried that my potential wife, whoever that may be, will give the hook soon.

That is all, hope you enjoy your vacation or staycation.

Washington Capitals Development Camp 2009

This was the first Caps Development Camp I attended and I have to say, it was very impressive.  To be honest, I was a great hockey fan since he early 1990s.  I consider myself an expert on hockey since 2006 when I attended my first hockey game (preseason nonetheless), but compare to my Caps friends, my hockey IQ is above the Mendoza line.  However, I survived and my dignity intact…sort of.  I only attended two days of camp, but if you want full coverage, go to On Frozen Blog, Capitals Kremlin, and The Capital Letter.  Here are my observations from those two days:

• Crowds were packed during scrimmages, thus telling me the Capitals are the only team in town and getting a lot more buzz than Redskins Training Camp.
• John Carlson wasn’t spectacular, but from his body language and presence on the ice, he seems ready for the real deal.  Can’t wait to see him in September.
• Honestly, I had no idea Dmitri Orlov was 17 years old, but plays like he’s a 27 year old veteran.  Scouts say he’s an offensive defenseman, but Orlov can brought it.  Definitely a Hershey player.
• I feel sorry for Anton Gustaffsson.  Some are saying already that he’s a bust but in actuality, he gets injured.  He does have the skills to be a borderline Hershey-Washington player, but his health is a concern.  During the last scrimmage, Anton was standing by himself, watch, and ponder what could of been.
• Joe Finley surprise me with his versatility and deceptiveness.  At the second scrimmage, I called him “Hal Gill 2.0″ for being a tall defensemen who knows the ropes.  After the last scrimmage, Finley might but the Capitals utlity player and he might come in handy.
• Mathieu Perreault and Michael Dubuc entertain the crowds with their goal scoring prowess.
• If you want to know why the White team dominated over the more skilled Blue team in Scrimmage:  Brendan Holtby.
• Trevor Bruess exemplifies what the Caps need: grit, toughness with a pinch of annoyance.
• Bruce Boudreau is very excited that he can coach hockey in July…a little too excited.
• Term from Caps Development Camp I won’t forget: Euro Man Capris.
• Met most of the Caps Tweeters (all ladies), but missed on a couple.  Hopefully, I will see them during Caps training camp and/or the Capitals Convention on September 26.

Here the pictures and footage from the 2009 Caps Development Camp:

Facebook
Flickr – Thursday
Flickr – Saturday

If I Was Running A Company…Authenticity

Authenticity is the hot word in the job and social media realm.  You can easily define authenticity as real, honest, transparent, and genuine.  If the definition is easy, then why is it so hard to find it?  The answer is it varies if you talk to individuals.

The thing about authenticity is everyone knows what they’re looking for, but can they find it?  Authenticity has two tiers: the one that’s on your profile and the one where you meet face-to-face.  The one on your profile (resume, social media profiles) quantifies your attributes while going into the real world and meeting other people is the quality attribute of you.  The latter is hard to determine and that is where most of us have a hard time looking for authenticity.

The main problem why it’s hard to determine if the person is authentic is we don’t know how many layers the person has.  The person could be a straight shooter in all of their conversations; the person knows how to speak in different environments from on and off work to home; the person might be a terrible employee but might have a heart of gold; or the person might be a great employee but is a terrible person.  There are a trillion plus possibilities of personalities, but people want to put labels.  This is where the line is blurred if each of us want o be authentic or be authentic according to our opinions.

There are two things about being authentic:

1. Keep an open mind to whoever you meet.  There are some will surprise and some you expect and some will disappoint.  That’s why we meet in person.
2. We know who we are, but if someone has a different view about you, can you accept that answer?  If not, can you defend yourself?

Basically, we all know what authenticity is, but can we see who’s authentic?  That question depends on your point of view and gut instincts.  Our judgment will lead to a certain direction, but is it the direction that you want?

If I Was Running A Company…Pop Culture HR Award #4

For the fourth recipient of the Pop Culture HR Award, this person has been there for 10 years and this week, there will be a huge celebration.  This person could be also be known to help a certain employee reach to their maximum potential.  Ladies and gentlemen, I bring to you the fourth winner of the Pop Culture HR Award:

MR. EUGENE H. KRABS

Mr. Krabs started his business a while ago with other fry cooks and employees.  His business was stable, but 10 years ago, one employee came to The Krusty Krab and made it a household name.

Mr. Krabs saw Spongebob Squarepants walking to his restaurant and wanted to see if Spongebob can handle the job.  When Spongebob got the job done, the rest is history.

Mr. Krabs also can bring the best out of his employees.  For Spongebob, Mr. Krabs knows he will cook for 24/7 and for Squidward, he knows he needs money and has no motivation on anything except being lucky and famous.  Mr. Krabs has dealt with a lot of HR issues from compensation, paid vacation, motivation, performance evaluations, succession planning, and development and training.  Although Mr. Krabs is cheap, he does create the best training video there is:

Krusty Krab Training Video Part 1

Krusty Krab Training Video Part 2

Mr. Krabs:  he’s successful, business-savvy, cheap, alert, tons of wisdom, a true motivator, a leader, and the fourth recipient of the Pop Culture HR Award.

Nominees for the First Woman Pop Culture HR Award

If you been reading my Pop Culture HR Awards posts, you realize the four recipients are men.  I can tell you the fifth recipient of the Pop Culture HR Award will be a woman.  One problem: I don’t know which one.  Women mostly dominate the HR field and for future installments I will put them, but this is special since this will be the first.

So calling all the HR professionals (ok anyone), please send to me on Twitter, email, or the comments section below who should be the first woman recipient of the Pop Culture HR Award.  Please give me three specific reasons of why I should choose this woman and it must have an HR theme.  Please submit by August 31 and the judging will be done by me.  The winner will get…I haven’t decided yet:  maybe a guest blog or free stress hockey pucks, or something else.  The recipent will be announce after Labor Day Weekend.

Here are the nominees so far (Updated August 6):

• Cinderella
• Kim Ng
• Mary Tyler Moore
• Carol Burnett
• Clair Huxtable
• Murphy Brown
• Margaret Pynchon
• Ann Romano
• Mary Poppins

Send me more nominees.

The Littles

This is a semi-fantasy of all the Tony Kornheiser Littles gathering in one area.

It was 2004; the Tony Kornheiser Show was ending its run on ESPN Radio after the network wanted to be more “sports-oriented.”  Kornheiser said his goodbyes and everyone was saddened by his lost through the radio airwaves.  The following year Kornheiser returned to radio locally in D.C. and every little in the country was happy.  So happy, one spawn a website dedicated to Mr. Tony.

Lehecka was your typical New Yorker who enjoys comics, video games and David Letterman.  Lehecka was also a big Kornheiser fan and proved it by sending emails, calling Mr. Tony on-air, and participate in a Tony Kornheiser Message Board.  The board dissipated since Lehecka had a fallen out with Mark Charcoale and decided when Mr. Tony returns to the radio airwaves, he’ll start a new site for Mr. Tony fans.  He thus began…This Website Stinks!

When Mr. Tony returned to the airwaves, Lehecka was vehemently promoting his new site and as a result, the site had a following.  Lehecka was shocked that a lot of people were signing up to his fansite.  Lehecka didn’t realize they’re so many devoted fans who wanted to talk about Kornheiser.  There were the elite emailers, the new fans, and the other dopes.  Lehecka realize he has built a community and expanded it to other areas. The community is wide from all over the land from the U.S., Canada, and England.  You had Fenster, Boba Fett, The Bopper, The Don, Gold Mine, The Stalker, Dr. Steve, Dobber, Nacho Dan, Chef, Architect Wes, Lambeth, Penfold, Marleykiss, Duckworth Lewis, The Artist, Kuke, The Haikuist, Esther, The Architech, Mrs. Kornheiser-Stewart, Gadsen Gal, Anorak, Pocket Ten, Smirking Chupacabra, Big Time, and the Porn Star.  The littles not only discuss Mr. Tony, they discuss the key events from Cricket, video games, Blackenstein, the Tron guy, and many hard-hitting topics.  Lehecka had something going on, and then he hatch up another plan.

Lehecka was invited to “The First and Last Annual Nerds in Paradise Golf Closed Invitational,” where all the Mr. Tony fans from the old message board came to Reston, Virginia for a round of golf and a fancy dinner to have the Mr. Tony Experience.  Lehecka had a great time and wanted to do this again.  However, Mr. Tony was named the new analyst for Monday Night Football.  Lehecka had to put it on hold…for a few years.

A couple months ago, Mr. Tony not only resign from his analyst position for Monday Night Football, but was let go from the Washington Post after nearly 30 years with the Post.  Lehecka decided to setup a golf event in the D.C. area to show support that Mr. Tony needs to return to the radio or podcast airwaves.  Lehecka asks his friends from the message board to setup “The Second and Last Annual Nerds in Paradise Golf Closed Invitational.” Every member on the This Website Stinks Board came to Reston to show support of Mr. Tony returning on-air.  Everyone brought one gift to Mr. Tony from Chocolate Penguins, Johnnie Walker Blue, even one brought a Pontiac Solstice.  Mr. Tony brought his friends and co-workers to the course to soak in on the atmosphere.  Kornheiser mention this event is the biggest bathtub event Wilbon and he ever attended and seemed to be moved by it.

This was the first time all of the members met.  There were lively discussions and jokes all around, The Stalker stalking, The Don giving podcast tips to Mr. Tony, and everyone ran away when Tracee Hamilton rods showed.  The overall result was the event was big success, even bigger through Twitter and Facebook, and demand from for the radio show to be back.

Fast forward to September 2009, with his high demand and unwarranted donations from his fans, Mr. Tony went back on the airwaves in podcast form.  Mr. Tony brought his friends, Gary Braun, and a new Social Media dope to sort through the messages on Facebook and Twitter.  It’s good to have Mr. Tony back yodel on crap we care.

If I Was Running A Company…2009 SHRM Conference

For the record again, I did not attend the 2009 SHRM Annual Conference.  I was at home with other HR pros looking through to Twitter to see the trends in our sector.  There are a plethora of sites mentioning the SHRM Conference here and here.  Here are my outside observations:

• SHRM likely knew attendance will be low and the mood be more pessimistic.  Coming out of the conference, there is a ray of hope, but the question remains can SHRM follow-up?
• The HR Bloggers panel and Jack Welch were the main attraction at SHRM (By the way, best wishes to Jack Welch on his health).
• Was there any buzz from the other sessions?
• There was no “State of SHRM Address” from new SHRM President Lon O’Neil.  Not a great first impression.
• China Gorman is Bizzaro Dick Cheney.
• Social media has change the landscape of business and conferences.  SHRM was no exception.
• New Orleans was hot and sticky.
• The word, tweetup, was encouraging for the people in the Big Easy, but painful for those who didn’t attend.
• Lots of mentions of food and shops.
• People still collecting too much swag.

Overall, it seems like SHRM is heading to a new direction, but where is it going?  A few points I want to make:

Future Conferences

SHRM needs to adopt to a three-tier price plan: the people who actually attend the conference (full price); the people who couldn’t attend the conference but want to be interactive (watch, discuss, argue in their homes) (10-15% of the full price), and the ones who look through Twitter and a couple of videos (free).  People have said teleconferences are the way to go since people can stay in their office/home to watch the conference.  However, the face-to-face aspect makes people curious to attend these conferences more.

Location

I’m fine on how SHRM pick their location for their conference and people have different agendas in different cities.  I would expect people would love New Orleans.  One of the reasons I didn’t attend the conference was I hate the heat and humidity and that would be any stickler point to any conference or vacation, in my case.  Next year, the conference will be in San Diego and I want SHRM to have package deals with the city (sports teams, amusement rides, parks). Imagine several San Diego packages: a ticket to a Padres game, SeaWorld and Shamu, go north to Los Angeles for a day, go south to Tijuana for a day.  Okay the last one is a stretch, but it does bring an attraction to some who want to go to San Diego next year.

Of note: if the cycle continues for SHRM, 2011 would be in Washington D.C. Imagine the wonderful possibilities for SHRM package deals: White House tours, monument tours, a round of golf at Congressional…after the U.S. Open is played, Nationals baseball (they’re going to be respectable… just not now), NPR tours, meeting Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, the Safeway Barbecue competition (it did coincide the last time SHRM held their conference in D.C. in 2006 and I intentionally put that event there because I know some HR people are meat-lovers), and if SHRM can make a deal with the NHL…the 2011 NHL Entry Draft in Washington D.C. so people can experience how HR works through all 30 teams.  Yes, it is D.C. bias, and that is why I’m trying to save money for 2 years for this moment…if SHRM decides to return to D.C.  I know they will be hesitant after D.C. was hit with a monsoon that last time, but can a guy dream?

Conference Structure

In 2005, SHRM had a brilliant setup of a roundtable of HR professionals in their industry to discuss what they’re doing.  Sadly, only 5 people showed up.  It could of been time (the roundtables were at 7AM Pacific (10AM Eastern)), people were shy talking about their practices, or I have that affect on everything I touch.  The point here is SHRM missed a great opportunity of building that from 06-09.  Now, with the popularity of “unconferences” and panels, SHRM needs to change its structure.  SHRM can still have sessions to hone their craft, but people also want to discuss their company’s issues, how to solve it, and carry back to their respective company.  Which leads to my final point…

The Overall Point of HR

I agree with most of the blog posts that SHRM is too centralized.  To add to that, all HR professionals need to realize HR is a skill.  HR professionals join SHRM to practice, develop, “cheat,” and hone their HR skills either in one or multiple areas.  What SHRM needs to do is how do we use these gifts.  If you think about it, SHRM is really a union headed by Lon O’Neil and China Gorman and they tell us what should we vote, what should we lobby to benefit the HR profession.  The problem is in my opinion, SHRM is looking at the profession as a one size fits all.  What SHRM needs to do is decentralize and segment by function and by industry.  My pet peeve about some HR professionals I asked is they think HR is the same in every job in every sector and I think SHRM has brought that mindset to their members.  That is why I think SHRM needs to create sessions tailor for professionals who are interested in working with government, nonprofits, private sector, telecommunications, or other sectors specifically.  Each individual has a different agenda and SHRM needs to embrace that more.

In the grand scheme of things, HR is the most versatile function in business since HR deals with recruiting, training, marketing, some form of finance, some form of communication, some form of technology, and others.  Basically, if HR is taking seriously to be innovative and creative, SHRM must give us not one, but numerous pathways to make that happen.  SHRM has the tangibles with their resources, but can they give us the intangibles?  That question remains to be seen.

If I Was Running A Company…The Sports Mentality

If you look really hard, what industry is most visible to HR?  You think you got it?  It is sports.  When you think about it, businesses always have followed the sports model for a long time.

In the past, athletes and employees stay with their respective organizations for 10+ years or more until they retired or move to a different career.  Now these days, there is a three-year cycle for organizations and then decide what direction they want to head after the cycle is up.  It could be our attention spans shrinking through the years and/or that this world has so many choices that we get swayed easily.

Another aspect sports brought to business is the free agency culture.  If it was not for the Curt Flood case in baseball, free agency would not exist.  Although Flood lost the case against Major League Baseball, he brought awareness that anyone can work for any employer and people should not stay with their organization for a long time if they’re not comfortable.  Curt Flood’s stance has bought to attention to all workers in all industries that they want to work where they feel they are needed.

Another comparison between sports and business is their organizational structure:  You have your president, you have your chief operating officers, you have your director of recruiting (in sports terms, a general manager), recruiters (scouts), director of HR (head coach), assistants, and a bunch or workers.

On the flip side, sports have given us inflated egos to workers.  The 1994 baseball players strike was evident that the employees run the system and as a result, baseball players were getting record contract deals each year (All thanks to Donald Fehr).  This has carried in to other leagues, as well as potential workers thinking they can get big money because of their skills and employers’ need but never had the experience.

Why I’m making this comparison is because if sports did not exist, would we know the definition of free agency or have a structure like these sports have created?  I doubt it.  So, when people want see benchmarks, look not only to your industry, but look into your favorite sports team and see why they have been successful and by any chance you’re a fan of the L.A. Clippers or the Detroit Lions…look into other teams.