The Brand of You!

 Like a lot of you, I have followed the Toyota story and all of its accompanying fallout. It reminds me of a situation that occurred back in the early 80's and this time it was Audi. They were trying to rectify a similar type problem. Lot of bad press. The story stayed alive for months. 60 minutes did a piece on it. It was as much in the news as the Toyota issue is today.

Wow did Audi survive! Today Audi is one of the hottest cars on the market today and nary a tweet of their past troubles. What does that have to do with Toyota? If you have a strong brand going into a crisis, there is a strong possibility that you will survive it. Both of these examples show the importance of a strong brand image. On the other hand, GM went into a storm with a badly damaged brand and even though their cars can now compete on quality, the stench of the past is still there.

If you have read this far, you are probably wondering about all this auto stuff and are probably wondering; what does it have to do with me? It is always about the brand. A brand is a set of perceptions and images that represent a company, product, service and yes even you. While many people refer to a brand as a logo, tag line or audio jingle, a brand is actually much larger. A brand is the essence or promise of what will be delivered or experienced.

Guest editor at 5'O Clock News

I was a guest editor for 5'O Clock News April issue.  My article is titled "HR, Trying to Put 2009 Behind Us- and Make the Most of 2010.  Click on the link HR Strategy for the future.  The Five O' Clock Club is a premier Career Management and Outplacement firm located in NYC

Undercover Boss and a Lesson in Leadership

Like a lot of you on Super Bowl Sunday, the game was the show to watch. My normal routine is no pregame, just enjoy the game. I do not want to sit through all the hype, recycled stories and the endless commercials. In previous years once the game was decided, I would turn off the TV and call it a day.

This year was different, because I did buy into the hype, but it was not football. The previous week I saw commercials about a new reality show called “Undercover Boss”. I have to admit that I have never watched a reality show. I have always found them to be contrived and just too much BS.

Make the Lessons of 2009 Pay Off in 2010

This week I was a guest blogger at PongoResume.  The article titled "Make the Lessons of 2009 Pay Off in 2010", takes a look at how to reflect of your job search of 2009 and tips for making 2010 the year of your comeback.

You’ve gone through one of the toughest years ever for finding employment and you hope 2010 will be better. When the calendar changes each January, everyone reflects on how far they went and where they want to go. For instance, a company reviews its performance, people make new year’s resolutions, and project team leaders review their progress.

As a job seeker, you should also assess your progress—or lack thereof. Have you gotten interviews? How many times were you in the actual running for a job? What kind of feedback did you receive from employers who interviewed you but didn’t hire you? How many phone interviews turned into face-to-face interviews? Think back and collect that data to determine where you need to try something different to get hired in 2010.

It’s time to put staff back at the heart of business - Times Online

It’s time to put staff back at the heart of business - Times Online

This article syncs with my previous post about the importance of the employees that survived the downturn

The Employee as the "Person of the Year"

This time of year, we all see various publications announcing; person of the year, best places to work for the year, car of the year, book of the year, and record/entertainer of the year. The list goes on and on. I would like to honor and nominate the employee as the person of the year. An honorable mention would go to HR. This intersection of people and HR is a noteworthy combination. Why, because they are both linked at the hip. The economic downturn has affected both in such a way that it will forever change the dynamics of this pair. Employees have been decimated during this long downturn and HR was on the front line of this assault. Employees will never be the same as well as human resources. The employees that were laid off and the ones that are left have both lost faith, trust and the link between their organizations have been broken. Countless number of people have lost jobs, had careers stalled and their lives upended. This has affected a group that is often referred to as the “greatest asset” in an organization.

Networking Plays a Critical Role in Your Job Search

This week, I was a guest blogger at Pongo Resume

Today's post is written by Ron Thomas, a human resources professional with more than 15 years of experience, including roles with Martha Stewart Living and IBM. His work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Workforce Management, Chief Learning Officer magazine and Crain's New York Business. Recently, he was named to the HR Hall of Fame by HR Network of New York. Ron's blog, StrategyFocusedHR, focuses on human resources from a strategic perspective.

I attended a conference years ago in which the presenter gave me an "Aha! moment" during a discussion about careers: "You are no bigger in your field than your Rolodex." (Or, for today's younger workers, your connections and followers.) I have never forgotten that statement.

Leadership: What is the new model for the future?

While growing up, I always looked forward to the debut of new cars because the designs would change every year.  However the European models would not change drastically.  Unlike the US manufacturers, they would evolve over a few years whether it be design, safety enhancements or the latest gadgets.

It appears to me that leadership has taken on some of those traits.  I searched Amazon Books and found approximately 375,000 titles listed on the subject of leadership.  Did the great leaders of yesteryear have to update their skills yearly with the publication of a new book.

Why Talent Management is the end all be all for your organization!

HR has gone through so many transformation over the years that as soon as you get the handle on a new process, strategy or title, here comes another take on HR strategy and development. Think of the transactional role, the generalist role, the business partner model and now comes Talent Management.

I decided to do some research to find out where and when that term, talent management came into the HR space. From what I found, it was a term coined by David Watkins of Softscape, published in an article in 1998. This term is so prevalent in today's business environment. Companies are now faced with how to deal with talent due to the expected upheaval that is headed towards company's today.