2010 Trends: Recession Recovery

I will be speaking at a number of events in the next 12 weeks and last week I was a guest on a show that covered the “workplace landscape” of the next decade. I’m sure most of you are in the midst of planning for 2010 budgets and are wrestling with what is critical, what is outdated, what is relevant, what is new/old, etc. It is my perspective that there are four major macro-level trends that are shaping some of the best thinking and planning for human capital professionals, especially in the context of professional development and talent management.  In the next four weeks, I will discuss each one. The first one is what I am calling Recession Recovery.

EQ and Stress

Last week, my kids went back to school. They had a great summer – in many ways similar to most American kids. They visited with grandparents and relatives that they do not see often enough. They traveled to several places for long weekends. Driving in a minivan that comes close to an RV — that sure made the trips a lot easier than when I was a kid.

Winning With Emotions

As some of you know, I love the game of golf. Perhaps it is because being outside for 4+ hours is such a pleasant departure from the offices and conference rooms I inhabit for the lion’s share of my week. Perhaps it is because it is a gentle game – there is no opponent you play against trying to derail you (unlike tennis or other sports). Or perhaps it’s because golf is such a great metaphor for life. Yesterday unheralded Asian, YE Yang, gave the great Tiger Woods his first defeat in a major (in the context of Tiger leading the tournament). Tiger was 14 of 14 prior to yesterday, shattering records at unprecedented levels and creating “fear” in those who challenged him. So what was different about YE Yang? What did he have that so many others did not?

Learning Moments

I can’t tell you how many times I have said to myself, ‘Every day I have a chance to learn something new and from at least one person I come in contact with.’ I mean just take inventory of your day yesterday — how many people did you talk to on the phone, how many emails/text messages did you craft or respond to, how many meetings (in person or virtually) did you attend? For working professionals, this number is around 100.  For me, it closer to 200 a day. At the end of each day or week or month, I rarely ask myself: What did I learn today? Who did I learn it from? How am I using this “lesson” to make myself, others, or my business better?

Know Your Paradigms

Last week, I took a much needed respite and one of my goals was to read some books. I have a tendency to read at least one book that I have read in the past that was thought-provoking the first time. I have found that months or years later, when I re-read that book, it spawns even new thoughts and stretches those thinking muscles even more. Last week, I re-read The Theory of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn.