Human Resources, Complacency and Making Mistakes

From the dusty archives is a repost of what was on my mind this time last year. Older post but a still relevant message for all.

There's no room for complacency in my HR.

In a recent Fast Company article, Why RIM Lost Its Crew, Its Groove, the author writes that complacency was one of the factors killing RIM. That's big. {If you weren't aware, RIM makes Blackberry. No worries, I own a Blackberry and didn't always know that either.}

A complacent satisfaction with present knowledge is the chief bar to the pursuit of knowledge.                                                                                     B.H. Lindell Hart

Complacent HR is content with the status quo and (did I say this already. . .?) there is no room for complacency in my HR. It threatens progress, it threatens growth and for HR leaders, it could threaten your very existence.

Let's take a look at an employee relations action you worked on and lost. You actually didn't lose it, you pulled it back before it was decided upon. You actions are good. Your odds are better than good on appeal.

Why would you do such a thing? You missed things. Things that, on appeal, could be problematic. More than that, you could not let your boss decide on an action that was anything less than complete.

Replace an employee relations action with a strategic workforce plan, a new recruitment initiative or an incentive award program proposal that misses the boat and it comes down to one thing: you got complacent.

Are these signs of complacency familiar to you?

• You utter,"good enough" in the face of unanswered questions.
• Your meetings on key issues end with without commitment or decision.
• Your candor is lacking and your support goes to the loudest bidder.
• You stick to what you've always done even when it stops working.

What else? You base your decisions solely on past actions, you begin to believe your own press, and you do not stay current on the legal landscape.

The good news about complacency is that it can be killed easily and the first step is admitting you have a problem. Then, you collaborate.

You speak with others. You seek feedback. You listen. Signs of complacency are more obvious to outsiders than insiders. You don't hold back. You do whatever it is you do to exit your funk. You get back in the game with both feet and even though it sounds counterintuitive, you make mistakes.

Mistakes cure complacency. Trust me, I know.

Photo credit: Jessica Hagy, Indexed

Primula, Présumé and Tactile Learning: A Day in the Life Sunday

Nothing like a shot of Baileys and coffee made in my Primula Coffee Press to start off a lazy Sunday morning.

We have the requisite coffee maker for guests but the husband and I don't use it. Grinding, scooping, smelling, brewing, and pressing our way to the perfect cup of coffee is so . . . tactile.

Sharing my love for Moleskine, my friend Trish McFarlane wondered in a recent post, "Miss Being Tactile? Is There an App for That? 

I have Evernote at home, on the Blackberry and on the iPad (complete with wireless keyboard) but given the choice, I reach for the kid's 24-pack of ultrathin Sharpies and a blank sheet of paper and mind map my ideas. Circles here, arrows there and a splash of color to draw the eye into the main points - does it get any better than that?

I struggled with my Nook 1st Edition, barely used my Kindle and am now just getting ok reading with the Nook for iPad. If I could only dog-ear a virtual page or two, I'd be golden.

You see, I am in my element when I can see if, feel it, and touch it.

Although I am the first in line to want to make a good first impression when visitors come knocking, I am also the first to blow past the gloss to see what's really behind the curtain. This may be why I question the wisdom of job seekers who put the shine before the substance with creative resume displays like  Présumé.

Take a look at this Présumé. I hate it. Actually, I love it (what I hate is that I lack the creativity to do this.) This was the absolute perfect approach for the job she was seeking but it would not work for everyone in every situation, like applying for a position with me.

This very cool presentation would lose it's appeal when I printed it off so I could hold it in my hot little tactile hands and mark it up with my yellow highlighter as I read for evidence of proven #trenchhr experiences.

It's me, not you. Sometimes a traditional dry, black and white, no more than 2 page resume with no life but a ton of hand-on organizational human resource practitioner experiences it just what this HR Director ordered.

Now, who's going to bottle up a touch of that creativity for me?

Photo credit weevermedia.com/services/app-marketing