Check out a new Blog Roll addition to 3 Connections – Jeff Carroll’s Career Revival Tour Blog. Jeff, who is a former colleague and good buddy of mine, has a unique way of combining career planning with the passion and energy of rock and roll. Jeff will be on WGN radio ( http://www.wgnradio.com/) every other Saturday for the remainder of the year discussing ways to re-connect your work and career to your passions – with a heavy dose of rock music in the mix. Jeff’s appearance on WGN will be Saturday, March 10, at noon CST. Happy Listening!
Career Direction; Engagement
Building A Magnetic Culture
Kevin Sheridan, one of my good friends and the CEO of HR Solutions, has written a new book entitled “Building a Magnetic Culture”. In this book Kevin shares the great insights he has learned about employee engagement from his firms’ extensive engagement and exit survey work with hundreds of organizations. I have listed Kevin’s book in my ‘Great Reads’ section. Click on this link – http://www.hrsolutionsinc.com/building-a-magnetic-culture.cfm – or on the book image for more info on the book and HR Solutions. Great job Kevin!
Working Here Isn’t F***ing Mandatory!
The title to this post might be deceiving … it not another C’mon Moment installment. Instead it is a short, rather funny story from my corporate past that causes me to reflect about where I work each time I think about it.
In the early days of my career, I worked for a crusty ex-marine and Senior HR Director named Bill. Over time Bill has become one of my closest friends. But when I first starting working for him he scared the hell out of me. He still sported the Semper Fi crew cut, chewed a cigar and grunted more than he spoke. He had been employed at the company for over 20 years when I joined his staff as a young ‘up and comer’. After being on the job for just a couple of weeks, I ambled over to his office to ask Bill a newbie question. When I arrived I noticed he had someone in his office and I couldn’t help but listen to the conversation.
They Call It Work For A Reason
Despite my Canandian ancestry I wouldn’t want to live anywhere but the good old USA. I have often wondered, however, if living in the land of opportunity doesn’t cause us an excess level of anxiety. There’s a lot of pressure that comes with freedom. Freedom of choice, freedom of decision making, freedom to become a millionaire and yes, freedom of career direction.
This thought provoking article from MSNBC online poses the question, “Can the pursuit of career happiness cause more unhappiness?” – http://on.msnbc.com/neUgoz.
Well, maybe freedom also allows us too much time to think.
“Get A Life, Not A Job”
Proving the naysayers wrong and that I really do listen to my lovely spouse, I checked out a website and book she recently recommended to me. The book, written by Paula Caligiuri, is entitled “Get A Life, Not A Job” and it implores people to connect their work to their passions. This should sound familiar to loyal readers of 3 Connections. Anyway, I have added her book to my ‘Great Reads’ recommendation. I also recommend checking out her website and blog. Cool stuff. http://www.paulacaligiuri.com/
They Killed Loyalty … Long Live Trust!
“Fifty years ago, an employee could stay at the same company for decades and the company reciprocated with long term protection and care”, said Tammy Erickson an author and workforce consultant. Many were guaranteed longtime employment along with health care and a pension. Now, employers don’t hold up their end of the bargain, so why should employees hold up theirs?
This is a quote from a very interesting April 23 NY Times article which proclaims that while loyalty may not be dead, it is playing itself out differently in today’s workplace. The new word that keeps employees connected is trust. Check out the full article at (http://nyti.ms/ifX8ss)
12 questions – are you connected?
After h
undreds of focus groups and thousands of interviews with employees in a variety of industries, Gallup came up with the Q12, a 12-question survey that identifies strong feelings of employee engagement. Results from the survey show a strong correlation between high scores and superior job performance. Check out the questions, if you dare, at the following link: http://bit.ly/bVl9u2
3 Connections 