Human Relations and Organizational Development

Wanted: Bold And Courageous Business Leaders

Greg Selker — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:01:47 -0500

We are standing on a precipice, teetering between growth and decline.

It's Time To Change Outdated Corporate Models, Marc Morgenstern Leadership Interview Part 2

Greg Selker — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:16:35 -0400

The SEC: What's Wrong And How To Fix It

Greg Selker — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 10:29:18 -0400

Marc Morgenstern is the Founder and Managing Partner of Blue Mesa Partners. He serves as a Senior Advisor and/or Board member for growth companies in industries as diverse as telecom, enterprise software, social broadcasting, specialized steel service centers, printing and imaging, and solutions for protection and renewal of residential and municipal infrastructure.

From H1N1 to Q2H2

Greg Selker — Fri, 08 May 2009 11:30:17 -0400

As we begin to see the first signs of recovery in our economy, and the first signs of recovering from the H1N1 virus, our elected and appointed officials from President Obama to Fed Chair Ben Bernanke are saying that the economic slowdown is starting to “slow down”. With that, we can expect an increase in demand for goods and services, and companies once again will begin to hire new employees…albeit slowly.

Stop Incenting Executives to Act Badly!

Greg Selker — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 10:26:29 -0400

We are all aware of the uproar caused by the $175 million in bonus payments made to AIG executives. It has been the straw that has broken the public’s back unleashing frustration and anger. Journalists and pundits have detailed the absolute travesty of the individuals receiving them who are no longer with the company and who were also at the heart of foisting credit default swaps into the marketplace.

The Enron Syndrome

Greg Selker — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 16:39:08 -0400

When I started Selker Leadership in 2002, it was to reinvent executive search as a client-centric service that delivered unprecedented value. Seven years later, I am proud to report that our PVA methodology has altered the way people are selected, interviewed and hired. The “V” in PVA stands for Values.

Don’t Waste A Recession!, Top Silicon Valley CFO Speaks Out About the Economy, Madoff and Wall Street Executive Comp Limit

Greg Selker — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:27:01 -0400

Ken Goldman is an accomplished executive with extensive financial, operational and business management experience and a solid track record of success. He served as senior vice president, finance and administration, and CFO of Siebel Systems from August 2000 until the close of Oracle Corporation’s acquisition in January 2006. Prior to that, he held CFO positions at Excite@Home, Sybase, Inc., Cypress Semiconductor and VLSI Technology.

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The Model “Has Been” Broken

Greg Selker — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 08:46:43 -0400

In a mid-January 2009 article in Business Week, L. Kevin Kelly, the CEO of Heidrick & Struggles said, “the business model for the executive search industry is broken.” In Heidrick’s most recent earnings call, he elaborated by stating that leadership advisory services represent “the evolution of the search business going forward.”

In their most recent earnings call, Gary Burnison, Korn Ferry’s CEO, outlined one of their key strategic imperatives to “create a more consultative solutions based workforce to drive integrated revenue growth.”

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Even Madoff Had Great References

Greg Selker — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:00:40 -0400

Recently, a high level executive candidate of mine was interviewing for a pivotal role that reported directly to my client, a CEO. The candidate was a “game changer”, with a history of pointing out how the “status quo” wasn’t cutting it, and implementing improvements. As we moved into checking his references, it was no surprise that I heard about some past difficulties the candidate had with certain individuals. It was clear that over the course of his career he had to take some unpopular stances in order to drive change.

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Clorox Goes Green

Anya Kamenetz — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 19:30:44 -0400

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To Grow Your Firm, Put the Brakes on Bad Habits

Keith Ferrazzi — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:49:52 -0400

To err is human, to knock it off is divine.

We all have habits that hold us back in the workplace because they make it difficult for colleagues to respect us and to enjoy working with us.

You may already be aware of some of your issues. (Two of mine are avoiding necessary conflict and talking over people.) But you may have no idea how problematic these behaviors are for your colleagues.
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Your Boss Is a Monkey

Dan & Chip Heath — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:26:34 -0400

Exotic-animal trainers need a great poker face. Let's say you're a trainer, and one day, a beluga whale spits a mouthful of cold water at you. Your first instinct will be to shriek or jump or curse, but any reaction will probably reinforce the spitting. If you react, that whale will own you, and you'll be a Spit Bull's-eye for the rest of your life. Instead, you must ignore it and appear unfazed, expressionless -- a training technique called "least-reinforcing scenario," or LRS.
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A Field Guide to Boss Management

Dan Heath and Chip Heath — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:26:12 -0400

1. Old Yeller

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has been known to let out a full-throated growl. If you match a screamer decibel for decibel, you're toast. Zen calm trumps noise and will stop the shouting.

2. The Blowhard

On the TV show 30 Rock, Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) isn't the best role model in her dealings with boss Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin). She's too indulgent of his peccadilloes, reinforcing his bad behavior. But how would you react to lines like, "After all, your hair is your head suit"?
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The 5th Annual Fast 50

Fast Company staff — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 20:34:31 -0500

The 5th Annual Fast 50

48. Office Space

Douglas Ball

For Herman Miller

Previous | Next
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Caring, the Corporate Way

Lisa LaMotta — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 11:06:49 -0500

When Patty Cory left her previous company after twenty years to join PJM Interconnection, she never expected that her new employer would do so much to enrich her life and that of her family.
Cory's 21-year-old daughter has Crohn's disease, a chronic gastrointestinal condition that, as Patty puts it, gives her "good days and bad ones." It helps that the Cory family can go to the community center together, using the gym, swimming, or participating in one of the many fitness classes. And PJM made the community center membership possible.
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The Best of Both Worlds

Linda Tischler — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 08:42:58 -0500

To add additional context to Linda Tischler's feature story, Fast Company offers two edited transcripts of interviews with Professor Charles A. O'Reilly at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and Catherine Hakim, a sociology professor at the London School of Economics.

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Fortune Teller

Ian Wylie — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 08:42:44 -0500

Read the main story: There Is No Alternative to ...

Betty Sue Flowers, editor of the Shell scenarios, says that every organization could benefit from having its own TINA. "Sit down and ask, What are the predetermined elements in my business? Where is the TINA? There is no alternative -- just saying it elicits alternatives that people may not have thought about before. TINA gets you out of the box that you've put yourself in."
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Celia Carrillo

Anni Layne — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 08:30:13 -0500

Textbooks, dress codes, district policies, and learning strategies have changed a great deal since Celia Carrillo began her teaching career in 1965. Likewise, student populations worldwide have countless times trashed and reinvented their languages, uniforms, codes of ethics, and priorities in the last 34 years. Amid all the turmoil and transformation, however, one aspect of education has remained constant: Kids need hugs.
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David Kaplan

Anni Layne — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 08:30:08 -0500

By the time most people make it to David Kaplan's doorstep, they are desperate, confused, and angry. He likes 'em that way.

A licensed practicing psychologist, professor, and director of graduate counseling at New York's Alfred University, Kaplan is a certified problem solver. He's also a historian, a liberator, a role model, a disciplinarian, and a dignified listener with 15 years experience in the field of conflict resolution.
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Rick Hind

Anni Layne — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 08:29:31 -0500

Greenpeace ambushes logging boats off the coast of California. Greenpeace chains itself to environmentally unfriendly cargo. Greenpeace hoists contraband banners onto oil tankers. Greenpeace infiltrates toxic waters with warnings to nearby citizens. Greenpeace spars with Norweigan whaling ships in the North Sea.

Greenpeace does not compromise or surrender. Yet, somehow, this militant 27-year-old environmental organization manages to bring Goliaths like Nike, the International Whaling Commission, and Lego to their knees.
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Conflict Resolution: Stop, Look Listen

Anni Layne — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 08:29:10 -0500

Any politician, NHL referee, or divorce lawyer can testify to the inevitability of human discord. In this new world of work, expectations, priorities, and egos clash more often than senators Boxer and Helms. Regardless, the show must go on, and conflicts simply must not clog the flow of business.
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The Most Dangerous Job in Business

Ellen McGirt — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 08:21:14 -0500

Kerri Martin is looking for a job. "And I've got plenty of time on my hands to do it right," she declares.
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Grant Makers

Alex C. Pasquariello — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 08:19:33 -0500

What does $50 get you? Dinner at Applebee's, maybe. A few new CDs. Not much.

Here's what Kimley-Horn and Associates, a big civil-engineering company in Cary, North Carolina, does with $50: At any time, for any reason, without permission, any employee can award a bonus of that amount to any other employee. No strings.
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Fast Talk: Best Brains

Fast Company Staff — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 08:14:24 -0500

Shari Ballard

Executive vice president of human resources and legal, Best Buy
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Ballard, 40, helps the $30 billion retail giant implement its growth strategy. She taps the ideas of its more than 128,000 employees, particularly those closest to customers, to find innovations that will keep the company growing at a rapid clip. Here, she tells us why she shouldn't even be in this photograph.
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LVHRD, or Try

Joseph Manez — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 08:11:26 -0500

It's Tuesday night in a boisterous Tribeca bar packed with twenty- and thirtysomethings. All eyes are on the stage, where Derrick Wolf is playing the Vincent Vega character from Pulp Fiction. "They call it a Royale with Cheese," he deadpans, Travolta-like, to a video image of Samuel L. Jackson. The crowd eats it up. Wolf is going places. Anyway, he's going to the finals, where he'll duke it out in the climactic scene from The Notebook.
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Human Relations and Organizational Development

Wanted: Bold And Courageous Business Leaders

It's Time To Change Outdated Corporate Models, Marc Morgenstern Leadership Interview Part 2

The SEC: What's Wrong And How To Fix It

From H1N1 to Q2H2

Stop Incenting Executives to Act Badly!

The Enron Syndrome

Don’t Waste A Recession!, Top Silicon Valley CFO Speaks Out About the Economy, Madoff and Wall Street Executive Comp Limit

The Model “Has Been” Broken

Even Madoff Had Great References

Clorox Goes Green

To Grow Your Firm, Put the Brakes on Bad Habits

Your Boss Is a Monkey

A Field Guide to Boss Management

1. Old Yeller

2. The Blowhard

The 5th Annual Fast 50

The 5th Annual Fast 50

48. Office Space

Douglas Ball

For Herman Miller

Caring, the Corporate Way

The Best of Both Worlds

Fortune Teller

Read the main story: There Is No Alternative to ...

Celia Carrillo

David Kaplan

Rick Hind

Conflict Resolution: Stop, Look Listen

The Most Dangerous Job in Business

Grant Makers

Fast Talk: Best Brains

Shari Ballard

Executive vice president of human resources and legal, Best Buy Minneapolis, Minnesota

LVHRD, or Try

Executive vice president of human resources and legal, Best Buy
Minneapolis, Minnesota