Engage or Leave...

Last week was OHSHRM. It was a baseball theme, so you'll have to pardon the puns!  In case you missed the Tweets from the conference, here are a few folks that I was able to engage with.  

The conference lead off with Steve Gilliland.  Steve brought some reality into my life when he told us a story about coming home from a long roadtrip for work, saying hello to everyone and then jumping onto his computer to answer emails.  Totally missing the fact that his wife and son had cleared their evening to spend with him. Steve told us of how he purposely turns off his cell phone.  Yikes.  Can you still do that?  There's an off button on those things?

Then, in the Talent Anarchy general session, Joe and Jason reminded me that online "friends" are not about the sheer number of people, but the relationships and overlap you have with folks.  So, I purposely made it a point to introduce myself to Joe and Jason.  I wanted them to know what an impact they have had on me.  I am purposely choosing to take a deeper dive into my "connections." If you haven't picked up a copy of their book Social Gravity - what are you waiting for?

Our closer was, Jeff Havens.  Which, if you know me and my family, he could be my brother's twin.  His satire on what to do to "Unleash Your Inner Tyrant"  made everyone laugh.  Well, almost everyone.  There's always a few HR folks who won't dress down or laugh at a conference.  Jeff pointed that out too!  Jeff was able to remind us how ridiculous we could be when faced with leadership challenges.  It was great to end the conference laughing.  We truly don't laugh enough in HR.

For those of you that attended OHSHRM.  I hope you were able to engage in the sessions, the networking, and the amazing Resources Partners at your fingertips.  Fred Eck and his team put on a great conference.  If you haven't had a chance to connect with Fred, you should.  And...tell him thank you for hitting it OUT OF THE PARK!

In closing, I leave you with these thoughts.  There was a lot of discussion around relationships, family, and priorities.  Have you disengaged with people at home or work?  Do you have priorities straight?  Sometimes, you have to change the lineup in your life. Batter up!

Efficiency vs Effectiveness

There is a lot of chatter on Twitter around data points.  What is the most effective way to recruit.  What is the percentage of folks living paycheck to paycheck.  How many people will vote for Obama or Romney.  Those are a few headlines I saw today.  Everything is about the numbers.

This week I had to travel for business.  So, I spent all weekend catching up on emails, prioritizing the tasks for the week, and finishing those last minute business processes that must be completed so payroll can be processed.  Tasks...I caught up on my tasks.

I went into work on Tuesday briefly before flying east.  When I was at the office, I had a list of "things" I had to accomplish before I left.  I cancelled a conference call, I ignored an incoming phone call (I have caller ID), and I short changed a very important person in my life that just needed help and guidance on some HR things.  This very important person never short changes me when I need his time.  BUT... my desk was clean and I was ready for the trip.

In the end, the guilt eats me alive.  I was totally efficient - isn't that what every boss wants?  I was not effective.  It was more important to get the numbers out than it was to deal with the human side of the business.  How many times do you short change those people in your daily life strictly to get the numbers out?

We are in the Human Resource Business.  Human being the key word here.  So, all I can do is say, "I'm sorry, Boss" for short changing our conversation on Tuesday.  It's time to step back and remember why we are in the field of Human Resources.  Clean desks and empty inboxes are important, but the relationships we build are more important.

Who have you short changed this week?  We all have shorted someone.  Call them, and say you're sorry.  After all...we're all human.