Friday, May 23, 2014

Weekly Reading

When do you cut your ties and jump ship?  Is it a manager who pushes you over the edge?  Direction of the company?  Possibilities for advancement?  Apparently, Forbes believes the hiring and retaining employees is a monumental issue for business leaders in today's market.  Just look at the titles of articles they are pumping out: The Top 8 Reasons Your Best People Are About to Quit, What it Take to Retain Your Top Talent, 5 Ways to Attract and Keep Top Millennial Talent, How to Attract and Hire Incredible Talent, Five Red Flags that Tell You Don't Take This Job, How to Hire More Top Performers, and How Managers Keep Employees From Jumping Ship.  These are titles of articles from this week alone!  According to Forbes I am led to believe companies cannot retain their employees any better than atheists trying to retain their children.  

Has the market power of employment really shifted so much that employees actually have the power to reference check their future boss?  I believe so.*  The power is in the employees hand, and all they have to do is realize it.  Companies like Glassdoor make it easier for employee to realize which company they want to work for while also providing benefits they should come to expect as employees.  

The process of hiring and employee retention has really garnered my interest in the past couple months as I have been looking to hire, promote, and decide myself what I am doing with my career.  The studious readers of this blog will realize the asterisk (*) in my conclusions above.  I believe there are some conditions which do not fall into the norm of employee empowerment.  However, I am hedging my bet.  I don't believe I fall outside of the norm, and am willing to wager upon myself.  Today I officially sent an end date to the company I've worked at for the past 9 years.

I hope to continue to blog through my thought of what this looks like in the coming year... until then enjoy this weeks reading.

Friday, May 9, 2014

The Weekly Reading Is Still Digesting

Some times I lament my decision to go to a small private school and to get a liberal arts education, other times not so much (see picture). As it turns out it wasn't a mistake, just slightly misguided.  My paradigm has always been skewed due to my unclear goals.  This blog has been a way to process what I read/experience, an opportunity to share what's touched, as well as a time to reflect upon my life and goals.  This blog has not been a journal and it is not intended to be one, however, it has helped me begin to obtain a clearer picture of what I truly want.

I will preface the next couple sentences with a word of warning.  This has been a long, rough, emotional week where work and business decisions left me devastated, confused with my boss, helpless, and now disengaged.  I am glad its Friday, but the real work comes this weekend where I must decide between two MBA's.  One a bit more prestigious and a year out, and another starting this August.  As I prepare for this decision my life, my goals, all hinge upon what I really want.

Can I name it?  Will I have the courage to name it?  To name means to act, to act means to take the leap of faith.  Am I ready...?  After this week I am a bit more certain.

                                                  Articles To Mull Over

  1. You can be a tough leader and not a SOB!
  2. Hiring should be like the NFL draft
  3. Have you considered a student loan.......I am...
  4. Why the guy I tried to hire wasn't smart.  ESOP miracles
  5. Or was it because of my questions
  6. How much time do you waste?
  7. Are you happy at work?
  8. Last's weeks good news for my daughter needs to be followed up with article 1 and article 2
  9. It may suffer, but what if no one cares?
  10. What I wish I could communicate....trouble with theory

Friday, May 2, 2014

Weekly Reading Catch Up

Where have I been?  Well... let me start list with my best excuses.  Last week I was called in as a relief golfer to Spyglass.  I struggle passing on golf and find it near impossible to pass on a course like Spyglass.  Second, my nephew was born last night and I am a single parent.  Therefore, today's post is really just a couple articles I read, enjoyed, and caught my attention.

  1. Good news for my daughter
  2. How much is lunch with you worth? (Lunch with Tim Cook is worth)
  3. How much time do you waste in meetings?
  4. How to enhance your learning
  5. Fresh Eyes...but frustrated
  6. I wish hockey referees took this stance (why baseball umpires are better) #bitterfan
  7. What do the right wing fundamentalists say about this
  8. Evernote - 12 surprising uses + a bonus look
  9. Problems with icongraph maps
  10. Is this the future of TED?
  11. Need...More...Sleep
  12. Kentucky Derby Picks
In closing, I am bitter about the San Jose Sharks being on the wrong side of history, but I still love for the NHL playoffs.  As someone learning to play hockey the flex on this stick is amazing, and I wanted to share (Sorry Bruins fans 2OT Killer)