Thomas Kuhn defined the generally accepted manner in which science moves from one set of beliefs to another through a process akin to revolutions. He called this process a paradigm shift and it is worth your time to look at his material a bit to better understand the way our world transforms itself.

I think that communication systems employed by humans can be viewed in terms of Kuhn’s regular science vs revolutions and we are in the middle of a communication revolution. Viewed through a Kuhn/paradigm lens, social media satisfies some very important anomalies left behind from the current or normal state of communication. The biggest lapse social media answers from the old paradigm is the dehumanizing aspect of communication technology. Cell phones, email, texting, Web 1.0 all served to facilitate fast and efficient 1:1 communication. These technologies do this at the expense of 1:many and many:many communication. Just like Kuhn predicts, heretics first started to grumble that this new thing called the Internet was dehumanizing our interactions. That grumble is a dull roar now and the technology has started to adjust to bring human interactions back in line with our natural inclination to be tribe creatures. Not sure where I want to go from this point with this thought but I think it’s important to get Meta once in awhile. See you on Twitter.

I was perusing my Google reader and came across a blurb about this company: http://www.jiibe.com/

They seem to be very similar to what I yearned for in one of my previous posts.  The difference is that Jiibe appears to only use information voluntarily posted by the employees of companies. I was suggesting that the social media profiles of the employees could be used in an aggregate format to give prospective applicants an idea of what the company’s employment brand looked like. I still think my idea is strong. If this site were to gain access to the aggregate profile information of company employees from LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc. they could offer a very accurate picture of the corporate culture to prospective employees. This information is already public (especially LinkedIn and Twitter, Facebook is a little sketchy) the only thing I am proposing is to make the Data relational.

Data becomes insanely powerful when is related to other data. If you read one of my Tweets and learn that I ate at a particular restaurant, you think to yourself, “Big deal, this bozo ate at XYZ”. But if you relate that piece of boring data to all of my other Tweets and learn that I eat at XYZ at least twice a week, you now know something meaningful about me – specifically that I like a certain type of eating establishment and that I eat out at least twice a week. That’s marketing information now and can be used to direct pitches my way for products and services that may appeal to to the type of people who eat at XYZ and/or the type of people who eat out on a regular basis. Now visualize amping this relating of data across an entire organization and you have my vision.

Edited to add: I am a little dense sometimes and when I went back to the original article that spurred me to write my blog post on this topic, I realized that Jiibe was referenced by the author in his post. My bad, but the idea still excites me. Relate all of the available data in social media profiles and group that data by companies and you have value to everyone.

I had a conversation with a smart guy today and he mentioned the long held adage that the purpose of an HR department was to keep a company out of court. This person didn’t subscribe to this belief but it raises an interesting point: What exactly should be the core purpose of an HR department? If there were an HR mission statement, what would it look like? Let’s try.

Here’s an example I found in a Google search for HR Mission statements that includes some good ideas but they seem very vague and sorta feel-good .  Here are the key excerpts:

… promoting the concept that our employees are our most valuable resource and will be treated as such.  

… act as catalysts enabling all employees to contribute at optimum levels towards the success of the college. 

That same institution has an overall mission that promotes the following ambitions towards it’s students in their general Mission Statement (I’ve made some additions to make a point):

… affords opportunities for individual growth and expression and promotes the development of the total person through scholarly and creative activity and the application of knowledge for the good of society. 

… lay a foundation for lifelong learning and involved citizenship and encourage the pursuit of knowledge, innovation, experimentation, and excellence in human endeavor. 

…It prepares students [employees] for entry-level positions, for advancement in various occupations and professions, for a broad understanding of the liberal arts and sciences, and for transfer to baccalaureate- granting institutions.

…emphasizes personal attention to students [employees], innovation and flexibility in its credit and noncredit offerings, and responsiveness to the diversity of communities it serves. 

…dedicated to providing an educational [work] environment that recognizes individuality, stresses the importance of human relationships, and reflects the democratic values of our society.

Continue reading »

I am throwing a party and if you’ve muddled your way to this blog, you’re invited!

This party is a celebration of my new company and is being supported by the Des Moines Downtown Chamber. There will be a short program where I introduce the concept behind the company and then a ribbon cutting and after that we drink beer and eat. Casual. Network-ish. Come-as-you-are-ish. I would appreciate it if you dropped a note to me or in the comment section below if you plan on attending so I can gauge the food and drinks. If you’re feeling especially 2.0, you can drop me an @reply. Olde Main beer and Sushi on the menu so far. There will be some other appetizers for the no sushi for me crowd (although you really should try it!!) and some non-intoxicating beverages.

The party is being held at Impromptu Studio. Some of you may know of this hidden treasure because of the Ugly Sweater Party, or the #whatnow series, or maybe Ignite Des Moines! Whatever your experience level with Impromptu Studio, please take the time to look over those links and get to understand the concept of coworking. Dan and Abbie Shipton and this coworking studio have proven to be a great place to cultivate the network and momentum I’ve needed to get this far.

Here are the details

Date: Tuesday March 24th

Time: 5:30 until whenever we suck the keg dry

Location: Impromptu Studio (link goes to map)

RSVP: comments section below or email me at ben@rpoconsulting.com

Cost: This event is going to be paid for through your promise to not stand around like a dork and to make the effort to meet folks and talk about things. This cost is being subsidized by the liberal application of beer and food. Other than that, it’s free.

Just a quick post about something that solidified in my mind due to a note from a friend. I was sharing an email thread with a younger friend (I think he’s 25ish) and I asked him how his new job was going. Here is the response I received:

The new job is going well. Just getting into my second week and I feel like I’m churning out more plans and ideas than I did my entire time at <former employer name removed>. For the most part I’m left to do my own thing, determining the most important things to be working on and keeping my team up to date.

It really is an amazing fit for me. It’s exactly what I needed at this point. 

This response exemplifies why companies need to pay attention to the way younger workers are looking at their jobs and careers. Three big things jump out at me:

1 – This person (and his peers) want to be productive. There is a drive to be relevant that can and should be tapped, used, and celebrated. I’ve read lots of hand wringing about how lazy and self centered and coddled Gen Y workers are but the truth is that they want to work hard on meaningful things that tap their strengths. 

2 – Autonomy is important. Younger workers want to feel they own whatever they are doing. The days of drone-like work doing things from someone else’s priority list are numbered. 

3 – The biggest thing is the title of this post – it’s those last 3 words tacked on like an afterthought “at this point”. People will increasingly view their job in the context of their own journey. The world of work is now officially a 2 way street with drivers from both the corporate outcome side and the personal career outcome side. People’s jobs are relative to where they are in their personal journey. Pay attention to this and address it with your employment brand, policies, and procedures and your company will win. Ignore it at your peril.

Most (all?) of the companies I have brushed up against in my 20 plus years in the world of work have had the same fundamental error: Their hiring criteria aren’t aligned with their brand. I’ve always been aware of this problem but I’ve only recently gained the language and knowledge to express it correctly. Let me try to explain.

If a company decides that they need to hire a Database Developer (or any professional employee), the first thing that happens is that the HR department will develop the job description from Hell. This description will look like a database developer textbook puked all over it. It will be jammed with every conceivable technical skill that a database developer might ever conceivably use.  Remember the Christmas lists we made when we were 12? Basically we copied the toy section of the JC Penny’s catalog onto a piece of paper. These job descriptions look like the hiring manager version of those Xmas lists. Of course there will be the obligatory bullet item at the end: “Other duties as assigned” remember that bullet point; we’ll come back to it in a bit. Continue reading »

Here’s an answer I posted on LinkedIn in response to the question “What can corporations do to move the application process from Inhuman Resources to a more personal and human one?”

My answer (I kinda got up on a soapbox):

This question and its implications are very near and dear to me. I believe the best way to bring Humans back into Human Resources is to get corporations to understand the concept of Employment Branding. Each time an applicant touches your company in the recruiting and hiring process they form an opinion about your company. The sum total of these touches across all of the stakeholders in the process equals your employment brand. If your marketing people could be involved in in a reorganization of the HR process with an eye towards lining up the HR process with the marketing brand, you would be well on your way to making the HR human. 

I’m not sure why HR has evolved into an entirely separate entity from the rest of the organization, but it is viewed that way by almost everyone. HR processes that are cold and annoying are accepted by all as “that’s the we’ve always done it”. If those same behaviors occurred on the sales side, the person responsible would loose their job. Continue reading »