Michael Jackson - One Important Human Resources Lesson From His Legacy
by Alan Collins
I grew up a big Michael Jackson fan. I never learned to moonwalk, although I confess I tried a lot…unsuccessfully! Anyway…
When he left our mutual hometown of Gary, Indiana and moved west to LA, Michael wound up selling more records than any other solo artist.
In death, he leaves a remarkable legacy as a global icon and as one the greatest musicians ever. And, unfortunately, he may also be remembered as one of the most criticized artists ever as well.
As I listen to the news accounts of his life, despite his ups and downs, there is one important HR lesson (among many I’m sure) that stands out for me. And that lesson is that…
…..Hiring or having great talent isn’t enough. Talent must be nurtured to achieve true greatness.
Michael Jackson’s enormous talent was spotted at age 8 by Motown. He experienced much success as a member of the Jackson 5 and Berry Gordy’s Motown organization. However, as talented as Michael was, he didn’t achieve real, true greatness and status as a worldwide icon until he collaborated with Quincy Jones. Jones was a gifted songwriter and producer…but more importantly, he knew how to maximize Michael’s talent. Together, they co-produced the “Off the Wall” and “Thriller” albums. These albums produced ten #1 hits including the singles “Billie Jean”, “Beat it”, and “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin.’” The “Thriller” album achieved Double Diamond status in the US….and is regarded as the best-selling album of all time. Michael has repeatedly said throughout his career that he could not accomplished this record-setting milestone without the genius, leadership and partnership of Quincy Jones.
The lesson for HR here is that just having or hiring talented people is not enough. They must be put in an environment that nurtures them with effective leadership and collaboration in order for that talent to thrive and achieve true greatness. Simply put, you can’t just throw a bunch of highly talented, hard charging, type A personalities into a room and expect them to work together productively without a war. Now a little bloodletting is okay, that’s all part of building a team. But, this is where leadership comes in. You need to have great leaders at all levels of your organization who can bring together A players, get them to collaborate and not bicker, get them to keep their egos in check, establish business priorities and tradeoffs and channel their best collective energies into your business objectives. Like Quincy did with Michael.
As HR professionals, we should ensure that there are HR initiatives and programs in place for grooming and developing the “Michael Jacksons” in your organization…and that these initiatives are NOT cut because of the tough economy, but remain a key business priority in order for your organization to thrive as we emerge from the recession.
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About the Author: Alan Collins is CEO & Chief Editor, SuccessInHR.com and HRBuzz.com. He was formerly Vice President - Human Resources at Pepsi where he led HR initiatives for their Quaker Oats, Gatorade and Tropicana businesses. His new book, The Unwritten HR Rules, will be published later this summer on Amazon. He is also author of the “HR Recession Guide: 7 Ways To Recession-Proof Your HR Career & Avoid Losing Your HR Job” which is available as a free download at: HRRecessionGuide.com.
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An Awesome Video For Your Next Offsite HR Meeting: “Evolution of Recruiting”
by Alan Collins
Here is a simply extraordinary HR video to play at your next HR team meeting — especially if you’re talking about recruiting or doing strategic planning. WARNING: It’s starts intentionally very slowly - then picks up speed gradually and ends with a bang. Give yourself a treat and take 6 minutes to watch it all the way through - start to finish! This video opened the Social Recruiting Summit that was held at the Googleplex on June 15, 2009. It was developed by Brendan Shields (ere.net) and Susan Burns (talentsynchronicity.com). Even if you’re not into recruiting, you’ll love this - and will appreciate how far we’ve come…
….Speaking of how far we’ve come, that’s the #1 point of viewing the video yourself and showing the video to your team. If you’re like me and haven’t done recruiting in a while, portions of this will make you feel like the Flintstones watching a tape of the Jetsons. But this video provides fodder for questions you’ll want to discuss as you think about your personal strategic plan and that of your team’s, questions such as…
- Since we’ve come so far, so fast in recruiting…what’s the next big innovation in HR?
- How fast will it get here?
- What does your team need learn or do as HR professionals to get ready for it?
- What do I need to learn or do to prepare for it?
Kudos to Bendan and Susan for the video!!
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About the Author: Alan Collins is CEO & Chief Editor, SuccessInHR.com and HRBuzz.com. He was formerly Vice President - Human Resources at Pepsi where he led HR initiatives for their Quaker Oats, Gatorade and Tropicana businesses. His new book, The Unwritten HR Rules, will be published later this summer on Amazon. He is also author of the “HR Recession Guide: 7 Ways To Recession-Proof Your HR Career & Avoid Losing Your HR Job” which is available as a free download at: HRRecessionGuide.com.
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My Blunt, No BS, Pull No Punches Take on HR
By Alan Collins
I recently did an interview with Sharing HR Knowledge, the LinkedIn:HR newsletter that reaches 140,000 HR professionals and executives globally. My interview was the first featured as part of their bi-monthly HR VP Interview Series. In this interview, I laid it on the line as you would expect me to do. No smoke. No sugarcoating. No political correctness. I gave my perspectives on managing your HR career, priorities for HR executives, and even looked into my crystal ball with some some predictions about HR’s future. Check out the full interview right HERE and enjoy!
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© SuccessinHR.com
About the Author: Alan Collins is CEO & Chief Editor, SuccessInHR.com. He was formerly Vice President - Human Resources at Pepsi where he led HR initiatives for their Quaker Oats, Gatorade and Tropicana businesses. His new book, The Unwritten HR Rules, will be published later this summer on Amazon. He is also author of the “HR Recession Guide: 7 Ways To Recession-Proof Your HR Career & Avoid Losing Your HR Job” which is available as a free download at: HRRecessionGuide.com.
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How To Create The Best Possible LinkedIn Profile — In Four Simple Steps
by Alan Collins
Here’s all you need to do:
(1) Print off this 2-page checklist.
(2) Take lunch at your desk and pull up your online Linkedin profile.
(3) Between bites of your sandwich, go through this checklist and evaluate your profile step by step.
(4) Then, make the changes to your profile you think are appropriate.
That’s it! It’s that brain dead simple. Before you finish your meal, you will have dramatically enhanced your LinkedIn profile, your online presence and made yourself a lot more attractive for HR opportunities. Want even more help? Mike O’Neill, who created this checklist, has a full step-by-step guide you can purchase here. For more sneaky little tips you can use to advance your HR career go here. Enjoy!
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© SuccessinHR.com
About the Author: Alan Collins is CEO & Chief Editor, SuccessInHR.com. He was formerly Vice President - Human Resources at Pepsi where he led HR initiatives for their Quaker Oats, Gatorade and Tropicana businesses. His new book, The Unwritten HR Rules, will be published in June on Amazon. He is also author of the “HR Recession Guide: 7 Ways To Recession-Proof Your HR Career & Avoid Losing Your HR Job” which is available as a free download at: HRRecessionGuide.com.
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3 Bold Actions HR Leaders Must Take To Succeed in Difficult Times! — Inspiring Free Download by The #1 HR Thought Leader Of Our Time
by Alan Collins
Last week HR guru Dave Ulrich, held a 45-minute webinar called: “HR in Difficult Times: Three Actions HR Leaders Should Take Now.”
What made this webinar unique was that it was a one-time only event and only 200 HR folks were invited.
As an attendee, I can tell you, without hesitation, that Ulrich’s presentation was simply awesome – and a must for any HR leader who wants to enhance their HR career, impact and leadership during tough times.
In case you didn’t attend, and don’t want to fall behind the curve as an HR leader, you can now download this complete webinar and view it by simply clicking HERE. (Note: In case you try and can’t, you’ll need to download a Windows Media player, and you can download that player for free by clicking here.)
While many HR folks are struggling during tough times and using “old school” HR methods, the best HR leaders are taking a far different approach. Dr. Ulrich lays out what these are and reveals 3 keys to creating value in HR and identifies specific actions, roles and competencies that can boost your HR credibility, impact and professionalism.
Ulrich is the #1 HR thought leader of our time — so it’s definitely worth setting aside some time to get his nuggets of wisdom. So check this out now.
CLICK HERE to provide your feedback, thoughts, or comments once you’ve viewed this webinar.
© SuccessinHR.com
About the Author: Alan Collins is CEO & Chief Editor, SuccessInHR.com. He was formerly Vice President - Human Resources at Pepsi where he led HR initiatives for their Quaker Oats, Gatorade and Tropicana businesses. His new book, The Unwritten HR Rules, will be published in June on Amazon. He is also author of the “HR Recession Guide: 7 Ways To Recession-Proof Your HR Career & Avoid Losing Your HR Job” which is available as a free download at: HRRecessionGuide.com.
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The Top 10 Most Inspirational, Must-See Videos For HR Professionals!
by Alan Collins
With all the news about the economy, layoffs, foreclosures and the like, we all could use a little inspiration. So, I thought I’d share my 10 favorite YouTube videos, hoping that you might find them entertaining and uplifting. You might want to return to this page when you need a pick me up. Or send one of your HR colleagues to this page, if they could use some motivation. In any event - enjoy!! Warning: Watching these might even inspire you to greatness, so proceed at your own risk…
#10…..Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture
Lesson for HR: Be authentic, be tolerant, and lead a life you can be proud of.
#9…….Will Smith: The Keys To Life
Lesson for HR: Run and read.
#8………Unity in Diversity
Lesson for HR: All it takes is one person to step forward to make a difference…
#7…….Jason McElway
HR Lesson: Support your team - and when you get your chance off the bench, go for it!
#6……… “Failure” Nike Ad by Michael Jordan
Lesson For HR: Failure is very important, because it allows you to succeed!
#5……….From the movie “Facing The Giants”
Lesson for HR: Everyone needs a coach in their life - whether they recognize it or not!
#4……Steve Jobs Stanford Commencement Speech
Lesson for HR #1: Have a vision. And to achieve it - be hungry, be foolish.
Lesson for HR #2: Forget powerpoint, three inspiring stories = a great speech.
#3……..Rocky Balboa in Rocky VI - Teaching his son a lesson in life.
Lesson for HR: You gotta take the hits and keep moving forward!
#2…….Christian The Lion
Message For HR: Relationships last a lifetime, stay in touch!
#1…..Susan Boyle on “Britain’s Got Talent”
The video everyone is talking about - 20 million hits in last 3 weeks!
Lesson For HR: Never make your mind up about anyone without first seeing them perform!
‘Nuff said.
Hope you enjoyed these! CLICK HERE to add your thoughts, insights, or comments on these videos.
© SuccessinHR.com
About the Author: Alan Collins is CEO & Chief Editor, SuccessInHR.com. He was formerly Vice President - Human Resources at Pepsi where he led HR initiatives for their Quaker Oats, Gatorade and Tropicana businesses. His new book, The Unwritten HR Rules, will be published in June on Amazon. He is also author of the “HR Recession Guide: 7 Ways To Recession-Proof Your HR Career & Avoid Losing Your HR Job” which is available as a free download at: HRRecessionGuide.com.
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