Holiday Guest Blog: Thoughts for Thanksgiving

Thoughts for Thanksgiving:
Adopt an HR Professional in Transition
Today’s guest blog from Friend of BRANDEMiX, Marylou Ponzi Kay, Director of Human Resources at Benetton USA.

I'm an HR professional who recently landed after a long search. And while I used my time well, consulting, teaching, it feels good to be back on the 'inside'.

So I would like to encourage all my employed colleagues out there to 'adopt an HR Professional in Transition'. It's so important to have that personal engagement with a person. Obviously we're busy, we don't have time to do the same thing for everyone, but if we could just concentrate on one or two people like a project, check in with them, etc. It's so doable! It's our way of saying thank you God for our own good fortune. For that person, it can really make a difference. I know people who were like that for me. It's an amazing thing to receive unsolicited kindness, it suddenly changes the way you think about everything, humanizes the cold cruel world out there.

Networking is key to success, job search and all kinds of things, we hear this all the time, but how can we personalize this in a way that helps others.

You'd be surprised at how easy it is to secure entree into a company for someone else, not yourself. The other result is that the people who see you doing this for others, just might think of you in a whole different way. So it's a kind of 'pay it forward', and it can mean so much for that person who's looking to find a home.
It's easy right now to think of how bad things are out there, let's try to think about our good fortune and help those who have not been as lucky.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Do Nice Guys Finish Last?

Guest Blog from Mark Fogel- Corp. VP of HR and Adm. at Leviton
Human Capital Business Leader of the Year.


Do Nice Guys Finish Last?
So that was a topic of conversation that Jody and I engaged in as we killed some time at a regional HR conference recently. To tell the truth we found our conversation a lot more stimulating then the sales pitches of local staffing agencies and benefit consulting firms soliciting our attention and potential business (more on this in a future entry).

So the questioned posed was whether nice guys finish last, specifically in business (but really in any setting)???

My answer was NO they finish first, but only if they are competent and earn respect along the way.

Nothing new, Dale Carnegie has been preaching this to management for decades, and Marshall Goldsmith has been putting his own Buddhist spin on this recently. Treat people in a kind way, help others succeed, and if you have nothing nice to say don’t say it.

However, that’s really not enough to tip the scales. I believe that there is more to the formula; competence and respect. Two key ingredients that should be obvious but never overlooked. Competence is the easy one to spot almost immediately. You can become competent by learning and applying your skills but respect is another story. Respect is earned over time. It’s visceral and you can feel it when’s it is present.. Respect can be earned by being competent but only if you treat people nicely (it’s really a bi- product of being nice and competent).

So here is Fogel’ formula for success:

Nice + Competent + Respect = Success

Most employees will go the extra mile for a supervisor they like, and think of as competent, and respectful. Will they do the same for one that they think differently of????

Bullies, narcissists, and Machiavellians, and an occasional sociopath, usually get short term results out of fear but rarely win in the long term. Take a poll in your own firm and circle of friends, I bet most will agree with me.

So what are you all waiting for, take Mark's advice and be nice!!!!!