I arrived in my 50th country earlier this week—South Africa. I’m a bit more of a traveler than most people and there are only a few countries I won’t visit—mainly those where active wars are happening. (Much to the consternation of my much more adventurous 17-year-old, who insists
Waffle House is an iconic restaurant chain throughout the southern United States, known for its breakfasts, service, and reputation as an information hub during natural disasters. Even when it’s not really the Waffle House, it gets a lot of love. A viral parody of a Waffle House training video
Seven years ago, I wrote 10 Things to Say Instead of ‘You’re So Talented’ after giving a TedX talk called Forget Talent and Get To Work. The talk proved popular and amassed over 80,000 views. It was one of my most popular columns and even a decade later, readers are still checking in
Lawsuits are costly, and any business owner would be wise to avoid hiring someone likely to sue. How do you know if they are likely to sue? Well, Kevin Dahlstrom, a Boulder, Colorado, entrepreneur, tweeted about his recent experience with an employee who had a litigious track record: One time I hired someone
After I gave a speech about Gen-Z in the workplace, a human resources director in the audience asked if we could chat briefly. She explained that their Gen-Z employees would not stop asking for—even demanding—a four-day workweek. She was at her wit’s end, trying to explain to them why that
Firing people is one of the most challenging things managers and business owners must do. Terminations can also open you up to lawsuits. Employees may claim that you terminated them because of their race, gender, or other protected characteristic. So, sometimes managers resort to underhanded tactics to get
Do you tell external candidates that an internal candidate is being considered for the position before they interview in person? I have received feedback from candidates asking me why I didn’t tell them this upfront. They share that they feel defeated and that the interview wastes time when
Quirky job titles may be killing your recruiting pipeline. As hiring tightens, a rising trend of “vanity” descriptions of applicants’ work experiences is making hiring managers’ jobs more difficult. If you can’t glance at a resume and know that “Chief Happiness Guru” was really a Chief Human Resources
In recent weeks, several tech companies took the unusual step of speaking very clearly and publicly about internal performance expectations. Intel laid out a plan for its workforce last week. In March, Jack Dorsey did the same at Block. Now, Google is joining in, using an evaluation model that rewards top performers
It’s 2025, and many companies are still hiring on vibes—gut instincts and subjective impressions of job applicants—rather than objective skills assessments. Of all the ways to fill vacant positions, this is probably the worst. But according to a new study by Textio, a Seattle-based maker of recruiting and feedback
