I’m sure you’ve heard of the self-made individual, the never-say-die maverick who stands firm in the face of daunting odds and triumphs over every adversity. America is built on the backs of such people – the penniless immigrant who dies a railroad baron, the intrepid pioneer who tamed the savage West. In fact, we idolize…
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I’m about to end a six-month stint living in Freeport, Texas. My house, and 90% of my stuff, are back in Michigan, but I’ve been here since September because my wife has been working on a temporary assignment at one of her company’s Texas facilities. Having moved frequently in the last few years, I came…
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Last month I had the pleasure of working for King’s Hawaiian, the people who make rolls and hamburger buns so delicious that it’s quite possible their secret ingredient is illegal. It turned out to be one of the more enjoyable jobs of my career; I spent the entire day with them, was given a factory…
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Hello, all! I’m writing this to you from my “second office,” which is my fancy code word for “tiny baby plane seat.” The person next to me smells like nothing, which is a definite positive (I mean seriously, when was the last time you were on a plane and said, ‘Wow, my seatmate smells AMAZING!!!!’),…
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Hi everyone! Matt Havens here again. Last month I stepped in for Jeff to talk about performance reviews. Since nobody screamed too loud about how awful it was (or at least not loud enough for me to hear) I’m back for another round to see if I can ratchet up the volume. So please share…
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We brought back Part 1 last month and here is the follow-up. We interviewed real Human Resource executives across the country about the amazingly stupid things people do or say in job interviews, and this video is the first installment illustrating a few of our favorite stories. Let us know your best HR interview stories…
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I’d like to apologize to the airline industry. I’m sorry, airline industry, because I’m about to make fun of you. Well let me clarify – I’m not sorry, because you’re doing something dumb that I wish you’d stop doing – but I’m afraid you guys will end up being the targets of a disproportionate number…
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The Price of Focusing Too Much on ‘Greatness’ So yet another Steve Jobs movie came out a few months ago. I think that makes four of them now, which I believe is two more than necessary in order for a person to be properly mythologized. If there is a fifth movie (and there probably will…
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So last month I went to Jamaica for the first time, where I was keynoting a conference for a bunch of folks from Indiana who had shrewdly decided that Jamaica is a slightly sexier winter hangout than Fort Wayne. Now before you get mad at me and start throwing rocks or pickles or whatever happens…
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Hi everyone! Matt Havens here stepping in for Jeff this month. Jeff and I had the opportunity to catch up in Austin, TX this past weekend (stay weird, Austin, which doesn’t seem to be a problem of yours by the way) and along the way he and I got to talking about something which we…
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