Leading vs. asking for a show of hands

I am way more invested in this year's Academy Awards show coming up on Sunday than I have been since, well probably since ever.

I have seen 7 of the 8 films that are up for Best Picture, and have tried to catch as many of the other films that have actors up or the main acting awards as well.

On a long flight home yesterday I finally caught the Steve Jobs movie that features Oscar nominated acting performances from Michael Fassbender as Jobs, and Kate Winslet as Apple's marketing head Joanna Hoffman. I loved the movie, probably more than most, and I would not be surprised at all if Fassbender gets the upset and wins Best Actor over everyone's favorite choice this year, Leonardo DiCaprio from The Revenant.

There was a great line in the Jobs film that stuck out for me as being one worth remembering. In the most tense scene of the film which showed the Apple board meeting and showdown between Jobs and then-Apple CEO John Sculley (which culminated in Apple's board voting to oust Jobs), Fassbender (as Jobs) hits Sculley with this killer burn:

Artists lead, and hacks ask for a show of hands.

Jobs was clearly trying to paint Sculley as a non-innovative, non-creative, corporate suit - and not the kind of person from which amazing ideas and products would stem.

Two minutes later Sculley does indeed ask for a show of hands, (the Apple board vote), and Jobs is shown the exit door from Apple. We all know the rest of the story of course, with Jobs retuning to Apple several years later and saving the company from near insolvency.

Jobs had plenty of flaws, and the film does a decent job of bringing some of these forward, but there can be little argument about how important he was to Apple and more broadly, to our relationship with technology today.

Ok, that is it for me on the movies this year. Go check out Trish McFarlane and I on the HR Happy Hour Show with our Oscars preview where I sadly do not tap Fassbender for Best Actor.

Have a great weekend!

PODCAST - #HRHappyHour 218 - HR in an On-demand World

HR Happy Hour 218 - HR in an On-demand World

Recorded Wednesday July 29, 2015

Hosts: Steve Boese, Trish McFarlane

Listen HERE

This week on the HR Happy Hour Show, Steve and Trish talked about Steve's trip to China, the myriad of HR issues surrounding Uber and other companies in the 'on-demand' economy, and how the workplace and HR will be changed by these trends. It seems like every day another story drops about the HR implications of these classification issues for companies like Uber. What does HR look like in a world where more and more of the talent the organization relies upon are not actually regular employees of the company?  

Additionally, Steve wondered if he could identify the state of Arkansas on a map, we talked about how cool St. Louis is, and Trish shared her favorite summer vacation spot, (hint it is in Florida).

You can listen to the show on the show page HERE, or using the widget player below:

Check Out Business Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Steve Boese Trish McFarlane on BlogTalkRadio

This was a really fun and lively conversation and we hope you enjoy the show!

Many thanks to our friends at Equifax Workforce Solutions for both their hospitality in hosting Steve out at the ball game in St. Louis and for their support of the HR Happy Hour show.

Remember to download and subscribe the the HR Happy Hour on iTunes, or using your favorite podcast app for iOS or Android - just search for 'HR Happy Hour' to never miss an episode.

#HRHappyHour 164 PODCAST - 'The 8 Man Rotation Takes on Rutgers'

HR Happy Hour 164 - 'The 8 Man Rotation Takes on Rutgers'

This week in what can only be called a very special HR Happy Hour, the entire 8 Man Rotation crew - Kris Dunn, Tim Sackett, Lance Haun, Matt 'akaBruno' Stollak, and Steve Boese take a deep dive into the Rutgers University hiring, firing, and public relations disasters of recent months.

From an abusive men's basketball coach, to internal university and state government politics, to a high-profile new hire that may have some skeletons in her closet - the series of stories that have emerged from the banks of the old Raritan have provided almost a perfect series of case studies on the intersection of sports and HR.

An no one is better equipped to talk sports, HR, and what it means for the HR and Talent pro than the 8 Man Rotation crew. So check out the podcast as our team breaks down the Rutgers situation and offers some insights about what it means for your shop.

You can listen to the show on the show page here, using the widget player below, and of course on iTunes or Stitcher radio (for you smartphone types), just search the podcast area for 'HR Happy Hour'.

Listen to internet radio with Steve Boese on BlogTalkRadio

Thanks to KD, Tim, Lance, and Matt for jumping in to the conversation on very short notice.

NOTE:

Finally, for listeners of the show a quick reminder. For the next little while anyway, co-host Trish McFarlane and I will be doing the HR Happy Hour Shows more as a traditional podcast - recorded in advance, perhaps a little shorter than the live shows were, and hopefully posted to the site every other week. With our schedules and lots of travel on the horizon this year, doing the shows 'live' on Thursday nights has become increasingly challenging. Trish and I hope that by changing how the shows are produced it will allow us the opportunity to continue doing the show/podcast in a way that will work with our schedules as well as our future guests.

Have a great weekend!