PODCAST - #HRHappyHour 168 - On Early Adoption and #HRevolution

HR Happy Hour 168 - 'HR,  Early Adoption and #HRevolution 2013'

This week on the HR Happy Hour Show, hosts Steve Boese and Trish McFarlane welcomed China Gorman, Founder and CEO of the CMG Group, and for more than 25 years, a strategic business leader in in human resources professional services organizations. China is a sought-after speaker, writer and thought leader in the broad human resources marketplace.

We talked with China about one of her favorite topics - the early adoption of new or innovative technologies in Human Resources.  It turns out that early adoption is one of Trish's favorite topics too - as an HR leader herself she has driven the decision processes and implementations of many of the kinds of HR technologies that are emerging in the market today.

We also previewed the upcoming HRevolution event taking place in Las Vegas on October 6, 2013, and where you can see China leading a session on Early Adoption of Technology in HR.

You can listen to the show on the show page here, using the widget player below, and as always on iTunes - just do a search in the podcasts section for 'HR Happy Hour'.

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We all know how fast moving and ever changing the landscape is for HR Technology, and whether or not your shop is ready for and can make the best use of any new tech tool is one of the most important questions you have to answer as an HR/Talent pro. China and Trish both shared lots of great ideas and approaches that have worked for them in the past and that will be of help to everyone finding themselves struggling with HR and technology.

I mostly listened and tried to learn something!

Thanks to China for the time and the insight about the role of early adoption of technology to empower and improve HR processes, and more importantly, organizational results.

It was a really fun and interesting show and I hope you check it out.  

And if you do, my apologies in advance to the nation of Canada.

And, and you can register for HRevolution 2013 here:

Have a great weekend!

HR and Improv: An #HRevolution Las Vegas Preview

The HRevolution 'unconference' event is returning to Las Vegas on Sunday, October 6, 2013.

What, exactly is HRevolution?

Simple.

Since 2009, HRevolution has been creating unique opportunities for HR professionals, recruiters, consultants, and vendors to come together to discuss and debate the future of HR in an one-day, highly interactive format. You can see details of the agenda here.

That actually doesn't sound very simple, but if you have attended HRevolution before you'll know exactly what it means.  And you will know that the connections you have made and strengthened at past HRevolution events have been an amazing source of inspiration and learning over the years.

If you have not attended an HRevolution event in the past, then I want to give you a little bit of an idea of just one fun and innovative component of the HRevolution program that we are pretty sure you've never seen at any other event.

It's called 'HR Improv' and the simple idea is this: We solicit 5 volunteers from the audience and they are tasked with doing a 'cold' 10-minute presentation to the entire room from a slide deck that they, (nor anyone else), has ever seen before.  

The challenge?

To tie the content of the deck somehow back to an HR or workplace topic, to think quickly and on the fly, and to not let a situation that can rapidly get out of control throw you off of your game.

The kinds of skills that any successful pro, HR or otherwise, needs to have in order to be seen as a player.

Think you could handle HR Improv? Then make your plans to attend HRevolution in Las Vegas on October 6, 2013 - ticket information here. 

And this year, HRevolution would not be possible without the support of the event's exclusive sponsor - SumTotal Systems - an HR provider of a complete portfolio which includes; talent, learning, workforce, payroll, analytics, mobile and social delivered via SaaS, on-premise or hosted.

The folks at SumTotal have been fantastic to work with on the event and we can't thanks them enough for their support of the HR community.

Once again, HRevolution is co-locating with the HR Technology Conference to offer attendees of both events a great opportunity to connect, learn, share, and have fun. When you register for HRevolution you will receive a promotional code good for $600 off the published rate for HR Tech - the best (and non-expiring) discount code out there.

So please make plans to attend HRevolution Las Vegas this October - you won't regret it!

If you still have questions just shoot me an email - steveboese at gmail dot com.

The three people needed for a successful revolution

Over the weekend I caught this interesting piece on the Kottke.org site titled, The three types of specialist, and I think it is worth taking a look at if either you are at interesting in starting your own revolution, or just want to build better teams in your organization - ones that are more likely to be successful pulling off major change initiatives. And it doesn't hurt that this week here in the US we celebrate Independence Day - our most famous revolution.

The piece quotes from a Kurt Vonnegut book I'd not heard of or read titled Bluebeard, and the key passage describes one character's assessment of the kinds of people that are needed in order to open up people's minds to new ideas and get them to actually consider embracing change.  Rather than simply 'smart people, 'influential people' or 'powerful people', Vonnegut offers up just a bit more detail of the skills, background, and capabilities of the three critical kinds of people needed to drive change.

Simply put, it breaks down like this:

First - You need a true, or authentic genius. This is someone capable of generating original ideas that have not been considered previously. This is, perhaps not surprisingly, the hardest person to find.

Second - A member of the community or organization, who is respected and has some authority (either directly via position, or indirectly via more subtle and social means), such that he or she can validate, defend, and promote the possibly crazy geniuses ideas. This person makes the genius seem less scary, and begins to create an environment where it is safe for others to signal approval or agreement with the idea or proposal for change.

Third - The technician or implementer. This person has to have expertise in the specific technical, operational, or procedural area of the change, and the respect of the front-line people in that discipline whose live and jobs will be most impacted by the change. The technician needs to be able to translate the genius' plan and vocabulary into concepts and language that the organization can understand, and feels more comfortable with. 

And that's it.

Genius --> Respected advocate --> Technician.

It is pretty easy to see where the absence of any of these critical roles would derail any substantial change in an entrenched organization of any kind.

Without the genius and his/her ideas, well all you have are potentially incremental and insignificant changes to existing processes and products. You know, like the 'New and Improved!' laundry detergent that is simply the same old formula in a slightly larger jug.

Without the respected advocate, the genius' ideas are not likely to get enough or lasting traction with what is almost always a skeptical and scared organization. The genius remains safely marginalized as a nut.

And without the technician you lose in a couple of areas. You might not be able to effectively take what are often abstract genius ideas and make them actionable. Plus, the true front-line people in the organization might not now the genius and might not think the respected advocate really understands their jobs and processes enough to tell them how they should be changed. The technician bridges the gap between idea and execution.

Genius --> Respected advocate --> Technician.

A pretty simple formula for building a team that can actually conceive and convince people to change.

And according to Vonnegut anyway, it's the only way to have any chance of actually pulling it off.

Top 3 reasons why you need to attend #HRevolution 2013

Here are the Top 3 reasons why you need to attend the upcoming HRevolution event set for October 6, 2013 in America's Wonderland - Las Vegas, Nevada and sponsored exclusively by our friends at SumTotal Systems.

Reason 1 - HRevolution is the premier event for HR/Talent/Recruiting/Business professionals to connect, engage, and participate in conversations around the most important people and business challenges of the day. At HRevolution you're likely to spend an hour in the morning in a frank and open conversation about diversity, have lunch while listening to your colleagues present in 'HR Improv' style, and end the day tearing down, (and re-building) performance management or succession planning.

Reason 2 - (this probably should be Reason 1), The connections you make at HRevolution, before, during, and after the event are almost certainly going to be among the most meaningful and important in your continuing professional development. The event's size, around 120 people, makes it perfect to meet, get to know, and re-cement friendships and collaborative relationships. Once you attend HRevolution for the first time, you've joined a family of like-minded, supportive, and fun people that think like you (sometimes), and want to make a change like you do (all the time).

Reason 3 - The continuing collaboration and co-location with the HR Technology Conference. For the third year in a row, HRevolution has partnered with HR Tech, the world's premier event for professionals interested in workforce and workplace technology. This partnership provides HRevolution not only support with event logistics, but HRevolution attendees are also offered an exclusive $600 discount code to attend HR Tech. So even if HRevolution is new to you, if you are already planning to come to HR Tech, simply come out to Las Vegas one day sooner and take in both events. 

Reason 4  - (a bonus reason served up at no extra cost) If you are really nice to him, the great Mike Carden will help explain the importance of moisture as a contributor to your overall ocular health. Just ask him about it. 

So check out the HRevolution 2013 registration page, (more details on the agenda are coming soon, join the HRevolution LinkedIn group, follow the hashtag #HRevolution on Twitter and get to know some of the people that are a part of the community. And make your plans to join about 120 of the most interesting, passionate, and fun people in the HR and Talent space this October.Thanks SumTotal!

It's my pleasure and honor to be a part of the team that puts together HRevolution along my friends Trish McFarlane, Ben Eubanks, and Matt Stollak. You can contact any of us if you have questions about the event.

See you in Las Vegas!

#HRevolution 2012 Preview

The 5th installment of the HRevolution (Un)Conference for Human Resources, Recruiting, and Talent Professionals is set for this coming Sunday, October 7, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. Since 2009, HRevolution has been creating unique opportunities for HR professionals, recruiters, consultants, and vendors to come together to discuss and debate the future of HR.

Once again, the HRevolution has partnered with the HR Technology Conference, to be held October 8-10, also in Chicago, to offer HRevolution attendees a fantastic discount for the big HR Tech event of the year, for folks attending both events.

If you have not yet purchased your ticket to HRevolution, there is still time to get in, visit the registration page here to get started.

I have had the great pleasure and honor to be a member of the HRevolution organizining team since the beginning, and I can say with great confidence that this year's event is shaping up to be our best yet. 

Have a look at the agenda here - littered with some of the sharpest thinkers and most innovative HR and Talent people in the space, the kinds of smart, interesting, and connected people that you simply have to get to know. Folks like Bret Starr, Gerry Crispin, Alexandra Levit, Laurie Ruettimann, the Talent Anarchy team, and your hero Tim Sackett just to name a few.

But beyond the 'formal but not really formal' sessions, consistently the best aspect of HRevolution is the connections that are made within and across the community of people that while having many different roles and positions in the industry, are united in their common desire to make business, HR, and workplaces, and themselves better.

The HRevolution is an entirely bootstrapped, volunteer event made possible by the incredible commitment and generosity of a few important and fantastic organizations - our sponsors and partners.

We are so thankful for the tremendous support of the following HRevolution 2012 sponsors:

Aquire - The leading solution provider for workforce planning and analytics solutions, and importantly a long time supporter of the HR community via HRevolution and the HR Happy Hour Show

Ceridian - A Human Resources and Payroll solutions provider and a past sponsor of HRevolution that we are honored to have with us again in 2012

Pinstripe - A global RPO provider that has shown amazing support in the past not only for HRevolution, but for the HR and Recruiting industry as a whole - fantastic people that really believe in what they do.

SilkRoad - A leading provider of social, cloud-based talent management solutions for functions like Recruiting and Onboarding. We are really happy to welcome them to the HRevolution family.

We on the HRevolution team are truly grateful for your support!

Tonight on the HR Happy Hour Show, (streaming live starting at 8:00PM ET here), we will spend the hour talking about a revolution, the HRevolution that is. We will be joined by members of the organizing team, session leaders, sponsors, and attendees to preview and collectively begin the countdown to what is for many of us, our favorite event of the year.

If you are planning to attend HRevolution, either as a veteran, or as a first-timer, I encourage you to tune-in to the HR Happy Hour Show tonight, and even better, to call in on 646-378-1086 and share with us why you make time in your busy lives to attend HRevolution.

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Lastly, I have to thank and recognize the other members of the HRevolution team, a wonderful group that I am proud to be associated with - Trish McFarlane, Ben Eubanks, and Matt 'akaBruno' Stollak. Once again, an amazing team to work with.

Hopefully I will see lots of you in Chicago on Sunday and on the Happy Hour Show tonight!