Embrace the Challenge

So… to be honest, this week I was having challenges in finding a topic to write about – but then it dawned on me, I should write about “challenges” in 2018.

In my world today – the people function or commonly referred to as Human Resources - those challenges include (but certainly not limited to) finding the best talent, adding value with our senior executives, building a “we” culture to adapt quickly to our changing landscape, building for the future in our growing business, embracing and using the most current technology within my function, creating a “2020” flexible and accountable working environment, and understanding/handling harassment/bullying with new approaches – all leading to creating a productive workplace where everyone feels comfortable. 

How do we find the best talent at Gannett?  First and foremost is getting our message out to all potential employees.  This message is that we are transforming, we are digital, we are here to stay in the world of “fake news” and lack of trust in media.  We have nationwide opportunities.  We have challenging work.  We live as the world lives – every day brings a new story.  We foster a culture of diverse thought and transparent communication.  USA Today is a trusted brand viewed as “down the middle”.  We have ~125 million monthly unique visitors (did you know that?) and over a billion page views.  We empower our communities to connect, act and thrive.  We offer an extended spectrum of content on a variety of platforms.  We have expanded our suite of creative and analytical capabilities to support our marketing services.  We are the daily destination for our consumers and marketers.  We have fun.

Adding value with the senior executives is a daily challenge for any People function.  The paradigm has been “support” for years.  The best functions are “strategic”.   The catch is you are not viewed as strategic until you nail all the “support” issues first.  How do we become better at assessing risk, understanding the costs of human capital, utilizing our position of neutrality to help the business make the right strategic decisions?  Assessing and mitigating risk with each action or inaction.  Driving efficiencies through the business.  Proactively revising programs, policies, processes to support the business – investing for the future.  Investing in and utilizing analytics.  Focusing on corporate values, employee growth and development, as well as systems and processes that align with the philosophy of employee accountability.  Understanding the role of technology in our future – artificial intelligence, voice recognition, information on-the-go, etc.

We.  What is “we”?  In our workforce today, “we” is defined as different generations, classes, cultures, time zones, work histories, socio-economic groupings, religions, business functions, etc. – the list goes on and on.  To harness that difference, that innovation, that lens – to understand how to build the inclusive culture is the undisclosed value added to the balance sheet.  “Many organizations are working to create teams of employees who combine not only a range of specific business functions, but also different generations of workers — Gen X, Gen Y, Millennials, and Baby Boomers,” says Rick Lepsinger of leadership development firm On Point Consulting. “The appeal of these cross-functional and cross-generational teams is that they combine a diverse array of viewpoints on a single team – which can have a positive impact for innovation.”  Yet this may not be as easy as it sounds. “Building cross-functional teams requires organizations to clarify roles, responsibilities and decision authority, create effective communication between team members, and to set priorities so every team member can work better across the boundaries of their individual business units,” says Lepsinger.

The best companies are focused on tomorrow, not today.  How do we build for the future?  How do we hire for the future?  How do we train for the future? We need to offer a compelling experience for our employees to be challenged, to learn and to grow.  We need to offer an environment where our teams can excel – whether locally or virtually (or a combination of both).  We need to seriously take feedback about our function and make change – now.  We need to mobilize and embrace the use of things like artificial intelligence like other business functions.  We need to plan on the future blended workforce of part-time, full-time, virtual and onsite.  We need to provide incentives for our employees to be healthy.  And… we need to understand what the new “normal” of the HR function is.  

This leads me to technology.  How are we embracing the use of new technology?  Can my employees access everything on their mobile device?  Are we using chat-bots and voice recognition to help solve low level employee issues?  Are we designing interactive sites to assist in learning and education for our employees?  Are we providing small digestible chunks of information for our employees to use at their convenience?  

What will the 2020 work environment look like?  Will we have offices?  Will we have work from home?  Will we have something in-between?  Will we have nap pods, trees and biospheres to recharge, slides and jumping pads, balloons and snowballs?  How do we find the distinction between fad and neuroscience? Whatever the answer is – it is not what it looks like today.

And finally, the outdated cultural norms have to be changed – it is the right thing to do.  The companies who do not take this seriously will lose the talent war.  From MeToo to Sanctuary Cities, to Time’s Up to Defend Science to BlackLivesMatter to Islam is Not Terrorism to Racism to LGBTQA+ to MillenialsMatter – all of these are current issues affecting society and thus our workforce and current talent.  These issues are part of our everyday culture and the companies who allow a platform for discussion and a system to educate and understand will be those who win the war on talent. 

The future is not easy, but it is coming either way.  Embrace the unknown and drive your team forward. 

Together.  We.  Win.

Dave Harmon
People Division
“Kindness is Currency”
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/davidharmonhr

Look for us on: LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram,  Facebook, The Muse, Glassdoor and Gannett Careers

Simple or Complicated?

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” ~Confucius

…and why are our lives so complicated anyway?  Well, I say the problem is us.  We buy too much stuff, we have too many things, we look for reasons people are different, we make excuses not to explore the world, we overthink issues and ramp up our stress for things we cannot control, and we are way too comfortable in our tiny box we call “the comfortable life”.  Why are some so happy and others so stressed?  We, for the most part, all live, breathe, laugh, cry, play, work, sleep, pay bills, get sick, raise kids, have cars breakdown, etc.  Let’s focus on how to be like the “happy and de-cluttered friends we have”.  We are always trying to make our lives easier, learn more, and focus on happy.

Ok, for those of us getting older, here is what we know.  We know what we want in life and what we do not like (advantage), we have better time management skills than we had in our youth (advantage), we should be more disciplined than our carefree teenage years (advantage), we probably have a better supporting cast around us (advantage), we have made more mistakes – so we should be smarter (advantage), and we have this incredible thing called technology we can take advantage of.  Let’s get better.

Here is what else we know, things are just things, people are just people, the world is your empty canvas – paint.  WE create complication, and life is too short.

I have a friend who always says, “Life is short - take chances, run with scissors and play with fire”.  He does not literally mean that, but what he does mean is for us to get out and live life.  If we choose to live life with no risks, we will see little rewards.  He also has a wonderful way to focus on what is important in his life: his spouse, his kids, their adventures, their stories, their life.  He does not talk about things, or people who take away his positive energy, or what he has not done.  He talks about what he will do, where he will go, who he will be with.  What else has he done?  He said good bye to his TV, he is a tech geek so he has a wired house, he has auto “everything” like banking, etc., he has a simple wardrobe, he “eliminated” the negative friends in his life, he lives outdoors with most of his family activities, he has a dog, he does not over schedule.  He focuses on his I “want to” list versus the “to do” list.

And most importantly, he is comfortable in his own skin and lives his life to meet the expectations of only himself.  As I write this, I realize he has de-cluttered his life.  He has completed a thorough spring cleaning of his life.  He says “no”.

So how do I take a look at the life of clutter I have created and start to clean it up?  Interested in your suggestions…and the collective list of people’s suggestions.

Together.  We.  Win.

Dave Harmon
People Division
“Kindness is Currency”
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/davidharmonhr

Look for us on: LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram,  Facebook, The Muse, Glassdoor and Gannett Careers

Jump Start the New Year!

New Year resolutions, priorities, setting goals, personal improvement, and that weight loss plan….

Things that are on our mind as we start 2018.  By the way it seemed liked the 80’s were not that long ago – space invaders, PacMan, Princess Di got married, CDs (11 for a dollar anyone?), Sally Ride, New Coke, The Simpsons, The Berlin Wall, Thriller, The Cosby Show.  OK, back to my blog (sorry for the digression back to the 80’s).

What do we want to achieve before 2020?  What do we want to achieve at work?  What do we want to achieve at home? What do we want to achieve today?  The power of goal setting lies in its ability to motivate us. To unlock this power, we have to do three things: let our goals challenge us in some way; keep our goals in the forefront of our minds; and keep our goals consistent.  Goals help us focus and give us direction. Setting goals is also a process – a process that requires quiet thinking time and clarity of your purpose. 

To start we need to evaluate and reflect.  What are our dreams and what goals will help us achieve them?  

Having goals for things we want to do and working towards them is important. The path towards our goals may not always run smoothly or be easy, but having goals, whether big or small, is part of what makes our life good. It gives us a sense of meaning and purpose, points us in the direction we want to go and gets us interested and engaged, all of which are good for our overall happiness.  So, about that weight loss goal?  Or let’s call it a health goal….

As James Clear wrote about in an article (Goal Setting: A Scientific Guide to Setting and Achieving Goals), “Most goal setting exercises start with an overpaid consultant standing by a whiteboard and asking something like, “What does success look like to you? In very specific terms, what do you want to achieve?”  If we are serious about achieving our goals, however, we should start with a much different question. Rather than considering what kind of success we want, we should ask, “What kind of pain do I want?”  The real challenge is not determining if you want the result, but if you are willing to accept the sacrifices required to achieve your goal. Do you want the lifestyle that comes with your quest? Do you want the boring and ugly process that comes before the exciting and glamorous outcome?  It's easy to sit around and think what we could do or what we'd like to do. It is an entirely different thing to accept the trade-offs that come with our goals. Everybody wants a gold medal. Few people want to train like an Olympian.  Goal setting is not only about choosing the rewards you want to enjoy, but also the costs you are willing to pay.

• If you’re a coach, your goal is to win a championship. Your system is what your team does at practice each day.
• If you’re a writer, your goal is to write a book. Your system is the writing schedule that you follow each week.
• If you’re a runner, your goal is to run a marathon. Your system is your training schedule for the month.
• If you’re an entrepreneur, your goal is to build a million-dollar business. Your system is your sales and marketing process.

Goals are useful for setting the direction. Systems are great for actually making progress. In fact, the primary benefit of having a goal is that it tells you what sort of system you need to put in place. However, the system itself is what actually achieved the results. “

If my goal is to be thinner (scratch that – healthier), then my system will be to exercise 6 days a week and eating healthier foods 6 days a week (yep, gave myself an out there).

Paul Shearstone writes, "Setting goals is the genesis from which all things great and not so great are accomplished... It should be noted that there is no small coincidence between the one percent that write goals down and the highest achieving, highest income-earning men and women around the world."

Let’s make it easy – think about these few things:

• What motivates us and will keeps us energized?
• Are our goals SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound)?
• Can we put them in writing? 
• What do we need to “do” to achieve our goals (what actions/systems)?
• How will we hold yourself accountable (reminders, milestones, etc.)?
• Who will you tell and enlist to help hold you accountable?

Together. We. Win.

Dave Harmon
People Division
“Kindness is Currency”
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/davidharmonhr

Look for us on: LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram,  Facebook, The Muse, Glassdoor and Gannett Careers

Making Lemonade For Others (When Life Gives You Lemons)

Today I write with a bit of a heavy heart – yet also with a smile on my face.

I woke up this morning and asked my wife, Nikki, what the family was doing tonight.  She gave me the usual run down of activities for the day, but also said our 20-year-old was celebrating the birthday of a friend with all his friends tonight.  It brought a smile to my face.  That friend, Madison, passed away unexpectedly in 2015.  She was a tremendous young woman with a tremendous “joie pour la vie“.  She was at our house quite a lot, but quite honestly,  just one of many who were always playing/hanging/swimming in the backyard.  Happy Birthday Madison!

In 2015, the day she passed, we were all stunned.  We went to the vigil that night.  It was heartbreaking.  So young.  So healthy.  So impactful.  So sad.

Her Dad and siblings were there.  Honestly, it was hard for me to even look their way.  But who am I, they lost their child, their sister, a piece of their family.  The softball team she loved (#Weplayfor24) was there, teachers, coaches, friends, peers … the community.  What struck me that night, and in a Facebook post two years ago today, and every time I see him  - is how Madison’s dad, Tim, has responded.  I cannot even begin to imagine the grief he must feel every single day.  I just cannot.  Every.  Single.  Day.  What I do see is how he has taken such a terrible tragedy in his life and tried to make it better for others.  There have been charity golf tournaments, softball tournaments, fund raising efforts, dedications, sponsorships, bumper stickers, magnets, scholarships – all in the name of Madison.

Tim lives through kindness.  Amazing he is.  Just a warm soul.  I woke up this morning and read my Facebook feed from 2 years ago today and it spoke to « perspective » and a quote from Tim about taking this day that is/was Madison’s birthday and using it for good.  Paying it forward, spreading a little kindness, helping someone you do not know.

I read that post 7 times.  He lost his baby.  His youngest child at the peak of beginning her life.  A beautiful young woman with a contagious smile.  I run in to Tim at the ball field, or in Target or at the grocery.  Always positive, always asking about my kids, always making me feel good.  Hats off to you Tim – the world needs more of you.  I am not sure how I could deal with what he has.  You inspire me.

Kindness IS currency in this world.  I tried to think of ways we all can honor Madison today and it all comes back to kindness.  Listen with your heart.  Visit a sick  friend.  Clean a neighbor’s driveway of snow.  Offer a hug.  Give an unexpected gift.  Call that classmate.  Open a door.  Pick up litter.  Thank a teacher.  Thank a mentor.  Offer your seat.  Be tolerant.  Let another go first.  Give a compliment.  Donate.  Respect others.  The list is endless.  Just do.

And for Tim and his family – offer a prayer or good thought.  Happy Birthday Madison.

Hug your kids.

Together.  We.  Win.


Dave Harmon
People Division
“Kindness is Currency”
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/davidharmonhr

Look for us on: LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram,  Facebook, The Muse, Glassdoor and Gannett Careers

 

Making a List, Checking it Twice...

I love the holidays and look forward every year to celebrating with family and friends.  The mood lightens, the holiday cheer is in the air (and for some people in their cups), the traditions surface, and there is more positive energy in the work place.  We all would like to bottle up that “niceness” for the entire year.  My blog this week is about being better as a team (and also Star Wars – go see Star Wars).

My top ten list of things to do with your family (work or personal family) this time of year:

10 - Make a thank you video and send it to those who do not expect it (check – made “thank you” video for our nation-wide team not located in Virginia)
9 - Have a potluck themed food event (check – potluck Thanksgiving with waaaay too much food and a cookie exchange coming this Wednesday)
8 - Support a charity (check – coat collection with our team)
7 - Have a hot cocoa bar (check – although team did it without me when I was in NYC ...maybe they were sending me a message??)
6 - Collect toys for kids (check – we did a wonderful giving tree for kids in need)
5 - Decorate (check – wonderful work snow village and signs denoting all the holidays this season, including Festivus!)
4 - Break bread together – nothing helps build relationships like food and good discussion (check – lunch with my staff a few days every week)
3 - Laugh more (check – but never enough laughter)
2 - Give thanks and recognition and a handshake and a smile and a…. (you get the idea)
1 - Write a letter to “Santa” noting all the people and things you are thankful for, all the blessings you have and what you want to achieve in 2018.  Tuck it away in a drawer and pull it out on those tough winter days in February, those long nights in June and those weekends in October when work, stress and life have consumed you.

… and wishing everyone a “Happy Holidays” to all who celebrate. People celebrate a variety of holidays during this time of year with a variety of traditions (just a few examples include wishing you a: Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Ramadan, and/or Happy Diwali) and some choose to celebrate none. Don't be afraid to ask people what holidays they celebrate and use the opportunity to learn about different cultures/religions and the traditions that accompany them. For whatever and whenever you celebrate – enjoy and please have a Happy New Year!

Finally, “Happy Festivus” (for those who are in on the joke).  The non-commercial holiday's celebration, as depicted on Seinfeld, occurs on December 23rd and includes a Festivus dinner, an unadorned aluminum Festivus pole, practices such as the "Airing of Grievances" and "Feats of Strength", and the labeling of easily explainable events as "Festivus miracles".  Jerry Seinfeld refers to it as "a Festivus for the rest of us", referencing its open-source nature and non-commercial character. It has been described both as a parody holiday festival and as a form of playful consumer resistance.

Together.  We.  Win.

Dave Harmon
People Division
“Kindness is Currency”
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/davidharmonhr

Look for us on: LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram,  Facebook, The Muse, Glassdoor and Gannett Careers

 

The "Not So Safe" Zone

“When you take risks, you learn that there will be times when you succeed and there will be times when you fail, and both are equally important.” - Ellen DeGeneres

Whether you’re an HR guy, a journalist, an entrepreneur or a COO, the road to success is often paved with rejection and failure. The difference between those who succeed and those who fail comes down to whether or not they choose to rise above the criticism and soldier on.  There are many people in this world who find some sad joy in seeing you fail, or maybe they just want to be successful, and jealousy or envy rears its ugly head. However, failure is often a critical ingredient on the path to success. There are many wildly successful people who can prove it.

A bullet wasn’t enough to stop Malala Yousafzai from fighting for girls’ rights to education in her native Pakistan. After Taliban fighters attempted to end the then 11-year-old’s life in 2009, she continued on her mission. “I had two options. One was to remain silent and wait to be killed. And the second was to speak up and then be killed,” she said, during her Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in 2014, at the age of 17. “The terrorists tried to stop us and attacked me and my friends who are here today, on our school bus in 2012, but neither their ideas nor their bullets could win.”  Any criticism we get really does not compare to what Malala went through.  Remember that.

Some days it seems like people are comfortable pointing out the failures of others as a reason to not try something new.  They like to remain in their “safe zone”.  Not everyone has to take a risk or even defend why they don’t.  But what would be nice, is for everyone to be supportive of taking risks and making change.  Be safe or take a chance.  Abe Lincoln failed his way to the Presidency.  He was defeated as a state legislator, congressman, senator, vice-president – and even had a nervous breakdown.   “The difference between history’s boldest accomplishments and its most staggering failures is often, simply, the diligent will to persevere”, said President Lincoln.

Many of our peers try to hide behind this idea that they’re making the right decision based on good, solid evidence.  Each failure that they can point out is a point for their views. It’s an argument for why they’re a lot smarter than those of us who take their best shot when the odds are stacked against us.  As Jon Westenberg stated, “They can look back on their lives and feel comforted because hey, at least they didn’t #$#@ up like you did. They can avoid the pressure of trying something, and be confident in it.” 

J.K. Rowling wasn’t the only bestselling author who thrived on rejection. In his biographical writing guide, "On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft," Stephen King admits that in his early days as a writer he held onto a similar pile of rejections slips from publishers. Early in his career he would stack these slips on a nail hanging above his bed for motivation. “By the time I was fourteen the nail in my wall would no longer support the weight of the rejection slips impaled upon it,” he wrote. “I replaced the nail with a spike and went on writing.”

Let’s talk about the other side of that coin.  When you’re successful, after taking that risk and doing something you believe in, it throws a distinct spotlight on the people who never make the choice to do that. It then becomes a big case study in favor of us leaping into the unknown.  Here is an inside secret, we can win and “they” do not have to lose.  We can be successful together.  What we all discover over time is that much of the time, we really aren’t even in a competition at all. Each win should be celebrated by us or for us.  Every time someone we know succeeds with their idea, their project or their invention, it should be celebrated. Heck, it helps you refer to other great and successful people in your network.

One of my favorite personal stories of failure involves when I was up for a role early in my career, and I obviously did not get the job.  I was told “you are just not OLD enough”.  I was mad at the person who won the role because I felt we were competitors. I was understandably annoyed, but the person who did get the role was truly not my competition and they ended up embracing me beyond belief and became a mentor that I still engage with today (20+ years later).

Peer envy has become so rife in today's 'anything's possible' society that it's even got a name: Failed Potential Syndrome.  This syndrome gets more acute with age, and can be disastrous for your mental health; it is everywhere. It's that feeling that somehow life has not quite blossomed for you in the way you thought it would, while your peers (usually the seemingly unambitious ones) soar to great heights. FPS is characterized by peer envy (check), failure to launch (check), and a general feeling that you haven’t quite achieved what you had expected to by a certain age (double check). Well, at least it’s good that I can finally diagnose myself?  But here is the key point, when people are pointing fingers, remember all the success that were launched by failure!  3M post it notes, penicillin, the slinky, corn flakes, and the pacemaker were all made from mistakes.  Yes, even the pacemaker.  In 1956, Wilson Greatbatch was working on building a heart rhythm recording device at the University of Buffalo. He reached into a box and pulled out a resistor of the wrong size and plugged it into the circuit. When he installed it, he recognized the rhythmic lub-dub sound of the human heart. The beat, according to his 2001 obituary in The New York Times, reminded him of chats he had had with other scientists about whether an electrical stimulation could make up for a breakdown in the heart's natural beats

"Failure isn't fatal, but failure to change might be" - John Wooden

Together.  We.  Win.
 
Dave Harmon
People Division
“Kindness is Currency”
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/davidharmonhr

Look for us on: LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram,  Facebook, The Muse, Glassdoor and Gannett Careers

Give more…

Last Tuesday was our National Day of Giving.  Entering its sixth year, #GivingTuesday is a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration.  A great focus and purpose.  Charities, families, businesses, communities, politicians, and students around the world came together for one common purpose: to celebrate generosity and to give.  Created by the team at the Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact at the 92nd Street Y—a cultural center in New York City that, since 1874, has been bringing people together around the values of service and giving back—#GivingTuesday connects diverse groups of individuals, communities and organizations around the world for one common purpose: to celebrate and encourage giving. A team of influencers and founding partners joined forces, collaborating across sectors, offering expertise and working tirelessly, to launch #GivingTuesday and they have continued to shape, grow and strengthen the movement.  More commonly referred to as #GivingTuesday, National Day of Giving harnesses the power of social media to give back around the world and throughout the year.

I hope you gave more….         

In 2016, according to USA today, #GivingTuesday broke a record with $168 million in charitable donations worldwide, topping the 2015 by 44%. The Blackbaud group processed more than $47.7 million from more than 6,700 organizations (a 20% increase from 2015).  Furthermore, when compared with the previous year, online donation volumes increased by 31% while 33% more non-profit groups received an online donation. Since 2012, they also calculated that the presence of Giving Tuesday had increased by 317%.  Amazing what America does when we are focused on the right things.  People care…

So where am I going with all this, well it is the holiday season.  The season of giving, so I have read many articles the last few days and came across some good ideas for all of us for this holiday season.  The world has made it easy for us. Being charitable has become embedded throughout our everyday lives through shopping, by pursuing our hobbies, at our workplaces, and with our celebrations.  We don't even need money!

Just by doing fun things and living your life to the fullest, you and your family can spread good deeds from your home to around the globe.  Some thoughts: give your stuff to charity, give gifts that give back, do you have a hobby and make “things” (knitting, photos, quilts, etc.) you can give away, use your exercise for good (there are so many charity runs/walks/swims, etc.), pets or homeless pets – they need help too, give away perks (frequent flyer miles), share your talents/skills (do you teach yoga? You could give back by teaching at a YMCA or Boys and Girls club), support EBay Giving Works or Amazon Smile, donate blood, deliver some cool treats to your local fire or police department, or work with your kids to make and send cards to our troops overseas.  For many, a smile at the right time never hurts.  You get the idea.

There are over 1,500 national days, some worthy, some funny, some cringe-worthy.  Some really make a difference - make National Day of Giving into “Every Day Your Giving”.

Together.  We.  Win.

Dave Harmon
People Division
“Kindness is Currency”
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/davidharmonhr

Look for us on: LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram,  Facebook, The Muse, Glassdoor and Gannett Careers