Going Nuclear—More Safe Power for Georgia's People

Within the week, I read two headlines with strikingly similar themes. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the construction of the first two U.S. nuclear power plants in 30 years. Second, Roger Boisjoly's death was announced.

Subtle Bias From Grade School to the Workplace

I grew up with Luis in Pittsburgh. We reconnected after he read my recent blog about learning grammar in the sixth grade. We exchanged a few Facebook messages. Then he called me.

New Rules of Gravity for Today's Leaders

How does it happen that brilliant leaders act so mindlessly and how do you prevent their self-initiated destruction and the damage they leave behind? Telling leaders the rules and explaining applicable laws is not enough.

Apple Takes a Bite at Learning

Apple Inc.'s newest blockbuster app, called iBook Author, will allow teachers, scholars and anyone else to create their own graphically compelling audio/visual textbooks.

Learning as Punishment—Sound Engaging?

I got in trouble a few times in eighth grade. I didn’t break any big rules and never, as far as I know, had anything documented on my permanent record. There’s one punishment I haven’t forgotten. I had to write a paper over a fall weekend and turn it in on time.

Twelve Prescriptions—Not Predictions—for 2012

To get through all of this, we need to do more with less in terms of how leaders lead, the standards we set, what we must learn, understand and apply, and how we act and communicate to prevent, detect and correct problems while remaining faithful to our values and missions.

Click, Click, Click Revisited: Complete That Training or No Bonus for You

In many instances, required tests, courses and forms proved as worthless as blank paper or, more currently, terabytes of unused storage capacity.

Locker Room Leadership—Is That a Winning Workplace Strategy?

I met with a group of talented, thoughtful executives recently. We discussed values, culture and the role of speaking up in the face of organizational misdeeds. As we talked about leadership, I was asked a challenging question.

Blinded by Human Nature and Compliance

We need to rethink compliance processes so they do not reinforce inaction and token responses.

We Are Penn State

What's striking about the Penn State catastrophe is that so many leaders appeared to have failed to take responsibility for stopping awful acts happening in their own “workplace” and community.

Cain Controversy Historical Context Helps and Hurts Candidate

To understand why Cain and the NRA may have reacted to the allegations in the manner they initially did, one needs to understand the relevant climate of the 1990s.

When Crisis Strikes

Just imagine you've got a new job. You've been hired following a major business crisis. Your responsibility: Make sure that a similar catastrophe never happens again. The recently selected CEO and her team need your advice and leadership. They will sign on to your plan. That's the deal.

2012: It's Either the Year of Retaliation or Professionalism and Courage

The most effective ‘anti-retaliation' approach is to make ‘surfacing and listening openly to problems' an element of operational excellence and daily behavior, vital to the company's core values, best leadership practices and success.

Can Those HR People Help Us Build Our Tanks?

I had dinner with my friend, an engineer whose firm produces military equipment used by our Armed Forces. He's project-focused and detailed-oriented. His daughter will soon graduate from college and has shown an aptitude for human resources.

All this Technology Is Harming Communication

We know what we want to say, we know what we want it to mean, but we communicate in a way that means one thing to us but it's heard differently by the recipient. It all may be perfectly innocent but it can still cause friction and misunderstandings.

Foul-ups Trump Safeguards in UBS Scandal

In the aftermath of such blatantly avoidable foul-ups, can you recall a single instance when outside analysts concluded that systems and processes had not been put in place or learning had not been delivered? I can't. It's the failure to act in line with all of these safeguards that's the issue.

‘The Mercury Men’ and the Thrill of Corporate Learning

Switch on your smart phone or tablet and watch “The Mercury Men” (http://www.mercuryseries.com/) if you want your organizational learning to have a greater impact on changing behavior and culture. 

Where to Start: Obama’s Executive Order to Promote Diversity and Inclusion in the Federal Workforce

On Aug. 18 President Obama issued an executive order establishing a “… coordinated government-wide initiative to promote diversity and inclusion in the federal workforce.”

When Just-in-Time Learning’s Too Late

If you need to know how to make a special dinner, convert an iTunes song to a ring tone or wrap a new scarf just the right way, go to YouTube.

I Am the App

I had dinner recently with my friend, a visionary, dynamic, nationally known leader in the area of diversity and inclusion. We’ve worked closely together in the past but hadn’t seen each other for a couple of years.

Motivating Makes a World of Difference

My sister-in-law Julia just returned from a trip to Eastern Europe, which included stops in the Czech Republic and Hungary. These are exciting times there as each country continues to adapt as a global community grows out of the old Soviet Empire. 

Motivating Makes a World of Difference

My sister-in-law Julia just returned from a trip to Eastern Europe, which included stops in the Czech Republic and Hungary. These are exciting times there as each country continues to adapt as a global community grows out of the old Soviet Empire. 

Despite Improved Job Market, Workers Fret About Job Security

Employees remain anxious after having watched friends and family get laid off and struggle to find new jobs. They also see worrisome aspects in the economic recovery. Many of the new jobs are relatively low-paying, service-sector positions

Another Odd Couple—Weight Loss and Corporate Learning

I’d run on the elliptical about half an hour. My monitor said I’d burned 350 calories.

Another Odd Couple—Weight Loss and Corporate Learning

I’d run on the elliptical about half an hour. My monitor said I’d burned 350 calories.

Why Government Workers (and Others) File Claims

As I wrote recently, 97 percent of the charges filed within the federal sector are dismissed. That's a public fact available to anyone in the federal government who is contemplating filing a claim.

Three Phrases—12 Words—to Avert Disaster

I recently spent a day working with seven highly skilled professionals drawn from human resources, law and compliance departments of organizations representing health care, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage products, glassware and a major religious order.

Documenting Learning or Managing Behavior?

Let’s assume we let these professionals do their jobs provided they all signed certificates verifying they had reviewed the materials listed below and completed a few multiple-choice questions to prove they knew the basics. We’d give:

Wash Your Hands and Don’t Bully Your Teammates

Read the title above again, please. It sounds like something we’d have told our kids as soon as they could understand basic language and then later played their first team sports—soccer, baseball, football, etc.

Slugging at the Pentagon: Civility at Work

The week before last I had the privilege of moderating a distinguished panel for the Defense Department at the 2011 Defense Employee and Labor Relations Symposium.

Rename Workplace Behavior Gray Areas to Warning Signals, Danger Signs or Hazard Alerts

Over the years, I’ve run into leaders who have behaved poorly and then witnessed the disasters caused by their conduct: patient abuse and medical errors, financial collapses, environmental disasters, massive legal risk, safety lapses and the loss of vital and talented team members.

Diversity, Inclusion, Compliance—Not One or the Other, but All Three and More

“We need to focus on diversity or inclusion or maybe compliance; we’re not sure which but we need to do something—we know that.”

Brushing Up on the Art of Complaining

Complaining properly is an art that needs more attention.

All the World of Work’s a Stage

“All the world’s a stage,

How to Minimize Employment Claims in the Workplace

In a 2010 survey of federal employees, only 45 percent said they were satisfied with the policies and practices of their department or agency’s senior leaders, while 55.

Waking Up to the Risks of Workplace Violence

In the wake of the recent shooting rampage in Tucson, Arizona, which killed six people and wounded 13 others including U.S. Rep.

Military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Plan: A Guide for Effective Cultural Change

If you’re looking for a solid blueprint for changing your organization’s culture, you could spend a year or more studying all the books and articles on the subject—or just a few hours reading the

The Cross-Examination

Lawyers have a useful tool when preparing witnesses to testify, especially if they have concerns about what they will say or how defensible they will sound. Lawyers will assume the role of opposing counsel and ask the tough questions that go to the heart of the case.

Meet the Odd Couple: Atlanta Public School System and News Corp.

Who’d have thought that the Atlanta Public Schools and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. would have so much in common—one’s a city school system and the other’s a global media empire.

Workplace Class Actions After Wal-Mart v. Dukes

Wouldn’t it be great if there were a single cure for every major problem? Unfortunately, that hardly ever happens. 

Documenting Learning or Managing Behavior?

Let’s assume we let these professionals do their jobs provided they all signed certificates verifying they had reviewed the materials listed below and completed a few multiple-choice questions to prove they knew the basics. We’d give:

Why Global Workplace Standards Matter

Technology’s advantages and risks affect us every day in ways that we could not have imagined at the millennium’s start. I’ve been thinking about this while watching the catastrophe unfold in Japan.

Dismissed Claims Cost Time, Productivity and Money

New Year, Same Old Wage and Hour Issues

This year, your organization is more likely than ever to land on the wrong end of a wage and hour lawsuit.

The 97 Percent Problem: Why ‘Meritless Claims’ Matter

A federal agency official recently told me that charges of employment discrimination were way up across his large department. Most cases, he said, involved hostile workplace environment claims, and about 97 percent were lacking merit and ultimately dismissed.