DISTURBIA

Rihanna and Chris Brown are back together wtf wtf wtfThe pair have reunited almost three weeks after Brown, 19, allegedly battered the "Umbrella" singer on Feb. 8, a source tells PEOPLE.

"They're together again. They care for each other," says the source. The on-again couple are currently spending time together at one of Sean "Diddy" Combs's homes, on Miami Beach's Star Island.

Adds the source: "While Chris is reflective and saddened about what happened, he is really happy to be with the woman he loves."

In its latest issue, PEOPLE reports that Brown called Rihanna on her 21st birthday one week ago. "He called to wish her happy birthday," a source told the magazine. "They've reached out to each other. It's been mutual."

Brown was booked by LAPD for making criminal threats but the case has not yet been presented to the District Attorney, who will ultimately determine which charges, if any, will be prosecuted.

NFL Free Agency Kicks Off And Haynesworth Gets Paid !

So does D'Angelo Hall, Again! Half of the
Eagles secondary is gone and the Giants
spend money on a linebacker. Listen In !

Lessons - response

Jason-

Being the non-conformist that I am, I have had somewhere between 1 and 2 million different bosses already in my life. A few were very good, many were so-so and a lot of them had a lot of room for improvement. Thanks for bringing back some entertaining (and a few painful) memories.

When I was in sales, one of my sales managers was all about new business. We were a national sales team and regularly traveled to our areas and he did not want us using that travel time to visit with existing clients, it was all supposed to be about new business. I do not do sales that way. A big part of the value that I tried to provide for my clients was really good, accessible service and I visited existing clients often. I developed a monthly e-newsletter for my clients, and sometimes I provided training sessions for them and for their staff. This was just part of my approach.

My sales manager hated this, so I actually had to be very covert about working with existing clients. What we sold was based on a one year subscription and before long I had higher retention of existing clients than anyone else on the team. On one of my visits to my area, I happened to get a phone call from a large potential client that I had never been able to make any progress with. They wanted to purchase. They knew exactly what they wanted and when I asked how they had made this decision, as they had never been open to talking to me, they explianed that they had just brought in a new VP, from another local organization and she had been one of my clients. One of her first orders of business was to do business with me!

As much as I would like to paint myself as a naturally gifted sales person, I am probably an average sales person at best. But I had a way that was very natural and very comfortable for me. And it worked, I ended up setting several records on this sales team before leaving.

My sales manager wanted us to do our work a very specific way. It happened to be a way that did not feel right for me and did not seem to be good for the organization in the long run. When I got the unexpected (and large) new sale while I was on the road, he even went so far as to tell folks back at the office, that I had gone in there and closed them in one meeting. I had not closed them or even met with them, I got the sale because of the way in which I took care of my existing clients.

I think that managers, especially managers that have not had much in the way of professional and leadership development, tend to think they need to be "the decider." This is the way we are going to do things, because I said so. Unfortunately, I catch myself taking the same approach at home with the kids, so I guess we all have work to do!

I think it takes some maturity and clarity on who you are to lay out basic guidelines for employees and then get out of the way. But I think the dividends are huge.

Thanks.

-joe

World Baseball Classic, What ?

As promised a little something to keep you
going as we try to ramp up the sports
chatter once again. Let's hear your thoughts !

Lessons From Bad Management

Joe,

One major reason we became Talent Anarchists was to fight back against the bad management we've experienced along our journeys. So, I thought it might be fun to share some of the stories of bad management we've seen along the way with the lessons we'd learned from them.

One story that I've told several times recently is about the importance of connection to people as a leader. I once worked for a large employer where I got shuffled around from one manager to the next during my tenure. However, through my rotation of immediate managers, one thing remained constant--my boss' boss was always the same woman. During the course of a year, she was always the boss of my rotating bosses.

Despite this woman being my boss' boss during my tenure at the company, I never once met her, spoke to her or interacted with her in any way. In fact, the only time I interacted with her was in a social setting outside of work and she didn't have any idea who I was! She never made any effort at all to get to know her people. That's poor leadership.

Leadership is about people. People will only follow a leader who they believe cares about them. Despite the fact that I will likely never meet President Obama, based on his words and actions, I feel like he cares about me a great deal more than this woman I used to work for. As a leader, it's important to take the time to get connected to your people. Certainly, if you run a large organization, you may not be able to know everyone personally but you can be visible and accessible to them.

What stories come to mind for you?

Jason

Coming Up On Mad Stork Sports

THANKS FOR ALL THE GREAT SUPPORT !

After a too long an absence, MSS Returns on
Wednesday February 25th with more on A-Rod,
Manny, Aquan, and of course all the sports
news you've never heard of or searched for.

STAY TUNED !

A HARDING FALL

The girl went sidewalk diving while leaving a Brit Awards after-party with Sarah Harding of Girls Aloud. Here's some pictures documenting the LOLworthy fall.

Its about time!

Congratulations Girls! Girls Aloud scooped their first Brit Award tonight for Best British Single. So well deserved, and a big thanks to all the fans for voting for them these past 2 weeks.

PERFORMANCE

WINNING BEST SINGLE OF THE YEAR!

Diversity Dilemma - response 3

Jason-

Hmm. Well played my friend. I almost agree. But a couple of things that stand in the way...

• I am approaching this from the perspective of making the D&I function as successful as possible today, not what would make D&I successful if we lived in a world where HR was what it needed to be.
• Human Capital is and always will be a big part of D&I, but a comprehensive D&I function also includes Branding, Marketing, Internal Communications, Vendor Relations and other things that live outside of HR.
• I think that allowing the D&I function to continue to languish inside of HR is actually letting HR off the hook, because they think all they need to do is have someone chairing a cmte, printing some fliers and handing out a couple of scholarships and they are "doing diversity." Nobody every pushes back on HR regarding D&I because D&I reports up through that very food chain.

So, I stick to my guns that D&I belongs outside of HR. I think that will lead to a more serious commitment to D&I work, a more authentic and mutually beneficial relationship with HR and HR actually making a more legitimate contribution to this work.

I am down with transforming HR, I think it is the most significant opportunity for changing business. I think that part of that transformation includes D&I as a neighbor, not part of the same family.

-joe

Diversity Dilemma - Response 2

Joe,

I understand the point you are making regarding the separation of Diversity and Inclusion from HR. I disagree based on my definition of HR. From a traditional perspective on HR where the function was largely a service provider and advocate for the employee, it might not fit. But when you define HR as the strategic manager of human capital assets, I think it's harder to argue for the separation.

The bigger issue that you raise is that resources and support must be applied to Diversity and Inclusion efforts and I take it that you believe that HR is an obstacle in this area. I think you are letting HR off the hook too easily and possibly running away from the real issue. I agree that HR people don't inherently understand diversity--but they should. I don't see how a diversity and inclusion effort can succeed without HR being not only a partner, but a leader in that effort. While I agree that diversity spans beyond just the people processes of a company, the most important progress that must be made is with people and how our internal cultures, systems and processes either promote or stifle inclusion and openness. If HR can't get it right, I am hard pressed to see another way to for the effort to be fully successful.

So, my perspective is that rather than distancing D&I from HR, we should be trying transform HR into a D&I champion and change agent. The list of competencies you shared look as much like a set of HR leadership competencies as they do Diversity and Inclusion. Maybe HR doesn't get it yet, but they must get in order for significant progress to occur.

-Jason

Arrest Selig? Award Helling?

More Beckham KAKA, Roids, Rights, Wrongs
so one and so forth.



Below is an interesting article about which
players should reclaim their rightful MVP's

Life Of Reilly

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3915217

Diversity Dilemma - response

Jason-
Hey man, great topic. I hesitate to identify myself as an expert in anything, especially a topic as big, complex and misunderstood as diversity, but thanks! One of the reasons that this is really a great topic is that diversity and inclusion work is at a place where it needs to move forward...and I believe a big part of the next step is "leaving the nest", or moving away from the HR function.

Having said that, the important thing to keep in mind is that if an organization wants to benefit from the real value of diversity it has to make a legitimate investment of resources. Far too often organizations hire someone to "do diversity", provide them with no real resources and become disappointed in a few months when the world has not been changed. Regardless of the structure, organizations need to legitimately support their D&I efforts with financial capital, political and social capital if they are going to see real results.

Getting back to your main question...I think that HR has done a good job of giving D&I work some support and resources, but I think that HR and D&I can be far more valuable to each other moving forward as separate entities. Additionally:

• HR has a great many things on its plate right now and does not have the capital to spare to fully support D&I work the way that is needed right now
• There is a false assumption in place that being an HR person means you "get diversity."
  
• A comprehensive D&I effort involves many things not HR.

This last point may be the most important. Probably the best framework of competencies that I have come across was developed by The Conference Board in 2008. They brought together a group of thought leaders and developed a Competency Model for Diversity and Inclusion Practitioners. I have spent a great deal of time considering there model and I believe it is a great framework for successful D&I work. Here are the competencies:

1. Change Management
2. Diversity, Inclusion, and Global Perspective
3. Business Acumen
4. Strategic External Relations
5. Integrity
6. Visionary and Strategic Leadership
7. HR Competencies

I feel that with this set of competencies we start to gain an appreciation for the fact that a comprehensive approach to D&I work includes many things outside of HR. There is marketing, communications, vendor relations, etc., that do not necessarily fit with HR work.

And again, I think that HR and D&I are natural strategic partners and of more value to each other in the long run as separate entities. For what its worth.
-joe

Diversity Dilemma

Joe,

Since you are a diversity expert, I'd like you to weigh in on a subject that came up in a discussion last week. It was a reminder of a debate I've heard many times and most often it's associated with diversity efforts. The debate is over whether there should be a separate diversity functional area within an organization.

On the one hand, some argue that a separate diversity group comprised of people who are committed to working solely on diversity programs should exist either within or separate from Human Resources. Since this is work that is unique from the day to day work of HR, this structure is required. And, because diversity isn't typically something organizations do well without intervention, focused effort is required to affect meaningful change.

Alternatively, some argue that when a separate Diversity group is established, it creates a mindset within the organization that it's the job of only that group to think about and act on diversity issues and programs. This argument is typically made by people who feel that diversity and inclusion is every one's job and that it should be treated that way.

How do you come down on this? What is the "right" way to approach diversity and inclusion within an organization?

-Jason

Congratulations to Shawn and Jennifer for being selected as Midwest CEO's Most Influential Women of 2009

FLUFF AND FOLD

It's Aubrey O'Day on the cover of Playboy.The art department did a good job in the photoshop dep.

OTHER O DAY PICS PHOTOSHOPED

Congratulations to Erin McGrane another Exposure Talent who has been cast in the new George Clooney movie "UP IN THE AIR" shooting St. Louis

Exposure Model Stacey Nelson as seen in the February issue of HERLIFE Magazine

Work-Life Balance 2

Joe

i am awakening from my long winter's nap to finally reply to your post. At least this time, I don't think you are too far into left field. I agree that work-life balance is a flawed premise, but it's one that I think we need for now. It is my opinion is that each person should pursue work that fits with their passions and interests. Employers should also seek out individuals who "fit" well with their jobs and create environments where individuals can bring their talents, passions and interests to the job. When both parties do their part, it brings balance because work doens't feel like work. It feels natural and energizing.

Unfortunately, I think we find ourselves talking about work-life balance because neither party (the individual or the employer) is holding up their end of the bargain. I am disheartened daily to talk with people who are "trapped" in jobs they dislike, working for companies they don't care about. The troubling part for me is that they are only trapped by their lack of courage to do something about it. I recognize that we are in tough times right now and jobs are hard to come by, but that doesn't mean that an individual shouldn't be networking and building contacts or maybe going back to school right now. Both of these actions create forward momentum towards a better job situation.

On the employer front, we need this work-life balance discussion for now. While it's flawed, it at least keeps the issue top of mind. Organizations need to continue to think about the individuals in their company and try to create a culture where people can bring all of themselves to work. Only when this happens and organizations realize that it's about capturing the hearts and minds of people will this work-life discussion end. In the mean time, we need to continue to fly the work-life balance banner to ensure that employers continue to struggle with this issue.

-Jason

Meet Ivy Shih Leung - PPD Writer Extraordinaire!

I've had the pleasure to get to know Ivy Shih Leung, a new writer on the scene who is tackling PPD in a big way. Ivy's wrapping up a book that she started writing shortly after suffering from PPD following the birth of her precious daughter.  And she just started a new blog where you can learn more on PPD statistics while reading her touching prose.  Here's an excerpt from her latest post:

"Fueled by the passion to help other women, angered by public remarks like 'There is no such thing as a chemical imbalance,' and determined to help stamp out the ignorance about PPD, I set out 5 months after my daughter was born and 2 months into my recovery to start writing my book and get the message out that those remarks couldn’t be further from the truth.  Determined to learn more about this misunderstood, under-diagnosed and undertreated illness, I joined Postpartum Support International (PSI) in 2006 and attended annual conferences to network with and pick up the latest information from subject matter experts.  I also attended two PSI fundraisers in my old hometown of N. Caldwell, NJ, which was hosted by Sylvia Lasalandra, author of 'A Daughter’s Touch' and attended by Senator Robert Menendez, Governor Jon Corzine, former NJ First Lady Mary Jo Codey (PPD survivor), Senator Richard Codey, and Dr. Manny Alvarez of Fox News, among many others.  I plan to participate in the Sounds of Silence second annual run/walk fundraising event on May 9^th on Long Island.

Having PPD at a time when mothers are “supposed to feel nothing but absolute bliss”-one of the “motherhood myths” I touch on in my book-is so embarrassing and difficult to talk about, that most women will not tell their stories to people they know, let alone to the world. There’s this fear of being judged, criticized and labeled as crazy and, worse yet, unfit mothers.

Well, I am not afraid to tell my story, especially if it means helping other mothers. I want to make a positive impact by empowering women with knowledge about an illness that is more prevalent than people think. One out of eight mothers (that’s a rate of 20%) suffer from PPD.  And I’m not talking about the baby blues, either.  Approximately 80% of mothers experience what is referred to as baby blues-the tendency to be teary/emotional due to the huge hormonal changes that occur with childbirth-within the first couple of weeks postpartum and resolves on its own."

Please check out Ivy's blog for the rest of her story, as well as additional info on PPD.

Work-Life Balance

Jason

Maybe this is one of my semantic hang-ups, but much of the conversation around the issue of work-life balance is becoming a bit of a pet peeve for me. I am in absolute agreement that employers need to do more accommodating to meet the unique needs of an increasingly complex workforce, but in my perspective "work-life balance" is a flawed framework. To me, "work-life balance" speaks to an antiquated belief that I have two separate identities...."work Joe" and "home Joe", and that my employer needs to support me in balancing the two.

I may keep it to myself, but I am going to bring whatever is going on at home to work with me. And today we have more going on at home than at any time in the past. There are more families with two wage earners in the workforce now than ever before, and there are more people in the workforce now that have dependent children and / or parents at home than ever before...so, as employees we have "stuff going on."

While it is easy for employers to support employees spending time working while they are home in the evening or over the weekend, it requires a greater understanding of human capital for those organizations to support employees taking care of "personal stuff" while at work.

To me this issue is really about:
-fluidity
-measuring productivity rather than activity
-hiring the right people

I think that it is about these things much more than it is about on-site dry cleaning or oil changes, but it seems that most of the conversation around this issue is about "programs and perks" more than the org culture and the actual employer-employee relationship.

Maybe I am out in left field on this, it would not be the first time. Interested in your perspective on this.

Joe

CONGRATULATIONS to Megan Flynn - Megan was just cast in the new George Clooney movie "UP IN THE AIR" to be filmed in St.Louis