Amitai Givertz's Blog (371)

On 21st century workplace revisonism...

Quote for the Day: Monday, August 6th, 2007

"Hierarchical, system-centered thinking, while not warm or fuzzy, has produced enormous benefits over the last century, and more gains are likely to be in store. Its single-minded focus on maximizing efficiency has driven productivity in manufacturing and much of the service sector higher and higher. Such gains would have been hard to achieve if managers gave workers free rein."

Peter Coy,… Continue

Added by Amitai Givertz on August 6, 2007 at 7:00am — No Comments

On rules for IBMers on Second Life...

Quote for the Day: Friday, August 3rd, 2007

"Building a reputation of trust within a virtual world represents a commitment to be truthful and accountable with fellow digital citizens. Dramatically altering, splitting or abandoning your digital persona may be a violation of that trust. ... In the case of a digital persona used for IBM business purposes, it may violate your obligations to IBM."

Shel Holtz,… Continue

Added by Amitai Givertz on August 3, 2007 at 7:00am — No Comments

On longing for the good ol' days of Recruiting 1.0...

Quote for the Day: Wednesday, August 1st, 2007

"Recruiting 2.0. I say phewy! Get recruiting 1.0 right first, people. Remember the days when TPR's actually headhunted vs trolled the job boards? Remember the days when Corporate Recruiters actually added value vs spammed the hiring manager with resumes?. Long for those days? I do, and I wonder if we will ever get them back when technology seems to be making us lazier instead of really adding value where it matters… Continue

Added by Amitai Givertz on August 1, 2007 at 7:30am — No Comments

On weird onboarding...

Quote for the Day: Tuesday, July 31st, 2007

"Encourage people to ignore superiors and peers. Hire defiant outsiders. Rather than teaching newcomers about company history or procedure, have the newcomers teach the old-timers how to think and act. Encourage people to drive you crazy by doing what they think is right rather than what they are told. "

Robert Sutton, Weird Ideas… Continue

Added by Amitai Givertz on July 31, 2007 at 8:30am — No Comments

On job descriptions and selling value...

Quote for the Day: Monday, July 30th, 2007

"If you sit down with the hiring manager, ask them about their business, take a look at the resumes of employees who were previously successful in the hiring manager’s organization, and then use specialized services to deliver passive candidates that can’t be found through posting on a job board, then you are selling value. You can charge a little more and be a little less efficient, because you offer something better… Continue

Added by Amitai Givertz on July 30, 2007 at 8:30pm — No Comments

On "Recruiter, re-tool thyself"...

Quote for the Day: Friday, July 27th, 2007

"The solution is that we need to re-engineer the thinking of the recruiters. In my experience many of them believe they have to always

be in control. This has had its' down side it alienates and infuriates

candidates, it drags out the recruitment process which adds costs and

it frustrates the company that is trying to fill a position. Why can't

we make positive changes to this… Continue

Added by Amitai Givertz on July 27, 2007 at 12:30pm — 6 Comments

On educating tomorrows workforce and the poor getting poorer...

Quote for the Day: Thursday, July 26th

"Our education system is driving a massive wedge between the upper and lower classes in America, splitting the middle class between those willing to mortgage their futures to get into the right school district and those who either can’t afford, or think it is imprudent, to take that kind of risk. The fault line that is being created by a lack of corporate recruiting competence is leaving the poor completely behind. They can’t… Continue

Added by Amitai Givertz on July 26, 2007 at 12:00pm — No Comments

On internet recruiting and the perspective of time...

Quote for the Day: Wednesday, July 25th, 2007

"Job candidates are being matched with client employers using the Internet.

Five percent of recruiting firms have already joined the Internet, and the number is growing by an amazing 12% per month. Right now, over 500,000 jobs are listed on the Internet...it's easy to miss critical technology changes. These days, the penalty can be a shorter life for your company."…

Continue

Added by Amitai Givertz on July 25, 2007 at 6:30pm — No Comments

On HR and Staffing MIA or AWOL...

Quote for the Day: Tuesday, July 24, 2007

"If talent acquisition is to be the linchpin for how HR finds, develops and retains employees that drive their firm’s performance, then Staffing is truly the lead element in the war for talent and, for most, it is unequipped to do its job, poorly trained to operate as a team and poorly organized for the mission at hand."

Gerry Crispin,… Continue

Added by Amitai Givertz on July 24, 2007 at 4:30pm — No Comments

On the truth and shades of grey...

Quote for the Day: Monday, July 23rd, 2007

"Offering people an A/not-A choice is often useful as a way to find out what they're really thinking. The world is rarely pure black or pure

white but it's also rarely a perfect 18% grey. People often use

shades-of-grey arguments as a way to deflect facts which might refute

their thesis. The humorist Steven Potter wrote that if you were ever

pressed to offer an opinion on events in a foreign country,… Continue

Added by Amitai Givertz on July 23, 2007 at 7:00am — No Comments

On who owns Succession Planning, who wants it?

Quote for the Day: Friday, July 20th, 2007

"While sensible, structured succession planning is something that HR would want to push for and would obviously have a crucial role in delivering, it is not up to HR to drive the process - that responsibility rests with the board. And if there is an HR director on the board, then I would hope that succession planning was already part of the mix.

Sadly, just like other people, HR directors are often vain,… Continue

Added by Amitai Givertz on July 20, 2007 at 6:30am — No Comments

On HR horror stories....

Quote for the Day: Thursday, July 19th, 2007

"Like the story about the employee who, HR discovered on his demise, had forgotten to change the beneficiary of his pension and life insurance when he remarried; HR had to tell the second wife that the first wife was getting the bucks. Or the man who threatened to sue his wife's employer for "enabling" her affair with a co-worker. Or the fast-food worker who sought to sue her employer for demanding that she tame her… Continue

Added by Amitai Givertz on July 19, 2007 at 6:30am — No Comments

On the EOE/EEO/AA/M/F/D Alphabet Soup...

Quote for the Day: Wednesday, July 18th, 2007

"Equal opportunity statements seem awkward at best and unnecessary at worst, especially in radio commercials. After all, equal opportunity is the law, so stating it in your ad is a bit odd. A company is either open to diversity or not; it either supports equality or it doesn’t. Putting the EOE statement in an ad or commercial doesn’t change anything.

Imagine spotting a delivery van with a bumper sticker that… Continue

Added by Amitai Givertz on July 18, 2007 at 6:42pm — No Comments

On Google being a Web 2.0 parasite...

Quote for the Day: Tuesday, July 17th, 2007

"Take Google, for example, the economic paragon of a truly successful Web 2.0 media company. With a market cap of approximately $150 billion, the Silicon Valley company took in $6.139 billion in revenue and $1.465 billion in profits in 2005. Telling is the fact that unlike companies such as Time Warner or Disney that create and produce movies, music, magazines, and television, Google is a parasite; it creates no content… Continue

Added by Amitai Givertz on July 17, 2007 at 2:55pm — No Comments

On virtual reality and dystopia...

Quote for the Day: Monday, July 16th, 2007

"Where does this culture of "unreality" come from. Part of the answer is that it is created and controlled by a governing class made up of the media, corporations and political groups. The members of this class exercise much of their power by inventing news, advertising, and entertainment that is sold to us and used to sell us other things, from products and candidates to ideas. All compete with each other to determine… Continue

Added by Amitai Givertz on July 16, 2007 at 2:59pm — No Comments

On candidate self-sabotage...

Quote for the Day: Friday, July 13th, 2007

Periodically, you may run into a Headhunter who seems to be somewhat jaded, rather skeptical, and appears to have had his sense of humor

surgically removed. Or, perhaps, you may run into one or two in your

life that don't act that way.

The reason for this attitude is that candidates frequently sabotage

their own job search efforts (while, in the process, taking food out of

the… Continue

Added by Amitai Givertz on July 13, 2007 at 6:36pm — No Comments

On being gainfuly employed, virtually...

Quote for the Day: Thursday, July 12th, 2007

"The last time I was in Second Life I found myself flying to the top of some kind of makeshift art warehouse, wondering why the sky was purple and where in the heck I could find my flying car. Who would have thought that I was merely a stones throw away from finding gainful… Continue

Added by Amitai Givertz on July 12, 2007 at 9:59am — No Comments

On Web 1.0 and 2.0 and power sharing...

Quote for the Day: Wednesday, July 11th, 2007

I was in the pub the other evening, trying to explain the difference between Web 1.0 ["Dotcom"] vs Web 2.0 ["Blogs & Social Media"] to a web neophyte friend of mine.

The short answer: "Dotcom was about 'taking'. Web 2.0 is about 'giving'...Suddenly for the first time in history, the world's most powerful form of media is about giving, not taking. The implications are vast.

Giving vs. Taking.… Continue

Added by Amitai Givertz on July 11, 2007 at 7:14pm — 4 Comments

On political correctness and diversity training claptrap...

Quote for the Day, Tuesday, July 10th, 2007

"Do CEOs really believe the diversity claptrap or do they put on a happy face to avoid legal and other problems? Either way, they are acting in a manner contrary to the best interests of their companies, shareholders and the public at large."

Dr. Carl F. Horowitz, The Authoritarian Roots of Corporate Diversity Training

File under:… Continue

Added by Amitai Givertz on July 10, 2007 at 8:05am — No Comments

On the virtues of work experience...

Quote for the Day: Friday, July 6th, 2007

"It's a curious thing, this esteem we have for longevity. Why is an anniversary cause for celebration? I can see it in some Purple Heart sense--congratulations for surviving--but that doesn't seem to be the spirit in which such celebrations are intended...

What's the big deal about being married to the same person, or working for the same company, for so many years? Is it supposed to be some expression of loyalty,… Continue

Added by Amitai Givertz on July 6, 2007 at 7:30am — No Comments