A Collective Voice (and a little name dropping)

Most of my energy (prior to putting some “thinking time” into a blog) is devoted to consulting, speaking and training with the occasional foray into writing an article for publication (when something was really weighing heavy on my mind).   While attending to present at the 2009 Annual SHRM Conference & Exposition in New Orleans, I was fortunate enough to stick around and attend one of the final sessions of the conference.  A moderated panel hosted by SHRM COO China Gorman featuring a selection of the top bloggers in the HR industry.  The panel included Kris Dunn of HR Capitalist, Laurie Ruettimann of Punk Rock HR, Lance Haun of Rehaul and Jessica Lee at Fistful of Talent.   It provided a window inside some of the best-captured thinking in our industry and was truly one of the most valuable conference sessions I have attended in some time.  It inspired my own personal commitment to more research, writing and now authoring a blog of my own.

I was also fortunate to sync up with Cincy Recruiter Jennifer McClure for a chat captured on video and Peter Clayton of Total Picture Radio, where we recorded a segment for his show.  And my social calendar included time spent with big thinkers Mark Stelzner of Inflexion Advisors, Michael Long (The Red Recruiter), Josh Westover at EnticeLabs and Mike Vandervort at The Human Race Horses. What impressed me most about the panelists, bloggers and thought leaders wasn’t their success, following and brilliance necessarily (although tons of great ideas were on display). It was their commitment. They are all BIG TIME students of the game. Today I am proud to count them among colleagues I listen to very carefully and learn from daily.  I was also lucky enough to have been invited by Mary Ellen Slayter, Editor of SmartBrief on Workforce, to serve on their workforce advisory board with many of the aforementioned and additional contributors to the industry.

I grew up in Ohio and had long been a fan and follower of HR blogging guru and fellow Clevelander Cheezhead, and now residing in Minneapolis, I am connected to people shaping the industry both inside and out of the Twin Cities community including Doug Berg at Jobs2Web, Steven Rothberg at CollegeRecruiter.com, Raghav Singh at the A List and Paul Debettinges, our MN Headhunter. I keep my office at Pixel Farm Interactive with the Engaging Trends think tank for a reason, and it wouldn’t be a Sunday without a Skype with globetrotting CEO of Employer Brand International, Brett Minchington.

What’s the point? The HR industry is in state of transformation. And if a client is going to hire me to consult, train or speak as an expert in this arena, my ideas and experiences alone are simply no longer sufficient. Innovation and change occur too rapidly for any consultant, business development professional or vendor partner to adequately pace. To be good enough, current enough, relevant enough and on point I need a collective voice. This is a sampling of mine. When a client hires me, I leverage more than my own ideas, work product and skill set.

An organization looking to make a buying decision, procure new resources, augment or upgrade strategy (and even hire a speaker/trainer) would be well served to inquire to their potential provider around who is shaping their thinking? What trends and ideas are they betting on? How does their solution fit into the sum of the parts? What is the enduring value proposition?

Puts a lot more pressure on the consultants and business development professionals. That is the point. To compete and succeed today you really need to be offering your client partners more. A collective voice.

Be a student of the game.