Readers of this blog know that I don’t pimp a great number of other bloggers or causes. I think it’s because I’d like to remain somewhat impartial. I do want to take a moment today to share with you something that really struck a chord.

Call it serendipity, or chalk it up to random chance, but this weekend I read a story in my local paper, and then saw a post on a blog that I follow and wanted to chime in and help (albeit in a small way).

The backstory is pretty benign, I was reading the local section of the paper and then jumped on the iPad to catch up on some of my reading when I read this story about foster children who use garbage bags to move their stuff.

Yes, you read that correctly, garbage bags.

I found myself thinking back to when I had to make a move pretty quickly once in my past and while I didn’t use a garbage bag, I did have to pile up all my crap in my small car and get the hell out of a bad situation. Come to think of it, I’d venture to guess that we’ve all been in a situations where we’ve had to move pretty quickly to save our skin at some point in our lives…

The blog that moved me to want to write about this situation is a very popular Miami blog, written anonymously by a defense attorney here in town. It’s pretty much inside baseball for the audience, but the author (whom I’ve never met by the way) has a great style. Here’s the link to the post

The line that hit me square in the gut was this “Children aren’t garbage. They shouldn’t have to move their belongings in garbage bags”. Simple, elegant, and I wish I wrote it.

We all have so many demands, people and organizations vying for our attention to a vast number of causes that at times it’s hard to discern what to pay attention to, or to donate our hard earned dollars. But this one is so simple that I’m asking you to to take a moment, and if you want to do so, donate. Here’s the link to the site to donate

Thank you Rumpole for bringing it to the forefront of my busy day, and while I doubt we’ll ever meet and I have a feeling that I’m not your target audience, I’m still a huge fan of the blog

-John

Why hello there.

I’m not gonna lie, it’s been a crazy semester here in Miami. People, places, things, students, employers, jobs….I’ve been teaching, counseling, and just generally hustling. In fact, I feel like my hot dog wielding, slinging dude/logo.

So what’s a boy to do when it gets a bit crazy? Well if you responded “take a load off and have a few relaxing beverages” then you’re correct. I was extremely lucky to have a chance to share some stuff with the HR Bartender this week.

I’ve had her in my blogroll since the inception of this bloggy blog, and she’s always at the top of my google/feedly/reeder app.

So if you’re interested in my take on how to ask your friends to help you get a J-O-B, check it out here.

More to come as the crazy has finally reached a manageable level in my life.

Who am I kidding, you and I both know that’s not gonna happen….

I was aimlessly reading an article in the Sunday paper and trying to eat something when my phone rang. Looking at the number, I frowned and gave a heavy sigh. I hadn’t spoken to this person in a long time and I was prepping for a very long mea culpa.

“Hey, you’re alive” my friend said as I answered. Trying to smile, I replied that I was and that I was a horrible friend, and I knew that the phone worked both ways. He accepted my half-hearted mea culpa with grace and humor, a trait that I truly admire in my friend.

“I’m passing through Miami, on my way to Panama and wanted to check in with you. Is everything OK? “Everything is fine here” I said, “By the way, what’s going on with your country? The whole place is under construction, it’s crazy down there.”

We chatted some more about Panama, the growth, my fruitless attempts to learn Spanish, and poked fun at each other. Then the conversation took a serious turn.

“John, what’s wrong? You don’t sound good.” “It’s as good as it’s going to be” I replied.
We spoke about what was bothering me, and he listened intently. Then my friend shared the real reason he was flying home. I stopped, took a deep breath, and just listened.

I was mad. Mad that I was so selfish. Mad that I didn’t pick up the phone earlier. Mad because I felt that I had let him down.

We commiserated for a few more minutes and he had to get to his gate. We hung up and promised to call each other when we had some more time. I said a prayer for safe travels and to ease the weight that he was carrying.

Today, I thought of him again as I was getting ready for work. Reaching for my wallet, and business card holder, I smiled. The card holder was a gift from some 12 years ago, a small gesture that had a greater impact, one that still resonates all these years later.

Thank you for calling Greg and thank you for letting me ease your pain for a few minutes, but if you for one moment think I’m going anywhere near where you live in the winter…well that’s just not happening.

I’m a big fan of ancient rituals and really got a kick out of following this papal conclave. I’m also happy that there is a new Pope.

The fact that he’s from our part of the world is revolutionary. A Jesuit who’s got a background in science and chemistry, should make for some interesting papers coming out of the Holy See for the next few year, but that’s for another time…

The practice of my Catholic faith is firmly rooted in family guilt, several crisis’s of conscious, and the paradox of being both part of an orthodox branch of the tree that has extreme liberal practices (for instance, one of my favorite priests was married with kids) coupled with ancient and conservative rites. Hell, even I can’t keep up sometimes…

A few years ago, I grew tired of constantly reading about the malfeasance of the Church, the stories of abuse, and of the pain that was inflicted upon innocent children. I reached a point where I didn’t think I could in good conscious, share this with my girls. I openly questioned my faith, and my faith in the leadership.

I reached out to an old friend who was able to help calm my nerves and talk me back from the ledge.

So on this momentous occasion, I wanted to share some of his words:

I think the problem that exists in the “Roman” Church is that it has so many “man made” laws that were really meant to be positive but over time has outlived its purpose such as mandatory celibacy and the like. The problem with the history of the church is that compared with most other denominations is that it has a long history and it had some growing pains and it has existed through some strange times. You have to take into account those times and the political environment in which things happened. Let’s face it, the split with England and Rome was over politics not religion. Henry VIII in his records at Hampton Court Palace recorded that he died a “good and faithful Catholic”. Like it or not politics have and do play a major role in our churches, listen to some of the sermons…

As a father I would suggest that you try to remind your daughters that faith is the most important element and prayer and belief in God and the Salvation that he offers us through his son. God uses the church to accomplish HIS mission. The problem is when the church decides to sidetrack and create their own mission. You are never wrong for questioning, you would only be wrong to sit idly by and be a drone.

Thank you Greg for the perspective and for the calm words. May we all find a few moments of quiet where peace will calm our restless souls.

And if possible, can I get a bit of that to go? I need to sprinkle a bit on a very active two year old….

Fatherhood is a part of my job description that at times plays a very prominent role in my day to day work or sometimes falls into the “other duties as assigned category”.

Nothing really prepares you for some of the curve balls that a child can toss at you in the innocent form of a question. This week it seemed that my daughter wanted to see if she could add another type of pitch to her repertoire, the screwball.

Sure there are several mommy/daddy blogs out there, but let’s face it, I don’t have a whole lot of spare time to build them into my reading process. Besides, that tends to take out the fun element when you’re dealing with the sheer terror of not having an answer to a question asked.

The scenario started pretty innocuous. How was your day? Did you get an “A” on your behavior chart for the day? What did you learn? But then it moved to the “Daddy, this boy called me stupid” region and I was completely caught off guard.

“Why?” seemed the simplest place to start, so I started to use my years of HR training and asked some more probing questions. “It’s because I’m French” replied my daughter “and this boy says that French people are stupid”. Crap, this isn’t in the manual was the only thought I could muster.

“Maybe he likes you?” I said, knowing full well that it wasn’t the case. “No he doesn’t daddy, he’s just mean” came the reply. “He’s said this to me before” and then the tears started to well up in her bright blue eyes.

My daughter is in a gifted class and most of the kid’s exhibit incredibly competitive behavior when it comes to reading and math, but none of them are just downright mean. “I’m tired of being bullied” she said to me, with the tears flowing.

I wiped the tears away and pulled her close and hugging her I said “You are a smart, amazing, and loving little girl who will change the world someday. Don’t listen to the boys who put you down, their opinion doesn’t matter”.

My mother-in-law saw this exchange and agreed with me. Then she provided the best bit of comic relief that made us all laugh. “Katherine, you have nothing to worry about because you’re not French” she said, “Your Mother hasn’t gotten you your passport”.

Katherine looks at me, wipes her eyes and says “I guess we need to help mommy then” and bounces out of the room looking for my wife to go ask about getting her passport.

I wonder if I’ll have to add passport technician to the job description soon?

Did you hear that?

That my friends was the final bell that rings when one is in the home stretch of a long race/journey.

Time to remember my pacing, my skills, and keep my gut in check.

More deets soon and possibly some disclosure, I promise.

-JP

It’s has been another busy week here in Miami. The weather has been really mild, which usually pisses off people up north who are digging out the snow or bracing for the upcoming freezing temps. That will change soon enough here in Florida and we’ll start to complain about humidity, tourists, mosquitoes, or a combination of all of them in a few weeks. So to heck with the weather, let’s get to the point of this goofy experiment:

Time for the highlights, starting with what I taught this week:

• I finished teaching our “professional development seminar” for graduate students in HR this week. It’s always interesting seeing the new crop of MSHRM students and understanding their level of hr skills. Some are very junior, a few are very seasoned. It’s exciting to see such enthusiasm for the profession.
• I’ve always been a fan of trying to standardize definitions or vocabulary. Especially in meetings. Other peeps aren’t and often get in the weeds or stumble with minutia. Resetting goals with a common vocabulary really makes a difference and I’ve had to gently nudge some of my peers and colleagues into remembering this simple concept.

Here’s what I learned:

• I have got to get over others general apathy and general “know-it-all”-ness. I too have these personality traits and realize that I can be a huge pain in the ass when I get that way. Seeing it directed at me this week really caused some introspection.
• Second graders have drama. Sure it’s on a second grade level, but it’s drama nonetheless. I’m sure dealing with this is good practice for when it becomes junior & senior high school drama.
• My friends and peers in this space are truly kind and amazing folks. Taking the time to celebrate Paul this week was a highlight and a real shot in the motivation column for me. I know that I need to be more vocal, write more posts, and share my opinion, enough saying and more doing it John.

Time to prep for a class on Safety, Workers Comp, & OSHA and then share in the joy of a baby shower for my younger brother. Have a great weekend!

Around this time last year, we honored Tim Sackett as in influncer in the HR Blogosphere.

Well, the tradition has lived on and his year’s “Tim Sackett Day” honoree is none other than Mr. Paul Hebert.

Paul, like Tim, is many things, an influence, a prolific blogger, and an expert in Pavlovian/Skinner based psychology to get people off their lazy butts and produce.

I’m not kidding about that last part. Hell, the last time I was at a bar with Paul he was influencing several of us to be quiet and watch a baseball game. And lemme tell you, getting several people who like to talk be quiet at an establishment that serves adult beverages is no easy task.

My relationship with Paul started like most of the relationships start in my life, by accident. I attended the first HREvolution conference in Louisville on a whim. What I didn’t know at the time was that being part of what I like to call the original “42” would have such a profound impact on my professional and personal life. His session was the blogging 101/201 for attendees. When I think back to the discussion, the people in the room, and how Paul managed to keep everyone engaged, well it’s no surprise to see why we’re honoring him today.

While I didn’t have too much interaction at HRev1, we did manage to keep in touch via the interwebs. Discussions about favorite brands of cigars, beverages, etc. were commonplace and we’ve traded some friendly jabs back forth on The HR Happy Hour podcasts as well.

Paul is also a huge Ohio State fan and it really annoys me. It’s not a huge thing, but as a lifelong Miami Hurricane fan, being friendly and polite to someone who roots for “THE Ohio State University” is tough.

There is one thing that I’ve never shared with Paul publicly, and since today’s his day, I figured it’s about time I let him know. For the past two years, I’ve been an adjunct instructor teaching the PHR/SPHR prep course as well as a few sessions for an HR Certificate we offer at the University. When the discussions in class turn to incentives or how to motivate, I always direct my students to one resource and that resource is Paul.

His writing and the work he does are truly the gold standard. You can also apply that to him personally too!

Paul, I want you to know that not only have you influenced all of us in the crazy space, but you’ve managed to also have an impact on several individuals here in South Florida as well.

Oh and just for the record, I don’t think any of them are fans of Ohio State. Sorry about that…not really.

So cheers to you Paul! Enjoy this day and this honor. It’s well deserved.

Photo credit:Fistful of Talent – Paul Hebert

Since the inception of this blog, I was always toying with the idea of having a weekly serial type post. I’ve seen my peers do great jobs with this, and others rip off the idea with mixed results.

I’ve decided to finally commit to a weekly series that will a bit rough in the beginning, but may just turn out to be something that I can get behind and start to update with more frequency.

For now the series is titled “What I taught, What I learned” and here’s the first installment. Enjoy!

What I taught:
Teaching the HR Certification class, I had the opportunity to see students with all different types of HR related experience grasp some pretty heavy concepts. I’ve been toying with the idea of creating a listing of all the HR Blogs and other ancillary resources that I read before I finish teaching the last class in a few weeks.

The spring semester started on Monday, and with that, we had graduate school orientation. I was able to have our newest counselor join me on our brief tour of the new cohort groups to promote the services our office provides. She also was able to get some valuable face time with key faculty.

What I learned this week:
My favorite part of the morning is when I get to drop my daughter off at school. We listen to Radio Disney on the way to school, sing along to crappy pop songs and then walk to class holding hands. For those few moments in the morning, my world is perfect.

My youngest child is starting to develop a sense of humor. She’s mischievous and is pushing her boundaries to see what she can and cannot do behavior-wise.

Sometimes, you need to pick up the phone and call people. Learning from friends is waaay better than learning from lectures.

Finally, I set a pretty ambitious resolution of wanting to expand my reading this year. I’ve got a few books on the amazon wishlist that are not what I would typically read for enjoyment, a few are an intellectual stretch. However, this is all fine for now since what I’m currently reading is letting me know that I’m not that “great”.

Well it’s that time again. Time to stop thinking about the past and gear up for the new year.

2012 was truly a year where I learned, loved, lost, laughed, regretted, met new peeps, lost old friends, gained new ones, cried, suffered, shared in joy, and shook my head in amazement and disbelief.

2013? Well I have a strong feeling that it will bring a bit of transition for a few of us, but nothing that’s isn’t manageable (at least from the non pharmaceutical perspective).

For those that have put up with me at my best and my worst, thank you and I mean this with all sincerity, I love you.

For those that I was able to help, thank you for having faith in me and my abilities.

To those that I hurt, or wronged, I am truly sorry.

Thank you for your continued support, readership, and love!

I wish you all nothing but the best this new year and may whatever deity you choose to believe in shower you with only blessings in 2013!

All my best,

John