Photo: Screenshots of Apple 1984 Super Bowl TV Commercial I have been in companies that operated with an extremely competitive culture and mindset and worked alongside people who were hypercompetitive. In one instance, it became so competitive that a company was forced to cancel a fundraising event because employees had taken things too far the prior year. One of the techniques I’ve discovered to redirect and channel hypercompetitive employees’ energy is to get them to work TOGETHER by reframing internal competition from competing AGAINST one another in the SAME COMPANY to competing AGAINST a ..read more

NOTE: I am reviewing this I-O psychology textbook from a reader’s perspective (i.e., the student’s/learner’s point of view) and not from an instructor’s perspective. In the preface and addressing a student audience, Dr. Aamodt wrote: “The text is written at a level designed to help you [the student] understand the material rather than at a level designed to show off the author’s vocabulary” (Aamodt, 2023, p. xv). Yes, the purpose of a textbook is to get students interested in a subject so it makes sense to use a writing style that is readable. I examined SIX topics: (1) training and developme ..read more

Photo: Screenshots of Apple 1984 Super Bowl TV Commercial I have been in companies that operated with an extremely competitive culture and mindset and worked alongside people who were hypercompetitive. In one instance, it became so competitive that a company was forced to cancel a fundraising event because employees had taken things too far the prior year. One of the techniques I’ve discovered to redirect and channel hypercompetitive employees’ energy is to get them to work TOGETHER by reframing internal competition from competing AGAINST one another in the SAME COMPANY to competing AGAINST a ..read more

NOTE: I am reviewing this I-O psychology textbook from a reader’s perspective (i.e., the student’s/learner’s point of view) and not from an instructor’s perspective. In the preface and addressing a student audience, Dr. Aamodt wrote: “The text is written at a level designed to help you [the student] understand the material rather than at a level designed to show off the author’s vocabulary” (Aamodt, 2023, p. xv). Yes, the purpose of a textbook is to get students interested in a subject so it makes sense to use a writing style that is readable. I examined SIX topics: (1) training and developme ..read more

A terrific book I finished last year (in 2021) is Think Again by Adam Grant. Grant says the ability to rethink (or think again) and unlearn habits is as important as the ability to think and learn. We should spend as much time rethinking our problems and our assumptions as we do thinking about them. Successful people adopt a mental flexibility that allows them to be skilled rethinkers. Rethinkers embrace being wrong and failing, while also updating their views. Here’s a great, but tragic example: In 1994, on Storm King Mountain in Colorado, high winds caused a fire to explode across a gulch ..read more

A terrific book I finished last year (in 2021) is Think Again by Adam Grant. Grant says the ability to rethink (or think again) and unlearn habits is as important as the ability to think and learn. We should spend as much time rethinking our problems and our assumptions as we do thinking about them. Successful people adopt a mental flexibility that allows them to be skilled rethinkers. Rethinkers embrace being wrong and failing, while also updating their views. Here’s a great, but tragic example: In 1994, on Storm King Mountain in Colorado, high winds caused a fire to explode across a gulch ..read more

Back in 2013, I was contacted by a journalist (who’s now editor) for Fast Company about my thoughts regarding how U.S. firms are searching social networks for job applicants’ information. And while it’s been nearly 9 years since her article (link below in Reference section) was published, I feel that everything I shared with her then still applies (and perhaps is even more relevant) today. I am reposting my response to her questions in its entirety below in a “Question and Answer” or “Q & A” format. Question: I’m wondering if you would be willing to comment from a recruiter’s perspective ..read more

“The time-honored tradition of defining career development in terms of promotions, moves, or title changes is dead.” -Julie Winkle Giulioni (Promotions Are So Yesterday) “The stakes associated with perpetuating the old definition of career and career development are too high. The need for skillful, engaged, contributing employees becomes greater by the day. And continuing to confuse career development with attaining specific positions will only limit the growth that both employees and organizations need.” -Julie Winkle Giulioni (Promotions Are So Yesterday) “When climbing and moving are posi ..read more

I was contacted by a communications specialist for my thoughts regarding people who might be experiencing anxiety about having to go back to in-person workplaces. I am reposting my responses below. Question: How do you think the mental health of individuals may have changed in two years of working from home? Answer: There’s no question that the mental health of employees has changed as a result of working remotely, due to the COVID pandemic. Being isolated and working in isolation from others have added to the loneliness epidemic. Although not everyone is “alone,” especially if they work and ..read more

Back in 2013, I was contacted by a journalist (who’s now editor) for Fast Company about my thoughts regarding how U.S. firms are searching social networks for job applicants’ information. And while it’s been nearly 9 years since her article (link below in Reference section) was published, I feel that everything I shared with her then still applies (and perhaps is even more relevant) today. I am reposting my response to her questions in its entirety below in a “Question and Answer” or “Q & A” format. Question: I’m wondering if you would be willing to comment from a recruiter’s perspective ..read more