The Other Side of Life 24/7: The Cynical Girl: Let me introduce you to some new women.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

The Cynical Girl: Let me introduce you to some new women.

Let me introduce you to some new women.
Monday Morning HR Humor: Biggie Smalls
The week ahead starts with September 15, 2013.

Posted: 16 Sep 2013 06:45 AM PDT

I am working on an event called InfluenceHR. It is a marketing conference for people who sell technology to HR professionals.

Because I am in charge of programming the event and selecting speakers, I get to meet talented and smart women. Let me introduce you to some of them.

Madeline Laurano is one of our keynote speakers. Her official title is “Research Director, Talent Acquisition Solutions at Aberdeen Group.” In my book, she is a star. Madeline is a professional, thoughtful, transparent analyst who understands the way that corporate policy, politics and technology intersects human resources. Her keynote at Influence HR is called, “Debunking the Myth of the Analyst.”

Cheryl Swirnow is the co-founder of Sherpaa, a company that wants to think about healthcare differently. The company aims to make healthcare tech-savvy, transparent, simple. But Cheryl isn’t a technologist. She graduated from Cornell's Hotel School with a concentration in human resources. With fifteen years experience in HR, she has worked for the likes of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Quintessentially, Nike, The Barbarian Group and Rent the Runway. Cheryl proves that human resources can be entrepreneurial and innovative. She will be sharing insights on a panel of NYC-based entrepreneurs called, “Making the Market Shake Up and Down.”

Gretchen Alarcon is another rock star. She is Vice President of Human Capital Management Strategy at Oracle. Gretchen leads the strategy team responsible for applications that enable companies to align their workforce goals and business objectives. But when people talk about Gretchen, they talk about a woman who has keen insight on building relationships — personal and professional — and being a mentor and a friend. Her session is called, “The Networked Approach to Reaching the CHRO.”

Mary Ellen Slayter is Managing Director of Reputation Capital Media Services. I know her because she asked me to join an advisory board at SmartBrief, a leading publisher of email newsletters. You may have read Mary Ellen’s work at The Washington Post where she authored the Career Track column and worked as an editor in the business news department. Mary Ellen has become one of my closest friends — and I use that word seriously — in this weird world of social media. She is moderating a panel called, “The Importance of Customer Advocacy in the HCM Market.”

Lorna Hagen is awesome. She is the VP of People at Ondeck and the former VP of Human Resources at ANN INC., where she led HR and talent practices for their LOFT and e-commerce divisions. My niece works for ANN at their corporate headquarters in NYC and loves her job, so I knew my connection with Lorna would be meaningful. When I asked Lorna if she wanted to bring her HR expertise to a panel on marketing, she jumped at the chance. Lorna will be speaking on a panel called, “Break Through the Noise and Get Heard by HR.”

Last but not least, I want you to meet Susy Jackson. She is an editor and writer based in New York City. She’s been an editor at the Harvard Business Review and is currently with Time Magazine. I met Susy when she called and asked if I wanted to go to SXSW and speak on a panel sponsored by the Harvard Business Review. (Duh. I said yes and it changed my life.) Susy is moderating our panel on NYC-based entrepreneurs in the HCM space.

There you go. Six new women in the fields of technology, employment, marketing and human resources. If you are a recruiter, you should be on LinkedIn in sixty seconds. If you are a person who wants to network, go find and follow these women on Twitter.

Don’t waste an opportunity to expand your circles, okay?

(And if you work in marketing and want to attend InfluenceHR, let us know via email. We have an excellent discount code. But no pressure. Really. Go connect with those fabulous women, okay?)

Monday Morning HR Humor: Biggie Smalls

Posted: 16 Sep 2013 03:45 AM PDT

I’m following a new animal Instagram account. Join me!

(Via @buzzfeed and like 100 other friends!)

The week ahead starts with September 15, 2013.

Posted: 15 Sep 2013 03:45 AM PDT

Hello, everyone. Happy Sunday.

Just a quick update on articles and media appearances for the week. No Sunday talk show appearances. No national news outlets. No op-ed pieces on Syria.

So, yeah, it’s pretty much like every week this summer. I will be at the beach.

And oh yeah . . . we are coming up on an important anniversary. Today marks five years since the economy went into the toilet. Remember when George Bush told us to go shopping and spend money after 9/11? Remember how you were encouraged to take out a home equity loan and get that addition on your house and that fancy new kitchen? Remember when you bought your new car? And then remember the financial collapse where banks were bailed out but you weren’t? And remember Lehman Brothers?

Bah. I don’t just blame George Bush. Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and AIG have escaped blame. No one has been prosecuted.

Five years isn’t a very long time. But five years will turn into ten and you will be arguing about guns, gays and abortion while the rich get richer.

But seriously keep your hands off my body, yo.

Have a great week!