Here We Are. Now What?

In the picture to the left, you are seeing the matzo ball soup team from 2016. Pictured with me are my sister-in-law Susan and her daughter Victoria. We were making soup with love for a gathering after Holy Thursday services at my church. We have been hosting this gathering for many years now. We call it "Holy Fest" and it's our way of celebrating the ending of the season of Lent and the starting of the Triduum, the three days that culminate in Easter. Because many of those who attend Holy Fest are members of our church choir, we sing through the score to "Jesus Christ Superstar" during the party. It's a true highlight of the year, as several of us who love to sing can "let loose" and enact the drama of the passion of Jesus. You might say that Holy Fest is sort of our Seder tradition. Now back to the soup. In the past several years, a problem developed with the soup: the balls did not hold together, disintegrating into loose mush. What was causin…

In the past few years, there has been a growing movement in HR called "Employee Experience" or EX for short.
Taking a page from the Customer Service field, where a great deal of thought and energy has gone into CX, for Customer Experience, these smart HR leaders have started to recognize that employees, like customers, have experiences whereby they form impressions --good or bad-- of their employer.
Stop and think about some of the ways that employees experience their employers... The candidate who is flown from New Jersey to California for an interview and enjoys the treatment he receives including having all expenses paid by the company.The new hire who goes through an onboarding process that is informative and enjoyable, and includes one-on-ones with key people in the organization.The employee who sits with her manager on an annual basis for a development planning discussion that also touches on career development.The soon-to-retire employee who is recognized for their se…

Quite a few of my clients wonder if they should change their career path and go into consulting.Yesterday, I was being interviewed by someone who is thinking of making just such a career change. He had asked if he could "pick my brains" about what I do and how I do it.At one point in the call, he interjected that "It sounds like you are a counselor or a coach quite often." I responded that I prefer to use the term consultant.In my view, we are consultants because we are there to help the client achieve his or her goals. As a consultant, we bring a deep capability, but we don't apply it like a cookie cutter. Rather, we listen, assess, and recommend, using what Edgar Schein would call "humble inquiry."My interviewer pressed me to describe my process so I attempted to describe it (see below)...but added that actual engagements are seldom so neat and linear. Consulting ProcessPhase 1: Assess - Start with where my client "is at" right now. Explo…