Attract, Engage & Retain Top Talent

Brian has recently co-authored the book Attract, Engage & Retain Top Talent: 50 Plus One Strategies Used by the Best.

From the book's introduction:

"Forward-thinking leaders have discovered that an opportunity exists to thrive in the competitive marketplace by better engaging the hearts and minds of employees--and in Attract, Engage & Retain Top Talent we explore a myriad of approaches for doing just that. The ideas within these pages emerge from our experiences and lessons learned from organizations seeking to excel by unleashing the talent of their people. Leadership is both art and science. Building your organization into a prefered employer with an engaged workforce and a culture that retain the right people doing the right things requires inspiration and hard work. We hope that this book will serve as a blueprint or at the very least an idea generator for the creation or recreation of your desired place to work."

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Humor in the Workplace

Laughter is healthy. Healthy people laugh. Do it at work. As much as you can get away with. And if you don't have the type of people who naturally laugh together while working, that doesn't necessarily mean something is seriously wrong (a pun there, sorry).

Use props to generate some smiles and laughter at the right moments. I like to use quotes from dysfunctional philosophers such as Douglas Adams (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Restaurant at the End of the Universe, So Long, And Thanks for All the Fish), Scott Adams (Dilbert), Larry Kersten (Despair, Inc.) or Jack Handey (Deep Thoughts, Deeper Thoughts, and Deepest Thoughts).

About Interviewing Skills: "When you go for a job interview, I think a good thing to ask is if they ever press charges." Jack Handey

About Facilitating Q&A Sessions: "If there are no stupid questions, then what kind of questions do stupid people ask? Do they get smart just in time to ask questions?" Scott Adams

About Openness and Problem-Solving: "Frankly, I'm suspicious of anyone who has a strong opinion on a complicated issue." Scott Adams

About Punctuality: "I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." Douglas Adams

About Myopic Thinking: "It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes." Douglas Adams

About Risk-Taking: "Nothing travels faster than the speed of light with the possible exception of bad news, which obeys its own special laws." Douglas Adams

Political Commentary: "Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job." Douglas Adams

About Inclusion: "I hope if dogs ever take over the world, and they chooose a king, they don't just go by size, because I bet there are some Chihuahuas with some good ideas." Jack Handey

"Incompetence - When you earnestly believe you can compensate for a lack of skill by doubling your efforts, there's no end to what you can't do." Larry Kersten

"Procrastination: Hard work often pays off after time, but laziness pays off now." Larry Kersten

Enjoy.... And smile a little! Now.

Or now.

In Progress: Attract, Engage and Retain Top Talent

I am working on a book with Donna de St. Aubin entitled Attract, Engage and Retain Top Talent: 50 Plus One Strategies Used by the Best (Author House Books). The whole idea of the book is to provide reasonable, practical concepts and ideas for leaders in small or large organizations to enhance their ability to create a workforce of engaged people who stay and contribute to the organization's success, and are happy to do so.

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Below are two excerpts (draft form) from Chapter 25 - Act with Virtue.

Most of us try hard to follow the advice from our youth to play nice and get along with others. But many leaders might wonder whether there really is business value in investing time and resources to build a nice organization where good values are woven into the fabric of work life. The point of view of this chapter is that positive business outcomes occur when an organization lives by its values; when employees are proud of the inherent and visible goodness of their organization.

Virtues are the best of the human condition; the most ennobling behavior and outcomes, the highest aspirations of human beings. Plato and Aristotle described virtuousness as the desires and actions that produce personal and social good. (Pg. 48 of Positive Organizational Scholarship.) In the chapter on Virtues and Organizations from the book entitled Positive Organizational Scholarship (edited by Cameron, Dutton, and Quinn), Park and Peterson state that “organizational-level virtues are characteristics of organizations that contribute to the fulfillment of its members.”

...And later... To summarize all of this; demonstrations of virtue by organizational leaders serve as a source of identity and pride for employees. Virtuous actions create an upward spiral of positive emotions, having an amplifying effect and creating positive social capital. Positive emotions and social capital are the currency that creates great performance through collaboration, healthy colleague and customer relationships, and desire to contribute; even beyond what is expected. A solid foundation of virtuousness can buffer an organization from the negative impact of trauma from events such as downsizing or other high-impact organizational changes.

Love as an Engaging Force in the Workplace

Employee engagement is a huge topic for Chief Financial Officers, Chief Learning Officers, HR practitioners and enterprise leaders of all stripes. It is clear that those who are lucky or good enough to have a high percentage of engaged workers in the workforce do better, financially and by their customers, in the marketplace.

From what I've learned, there are many paths that help to engage the hearts and minds of your talent. I believe that when one seeks to turn around a situation where workforce disengagement is par for the course (golf pun intended) you can't start with an intent to manipulate the numbers to look successful--there are not shortcuts. I believe that engaging others in their work starts with a heartful intent to help people thrive and flourish where they work--out of love for the people. Doesn't this put the right wind in the right sails going in the right direction?

I've found that many of the management arts and practices start first with a positive intent to do the right things by those around you. When this isn't part of your mental, emotional or motivational framework, it is much easier to make the bigger mistakes. When you wish health for others, you effectively support wellness. When you really want to fully empathize with another, you listen well. When you really want someone to succeed at something, it is hard to coach poorly. It starts with an intent to love and support others so that they flourish around you. Just an idea...

A Loving Nation

"The greatest of these is love"--it isn't just a sentiment for individuals, lovers and friends. It applies to nations and our global family, too! When the crazy time started with September 11, 2001, and the Bush administration began to threaten prosecuting a War on Terrorism in early 2002, my late Dad and I pounded a sign into his frozen yard saying, "War is not the answer!" In fact, warring becomes part of long-lasting hatred and intentions of revenge. I said it then, and I'll say it now--the best thing to do is to be more understanding and compassionate. Make THIS the job of the President of the United States...travel the world and visit with leaders and wise stakeholders to truly understand the issues, and act in ways that show compassion, courage, sensitivity, understanding and love to the people's of all nations. Until it hurts. Because war is not the answer. It creates much larger problems. If we are a nation founded on principles that respect the rights of our citizens and the humanity of all people, regardless of race, culture or creed--then it is intolerable when we are intolerant of others, and when we hurt others in the name of our own interests. I know this is not a simple or easy guideline, it is probably the most complex undertaking of all in a very complex time. But that's what it will take to bring a higher level of maturity to a hurting world, and to be ambassadors of love to those who hate. What would that look like? I don't know--but I want to see it.

Brian Carlsen

The Core of It

"The greatest of these is Love." This is a sentiment that rings through the centuries and still lies at the core of things today. And will tomorrow. We are all connected, people. In ways the we can barely fathom, even in our most true moments. The way we treat people returns to us. Our heart and intent fashions our future.

In my professional life, I am an employee training and organizational development specialist. When I choose this career (to be a trainer within business), the intrinsic value or central purpose was to contribute to bettering the quality of worklife of others. People in the midst of their career spend a majority of their waking days during the week at work. Is that a good part of their life or not. Don't we contribute to the overwall level of joy, satisfaction and personal fulfillment by being passionate and compassionate professionals? If I currently have a professional purpose or mission, it is to maximize the opportunities I have to positively influence the quality of worklife of those I serve and with whom I work. It's not a bad road to be on.

There are so many areas of research and experience that touch on this core idea that I may explore them in installments. I am talking about hot topics (or even more esoteric ones) related to human/work interface such as:

• Employee engagement
• Good boss/bad boss behaviors
• Positive organizational psychology
• Virtue in the workplace
• Spirit at work
• ...and many more.

What is your interest?