The company, in fifteen months, went from 69 employees to nearly 120. Two dozen transfers due to assimilation, plus three dozen new hires, minus a smattering of mostly voluntary terminations filled the time between payroll, benefits, open enrollment, recruitment and the typical humdrum of Human Resources Services Requests.

My well intentioned plans of efficiency first then hire second was not feasible. By mid December, the strategic plan was modified to deal with reality. The job was announced at a job fair, followed by an online posting, then an announcement at the monthly HR chapter meeting. Publicly, I’m looking for pick of the litter. Privately, I’m torn between protege or partner. What I don’t want is a positional competitor. The interview process will reveal the path.

The first rush through the six dozen resumes was completed this evening yielding three dozen that met the blended requirements of HR experience, college degree and/or S/PHR certification. Ambition and potential were read into and between the lines. Some cover letters were succinct, others elaborative, some were blank. Too many resumes we’re job description litanies, others were strengthened wapiti supportable results.

Now that this first rush through is complete, I will pause to reflect on what the company truly needs. And the on boarding process needs to be mapped out.

This being blogging from my iPhone first. Then later on mastering the same from my iPad. IF others can, then so can I.

Nice to have the options of platforms – desktop, iPad, & iPhone; along with connectivity via tethered, wifi, & 3G. What a world we live in now.

My background: I am a retired Air Force veteran with 21 years of service. For the past twelve years, I have been and remain a professional human resource manager. Today, I am writing to you about my 401(k).

I have voluntarily made my sacrifices of service to protect, defend and extend the freedoms, liberties, and national security of America. I remain ready to make further economic sacrifices in order to protect, defend and extend the future economic security of America.

My goal with my 401(k) is to be independent from the social security entitlement that may or may not exist in the future. My conservative funds selection model – balances growth with capital preservation – typically serves me well with annual returns over time approaching 10%. Using available planning models, I extend the projections out to the year of my retirement. Two weeks ago, these planning models showed a sturdy balance that would allow comfortable monthly distributions. Now, using this same standard model, the balance is anemic with monthly distributions best described as poverty stricken. I sure hope something is left for me in the social security coffers.

THIS IS YOUR FAULT. You and your colleagues are not up to the task of collaborating together and doing what is best for America – the land we love. There is no pride of service in Congress. There is no humility in having been selected to do the job that is not getting done. Instead we persistently hear about the inferior problem solving method of compromise, simply defined as win/LOSE. And Americans are now the world’s biggest losers.

IF you were an employee of mine and I was your human resource manager, you would be on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP). Since you are an employee of mine, here is your PIP. Your August vacation request (recess) is hereby revoked and suspended until your performance improves to the point of solid citizen confidence & sentiment. Your pay has been suspended until steps 1 through 4 are complete.

Now, let’s talk about the elements of your performance improvement plan.

1. There is an inferior mob of 87 republican members of congress that can be overcome with bipartisan strength. Republicans need to join with Democrats to create a collaborative consensus to defeat these few miscreants into the insignificance they have proven to deserve. Instead of adjourning to private party-based caucuses to strategize, create a public caucus to serve We The People. Instead of weakly compromising, where 1+1 equals less than 2, collaborate so that 1+1 is greater than 2. We The People deserve greater, not less.

2. Freeze all entitlement spending, public sector pay raises, and programmed spending at the rates of the last congressionally approved budget. Then scrutinize benefits eligibility criteria and benefits level. The goal here is to tighten eligibility while reducing benefits to sustainable levels.

3. Tax reform, aka revenue restoration.
3.1. The following measures are to be taken with the philosophy that it is time to expand and extend the shared sacrifices that will unite all, not divide most.
3.2. Implement a full three-year phased return of the President Bush era, now extended by President Obama, tax cuts. Across the board, no exceptions. More Americans will share in the economic sacrifices needed to first eliminate deficit spending and then start paying down the debt.
3.2.1. One of the principles our country was founded on was against taxation without representation. We are now at the other extreme of representation without taxation. Everyone needs some $kin in the game to counter & crush the sentiment that we are spending someone else’s money.
3.3. Simplify the tax code through loophole elimination and mitigation. Start with second mortgage and vacation home interest deductions. Don’t stop there, keep going.

4. Instead of having another doomed-to-fail deficit reduction committee, implement the proposals from President Obama’s debt commission. Washington is infamous with kicking the can down the road through committees and commissions, then into inaction. This demonstrated a lack of courage is a strong contributing factor to the current weak citizen confidence and sentiment.

5. Your pay is now restored. Take a well-deserved two week vacation.

Yes, each of these proposals will cost me money. I’m okay with that. I will adjust. All I want is for my 401(k) growth to return to positive.

WHEN – IF is not acceptable – you get these things done, citizen and consumer confidence & sentiment will be restored. The economy will be strengthened. We The People will prosper once again.

The Oxford Dictionary provides contextual appropriate definitions.
Endowed: provide with a quality, ability, or asset
Life: the existence of an individual human being
Liberty: the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one’s behaviour or political views
Pursuit: the action of pursuing something; pursue: engage in (an activity or course of action):
Happiness: the state of feeling or showing pleasure or contentment

I posted the following question on SHRM’s HRTalk bulletin board, “Are you happy?” as the title of the posting and with the well-known sentence from America’s Declaration of Independence as the message content/context. Sixteen responses were affirmative. None were negative. Several contrasted the theme with divergent views.

The most telling diversion was an idea that we are ‘promised’ happiness. The word is not used, or implied, in the Declaration of Independence. There is no promise made or implied in the Declaration of Independence. The true operating word is endowed. We are endowed by our Creator.

Endowed is intrinsic, that which lies within us, our own self-reliance. A promise is extrinsic, that which someone else will give us, a dependency upon others. And there lies the heart, core and bottom of America’s political chasm, perhaps even human nature itself. Liberals want to create & sustain cultures of dependencies which, in a sublime sense, enable denial of responsibility. Conservatives want to create a self-sustaining culture of self-reliance through opportunities & responsibilities.

My personal political philosophy is in between, on the libertarian edge of the middle. Dependencies need to be transitory, paved with the opportunities and incentives towards self-reliance. This is true liberty.

There is logical flow through the three unalienable rights. First is life, our existence. Next is liberty, the freedom from imposed, accepted and enabled oppression. Dependencies are oppressions. Only then can we achieve the independence of self-reliance to pursue happiness.

But how do you know if & when you are happy? What role does the government created by men play to protect, preserve, defend & extend your right to pursue happiness?

Through my twitter account, I read the following article, ‘The Pursuit of Happiness’: How Do Communities Make Us Happy? from the Atlantic. The following is presented as the modern era quest to answer this very question.

The government of the Himalayan country of Bhutan seems to think so. In particular, Bhutan surveys its citizens in nine key aspects of happiness:
• Psychological well-being
• Physical health
• Time or work-life balance
• Social vitality and connection
• Education
• Arts and culture
• Environment and nature
• Good government
• Material well-being

The use of a “gross national happiness” index has been a policy of Bhutan now for nearly four decades.
The quest is also being replicated in places like Victoria, British Columbia and Seattle. Gallup has polled and reported on similar intent.

So, as you enjoy this Independence Day, I leave you with this one question, “Are You Happy?”
 

I am leaving all the typos in. The ones mostly caused by the avsent index dinger. My prodessional wodk is done predominantly at the – paywoll, benedits administration, and most recelntly, a bout of doresnix accounting done with payeoll ecords and excel spreadsheets. Unlike this brief anecdoctal stoey, I lavously corrected all typos. Ecen now, I find myself automatiacally stretching doe the cackspace and doucusing on ocer-riding the ledt index fingees leaened automatic keysteoke.

According to a touch typing aeticl at Wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touch_typing the followinf keys aee assigned to the left index finger: 4,6,R,T,F,H,V,& B. with the ledt index dinfer grounfrd on the F key.

Five moe weeks of healing are medically requied. I will remain medically compliant with doctoea orders and peobanlly learn seven fingers typing. Then the real challenfe retuens – excuse dree touch typing.

Human resources, through development, coaching and accountability creates & encourages engaged employees.

Human services enables legacy entitlementality and has no true core incentive to elevate humanature through and to its fullest potential

At some point in time, there should be, could be, No Line On The Horizon.

Then the migration began towards and forward into the digital data era. Instead of bound books, convention attendees were issued thumb drives. Mine remains in my desk drawer.

Now the material avaliable online, in the cloud, with standard login/password protocol. (we seemed to have skipped the convention on a CD stage.)

The final limiting factor is each attendee’s IT resources. The standard desktop is tethered by the high speed/capacity of ethernet cabling. (yes, some folks printed out the handouts and brought them along.) Laptop computers with wifi are on option that seemed to be in less favor this year. Downright bulky when compared to the prevalent smart phones. Smart phones are capable devices, but the interface requires the delicate stroke of elfin fingers.

In between, and in my opinion and experience, is the emerging and market place competitive tablet computers. Lead by Apple’s iPad, an upsized iPhone. The Maine HR Convention became my proving and convincing grounds.

In the past, I always took copious notes on the standard 8-1/2″ by 11″ pad of paper, clasped and grasped in a portfolio binder. Which I fully intended to bring with me as I have always done. But I forgot it. IT IS still, most likely still, on my desk at work. These notes were then, well intended to be, transcribed into a document which became my trip report and action/ best intentions plan. Now, the challenge became, USE the iPad.

Notes were taken. Selected notes were copied and pasted over to Twitter using the convention hashtag #MEHRC2011 for broadcast to the world. Others watched, discretely, covertly, and openly. When a presenter mentioned a website, I could and did access it on the fly, benchmarking it for future return reference. Talk about near seamless & integrated efficiency. It didn’t take long at all, to never miss at all, my traditional pad of paper and fully rely on my iPad.

This blog posting is being finished on Saturday morning. In my east- looking, second floor, forest viewing sanctuary. The iPad iPod feature is playing U2 and I am done writing. This blog entry will mature with silent reflection, then make it over to here where you are now reading all about it.

Get an iPad. You will not regret the joyous efficiency.

Sent from my iPad, to my desktop, for final posting at www.mainehrcafe.com

Credit cards have become the crack cocaine of addictive financial convenience. There is no reason for Sony, Amazon, iTunes, You.Name.It.com et al, to store customer credit cards after completion of the currentransaction. No more one-click and you now own it. No More. I’m heading back to the world of cash and let the store owners recover their profits while denying the credit card crack dealers more of their share of the profit pie. I’m a recovering financial addict from crack plastic.

Privacy Matters.