What is interesting about recent data released from the unemployment perspective is that, unlike in most recessions, productivity has not gone down. This is generally likely to mean one of two things: a) that people are working longer hours and their longer hours aren’t being documented or b) there have been a lot of layoffs in the general and administrative type of functions through our economy. If the latter has happened, it tells me that when the economy recovers, it’s going to come back solidly from a job perspective, because productivity generally suffers during recessions. And if it hasn’t in this one, then that’s because companies are really lean as far as thei...

There have been a lot of press clips recently about inflated compensation, especially that of bankers. A lot of these are led by the Obama administration as well as the business world in general. The most intriguing thing I find is that there’s no one group that says a particular group makes too much. It’s always hedge fund managers saying CEOs and executives make too much, CEOs and executives saying venture capitalists make too much, the VCs saying bankers make too much, bankers saying entertainers make too much and entertainers saying professional athletes make too much, and so on. (And somewhere along the way we shouldn’t leave out the doctors as well.) Every group o...

The pace of change is quickening. How many times have you heard that? I have heard it plenty of times, and it is true, not just within an industry, geopolitical entity or by level of industrialization but across the board globally. How we choose to deal with change and its pace, both at an individual and at an organizational level will be critical to our long-term success.  The old notion that an organization can achieve a sense of long term stability in its customer base, product line, operating processes, or technology as it deals with an ever changing, increasingly complex, globalizing environment is an unrealistic one if the organization is to thrive and cope with ongoing signific...

Nothing in life is all good or all bad—everything has some positive and some negative aspects along the way. If you reflect about different facets of your life, you will realize that when life deals you a particular hand, it’s entirely up to you what you’re going to make of it or what value you will create out of it. When I was reflecting about the advantages of this downturn from a personal standpoint, I was immediately able to identify a couple. One was that it made me a lot more focused about what was important to Kenexa, and the result was that our business model became tighter. We will continue to maintain profitability through the downturn and continue to grow the bus...

The legend of the fountain of youth or variations upon that theme occurs in many cultures going back centuries. It is said to yield magical water that can restore and maintain your youthful self. Ah….to be young again. But maybe it is not all that it is cracked up to be or maybe it is? One aspect often associated with youthfulness is a sense of optimism about the future, an inherent sense of immortality and that nothing can strand in your way. No mountain is too high, no river too wide… no wait that was Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrel in 1966. Anyway, is there any evidence to support the notion that youthfulness brings with it a sense of optimism about the future?   In meas...