Author Archives: Paul LaLonde

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” – Maya Angelou This post is about a great many folks who’ve inspired me to change myself for the better in many ways. A few years ago, I began exploring the concept of a “street level influencer.” You can seeContinueContinue reading “Street Level Influencers: Black Leaders Who’ve Influenced Me”

“What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor, and more unashamed conversation.” – Glenn Close On Tuesday February 28th, my friends and colleagues Tiffany Toussaint, Claire Stroh, Erich Kurschat, and I are putting on a FREE Pop-Up Roundtable to discuss mental health in the workplace and how HR should approach this topic. I hopeContinueContinue reading “Panel Preview: Why Discuss Mental Health?”

Photo by Edward Eyer on Pexels.com “But if your work is your art, a personal reflection of who you are, the only person who can do that better than you, is a future you.” — Bill Crawford My wife and I love cooking shows. The other evening, we were watching Chef’s Table: Pizza on Netflix.ContinueContinue reading “HR Is Art”

“…a mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone. That’s why I read so much, Jon Snow.” – Tyrion Lannister Reading is a gateway to wisdom. Harry Truman was quoted as saying, “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” Whether you’re leading a multiunit HR team, or leading an HR departmentContinueContinue reading “Paul’s Top Five Reads in 2022”

Photo by Jacub Gomez on Pexels.com “Karma means your life is your making. Karmic accumulation can either be a Boost or Burden – that is your choice.” — Sadhguru I just finished the article “What Will HR Look Like in 2030?” I’m strategic. I want to know that I am three moves ahead. So, IContinueContinue reading “HR’s Karma: Legacy HR Must Pass”

“If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” – African Proverb The restorative power of conferences is well known or should be. We go to conferences for many reasons – learning and development, the primary one, but these events can be so much more if one decidesContinueContinue reading “#WISHRM22: A Recap of Conferencing Exploits!“

Photo by S Migaj on Pexels.com “Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” — Leo Tolstoy Note: I wrote this as a random scattering of thoughts following a tumultuous June. Mass shootings, the end of Roe v. Wade, January 6th Hearings – a United States in crisis. It wasContinueContinue reading “Change Only Thyself”

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com “When you dominate other people’s emotions, the time has to come when you have to pay, and heavily, for that privilege.” – Ethel Waters “Force can overcome force, but a free society cannot long steel itself to dominate another people by sheer force.” – Dean Acheson I got my firstContinueContinue reading “It’s Not About the Tattoos”

Thich Nhat Hanh fake oil painting by Alvin Alexander “Thích Nhất Hạnh is a real poet.” – Robert Lowell I have maintained since day one of writing this blog that philosophy offers professionals a difference making outlook on life, work, love, and everything. To me, philosophy is about living one’s best life and acting onContinueContinue reading “Nine Quotes by Thích Nhất Hạnh That Could Change the Way You Do HR (and Life)“