Author Archives: Paul LaLonde

Too many businesses today are based on driving prices lower by screwing over somebody: pounding suppliers or squeezing employees. We’re the opposite. We put our employees first. If you take care of them, they will take care of your customers better than anybody else.  — Kip Tindell, CEO, Container Store For the first time in almostContinueContinue reading “Street Level Influencer – Meet Scott McCullough”

Beautiful painting of Thích Nhất Hạnh by TriDung Vo (http://www.tridungvo.com/) “Tomorrow, I will continue to be. But you will have to be very attentive to see me. I will be a flower, or a leaf. I will be in these forms, and I will say hello to you. If you are attentive enough, you will recognizeContinueContinue reading “Thích Nhất Hạnh and Lessons for HR Professionals”

“Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be. This is the interrelated structure of reality.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.  “Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do toContinueContinue reading “Change Yourself, Change the World”

“You should sit in meditation for 20 minutes a day. Unless you’re too busy, then you should sit for an hour.” – Zen Saying I’ve been wanting to write for a while now, but I’ve been struggling. Struggling for time, struggling for topics, struggling for motivation. All very human struggles. I’ve been thinking. A lotContinueContinue reading “Busy”

“I will keep constant watch over myself and — most usefully — will put each day up for review. For this is what makes us evil — that none of us looks back upon our own lives. We reflect upon only that which we are about to do. And yet our plans for the futureContinueContinue reading “A Year in Review: My Favorite 7 HR Philosopher Blog Posts”

Heaven can never be reached because we are flawed, yet virtues can help us live less flawed each day. “Virtue is a wealth, and all other good things that a man can have come from virtue.” — Socrates This is one of last blog posts for 2021. I don’t think I wrote as much asContinueContinue reading “The Cardinal Virtues: A Source of Inspiration for the New Year”

“There is no way to happiness, happiness is the way. There is no way to peace, peace is the way.” – Thich Nhat Hanh “I’m just doing my job,” I said. “Well, no one in HR has ever helped me in this way,” the employee returned. “I am sorry to hear that…” This is aContinueContinue reading “The Two Wolves: Compassionate HR”

“The world has changed. I see it in the water. I feel it in the Earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it.” – J.R.R. Tolkien Do you ever wonder about how much knowledge has been forgotten? How much has been lost toContinueContinue reading “Paul’s Top 5 Reads in 2021”

Wisconsin State SHRM Conference SMILE Team members! “We all have to make decisions that affect the course of our lives.” – “Doc” Emmet Brown The last in-person conference I attended was the SHRM National Conference in Las Vegas. No, not the one that was just held this past September, but the one held in JuneContinueContinue reading “Back to the Future! A #WISHRM21 Guide to Help You Prepare for In-Person Conferences!”

Banner concept of innovation, creativity and imagination “It’s time to redefine HR. … I’m talking about our capabilities. Our impact. How we develop and support each other to evolve our field. This is about shaking free of legacy perceptions and dogma of our past and building something new.” – Lars Schmidt, from Redefining HR: TransformingContinueContinue reading “Future Ready HR! A #WISHRM21 Interview with THE Jennifer McClure!!!”