Readers Write...

First, Mark Silverstein from New York told us about two games – “Apples to Apples” and “Elfenland.” “Apples to Apples,” published originally by Out of the Box Publishing, and now by Mattel, is a card game suitable for groups and parties, ages 12 and up. During the game, the judge selects a “green apple” card containing an adjective. The remaining players then select from their “red apple” cards which noun is the best match for that adjective. The judge makes the decision, often selecting the noun that is the “most creative, humorous or interesting.” With an average playing time of 30 – 60 minutes, “Apples to Apples” can be creative fun at home or on the road. Mensa International chose “Apples to Apples” as a 1999 Mensa Select prizewinner, an award given to only five games each year.

“Elfenland,” published by Rio Grande Games, is a German-style board game suitable for individuals ages 10 and up. The game takes approximately 1 hour to play, ideally with 2 – 6 players. During the board game, which also uses cards and tiles, each player tries to reach as many cities as possible before returning to his / her “home city.”

Jeffrey Bassman of New Jersey also wrote in regarding his favorite game: “My favorite summertime board game was always Sorry! There’s nothing like sending the competition back to ‘Start’.”

Thank you for sharing your favorite board games with the Astronology community!

The President of your company drops in and asks you to put together a position description for one of his direct reports (who evolved into his job) to get ahead on the succession plan you’ve been working on. To help you out, he’s given you some phrases to use:

“Executive experience preferred.”
“Demonstrated leadership at lower levels.”
“Successful management history mandatory.”
“Necessary supervisory skills include. . . .”

Holding your head in your hands, you wonder, “What is he talking about? A leader? A supervisor? A manager? An executive?” Upon reflection, though, you realize that his well-meaning but confusing characterization of the position has been brought about by generations of bosses and HR folks using all those terms somewhat interchangeably. Except, they’re not.

No, we’re not going to refer to the dictionary here. You could do that yourself--but then I’d be about 300 words short for this article (and since I’m paid by the word. . . .). Let’s instead put together some “operational definitions” of these not-so-interchangeable terms. We want to preserve the distinctiveness of each, yet still include how they are linked together.

Think of your company as a group of people all walking together in a big field to get to the other side (where those “Big Profits” are). They line up more or less single file by departments and go.

Out in front, several yards ahead, is The Leader. Facing forward, eyes on the objective, setting the pace, observing the terrain ahead, and never looking back at the people in the company so that he never has to take his eyes off the goal.

Right behind The Leader is The Manager. But The Manager is walking backwards, back-to-back with The Leader, looking always at the company’s people. He’s watching to see that everyone is keeping up and staying in line. He doesn’t need to look where he’s headed because he and The Leader are in constant communication and The Manager has confidence that The Leader isn’t going to take him right across a rock or something where he might stumble and fall.

The Supervisor is off to the side where he can hear The Leader, make eye-contact with The Manager, and watch over the individuals in the company. There might even be more than one Supervisor, each responsible for his grouping of the company. He may get up close to his people to offer words of encouragement, gentle help to those who are getting a little out of position or not maintaining the right pace, and giving suggestions to the team to keep them together. He’s never too far ahead where he can’t see the people, not too close that he sees only a few of them (except when he moves in to provide some of that individual guidance), and not so far behind to where the people get ahead of him and he loses contact with The Manager.

The Executive is detached. He’s already been checking out the perimeter of the field to find where those “Big Profits” are, and then waving a big flag so The Leader can know which direction to go, maybe North-by-Northwest.

Do you recognize these characters in your company? See how they’re all different? They all have essential roles, must work together, but are always distinct from the rank-and-file. Understanding the differences, then recruiting, training, and evaluating appropriately, you can make your organization stronger and better able to get to those “Big Profits.”

And The Boss? Well, not that it’s going to help anything, but he’s well behind everybody, shouting “HUT-2-3-4!”

Richard L. Virgilio, SPHR, is an occasional contributor to Astronology. Rich is the owner of Intrepid HR Consulting, a partner of TKR Human Performance Systems, and Practice Manager and CFO of a financial services firm in Augusta, Georgia. He may be reached by e-mail: rlvirgilioga@yahoo.com.

With nearly 200 concurrent sessions, attendees had their choice of educational tracks, including employment law and legislation, international HR, personal and skill development, strategic management, talent management, and total rewards. Certified attendees were able to earn up to 14 recertification credits in 72 hours. Of special interest was the large number of sessions approved for Global and California recertification credit. HR’s impact on the recovering economy, and vice versa, was a common theme throughout the presentations. Healthcare reform also generated a lot of buzz.

The talk of the conference was Monday’s keynote presentation by the Honorable Al Gore. In speaking with attendees, I heard mixed reviews. All were impressed with having him at our conference, and praised SHRM for consistently attracting headliners to our annual events. However, some attendees found part of his presentation to be a bit political for the venue. Gore encouraged SHRM Annual Conference attendees to see opportunities rather than crises. Additionally, Gore encouraged everyone to focus on the long-term rather than short-term quick fixes.

HRCI continued their marketing campaign letting all HR professionals know that the upcoming Winter 2010 – 2011 testing window is the last time HRCI will administer the PHR, SPHR, and GPHR exams under the current eligibility requirements. If you’ve been thinking about sitting for any of these exams, now’s the time to take action! You can learn more about the new eligibility requirements at http://www.hrci.org/2011_Exam_Eligibility/.

Traffic in the exhibit hall was stronger than in New Orleans or Chicago. Besides fostering a number of business conversations, the venue provided a great opportunity to catch up with clients, colleagues, and friends!

Approximately 65 attendees participated in the SHRM annual “voluntourism” program. Co-sponsored with the USO, the SHRM volunteers stuffed care packages for military personnel stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan during a day’s visit to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

In a surprising move, SHRM brought back Hall and Oates – performers from a few conferences ago – to close out the conference on a high note! A number of attendees also enjoyed the Sunday evening Toni Braxton concert sponsored by Ashford University. It was a cold night by the harbor, but the music and energy kept attendees warm!

Missed this year’s conference? We’ll see you June 26 – 29, 2010 in Las Vegas!