It was odd today (as a long-time Michigan State football fan) to read of Arkansas' hire of John L. Smith, as their interim head football coach.  Oy, this is painful....

Do they not recall his coaching gaffe (and subsequent rant) after MSU attempted a FG to go up 20-7 in Columbus in 2005 with seconds left in the 2nd quarter, only to have it blocked and returned for a defensive TD to make it 17-14 at the half.  "The kids are playing their tails off and the coaches are screwing it up!!!"


Do they not recall the slap he gave himself after his team gave up a 16 point lead in the fourth quarter to Notre Dame in 2006?



Do they not recall that he chose to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, instead of being present at his own coaching camp, thereby alienating several potential MSU recruits? What kind of leader does that?

Do they not recall that he was hired at his alma mater, Weber State, 3.5 months ago, and just finished his first spring practice, leaving them high and dry?  Of course, you have the typical coach speak at the time of that hire at Weber State, "I have made it to big time. I truly believe that. I'm back and happy to be here. And thankful" as well as:

Our goal is to make Weber State a national champion in football. OK? We're going to spout it ... We're going to tell recruits about it (including those who signed in February?). Come here if you want to be national champ. Because that's what we're going to get done. That dream is there. That goal is there.

I guess that's true...until Arkansas calls.


Do they not recall how he was hired to MSU in the first place, where his players learned of his pending departure to Michigan State at halftime of Louisville's 38-15 loss to Marshall in the GMAC Bowl on Dec. 18, 2002?  What kind of leader does that?


And all of this is even more ridiculous in light of the recent strife between Wisconsin basketball coach Bo Ryan and former recruit Jarrod Uthoff. In short, Uthoff, unhappy with his time spent at Wisconsin, decided he wanted to transfer, only to find himself blocked from going to a number of schools because Ryan thought he might play that team in the near future.  Coaches get a free pass to come and go, while players are at the mercy of the system.  Oy.

It makes you want to stop following sports at times.

Would you take a chance on a guy like Smith?

A couple of weeks ago, I explored the importance of sleep to creative problem solving.

As important, if not more, is exercise.  According to Gretchen Reynolds, in the April 18 New York Times, exercise helps to enhance creative thinking:

Last year a team of researchers led by Justin S. Rhodes, a psychology professor at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at the University of Illinois, gathered four groups of mice and set them into four distinct living arrangements. One group lived in a world of sensual and gustatory plenty, dining on nuts, fruits and cheeses, their food occasionally dusted with cinnamon, all of it washed down with variously flavored waters. Their “beds” were colorful plastic igloos occupying one corner of the cage. Neon-hued balls, plastic tunnels, nibble-able blocks, mirrors and seesaws filled other parts of the cage. Group 2 had access to all of these pleasures, plus they had small disc-shaped running wheels in their cages. A third group’s cages held no embellishments, and they received standard, dull kibble. And the fourth group’s homes contained the running wheels but no other toys or treats.

All the animals completed a series of cognitive tests at the start of the study and were injected with a substance that allows scientists to track changes in their brain structures. Then they ran, played or, if their environment was unenriched, lolled about in their cages for several months.

Afterward, Rhodes’s team put the mice through the same cognitive tests and examined brain tissues. It turned out that the toys and tastes, no matter how stimulating, had not improved the animals’ brains.

“Only one thing had mattered,” Rhodes says, “and that’s whether they had a running wheel.” Animals that exercised, whether or not they had any other enrichments in their cages, had healthier brains and performed significantly better on cognitive tests than the other mice. Animals that didn’t run, no matter how enriched their world was otherwise, did not improve their brainpower in the complex, lasting ways that Rhodes’s team was studying. “They loved the toys,” Rhodes says, and the mice rarely ventured into the empty, quieter portions of their cages. But unless they also exercised, they did not become smarter.

 Reynolds also notes that exercise does not have to be exhausting.  Simply engaging in something like walking enriched one's hippocampus.

Perhaps my elementary school teachers were on to something when we started calisthenics at the start of the school day.

However, with the need for exercise and naps (and even a drink now and then), when will work fit in?

Here is a simple selection scenario that sparked discussion at this weekend's North Central Region Student Conference: You have two candidates competing for a job.

One candidate is finishing up her undergraduate degree in a particular field, while the other is working on a Master's degree in the same field. You administer a work sample test for the job to both candidates. Holding all other things constant, on the test should

A) the two candidates be expected to answer the exact same questions, or
B) the candidate working on her Master's be asked significantly tougher questions?

What is your answer, and why?

I think the answer is obvious, but I want to hear what you have to say.

In the most recent ESPN- The Magazine,  Peter Keating highlights a study on sleep by Stanford researcher Cheri Mah, who explored the question, does extra sleep boost athletic achievement?

Over three seasons, from 2005 to 2008, the scientists looked at 11 Stanford basketball players.  For two to four weeks, the Cardinal kept to their normal schedules.  Then for five to seven weeks, they watched what they drank, took daytime naps and tried to sleep for 10 hours every night.  After increasing their daily rest, the players sprinted faster and said they felt better in practices and games.  Their aim got better too: Their three-point shooting humped 9.2 percentage points, and their free throw percentage increased by nine points.

What is responsible for this improved performance?  According to Keating:

Some of our genes act as internal clocks and release hormones according to cycles called circadian rhythms, which are triggered by darkness and light and alternate over 24-hour periods.  When we mess with these rhythms by not getting enough sleep, our metabolism of glucose (which gives us energy) declines, and our level of cortisol (which causes stress) increases.  Further, sleeping for longer stretches is naturally anabolic: During deep sleep, our bodies release growth hormone, which stimulates the healing and growth of muscle and bone.  So while it's possible to push through a lack of sleep during any one day, proper sleep helps athletes in two ways.  First, it boosts areas of performance that require top-notch cognitive function, like reaction time and hand-eye coordination.  Second, it aids recovery from tough games and workouts.

 HR professionals could glean a couple of insights from this study.  First, despite our best laid plans, our training, incentives, and motivation will likely have muted impact if employees are coming in tired.   Further, instead of stocking our refrigerators with Mountain Dew and 5 Hour Energy Drink, and keeping the coffee pot brewing, we would be better off setting up a number of nap rooms.

Thanks to the graciousness of my good friend Kelly and the kind people at the CBS television network, I just returned from New Orleans where I attended my 11th Final Four in the last 15 years.

In many ways, the Final Four is much like the SHRM Annual Conference:

• Lots of talk about talent - Like SHRM, there is a lot of discussion of talent.  In this case, the teams playing.  Will Kentucky easily dispatch its opponents (YES!).  Who will be loaded next year? Is one and done good for the business?
• There's recruiting - in this case, the Final Four represents a huge market for coaches, as many assistants look to make the jump to a head coaching position
•  The parties - instead of Monster. com throwing a bask with Natasha Beningfield, Turner/CBS threw two private shows with Kid Rock and Sammy hagar
• Celebrity sightings - At SHRM, it might be OMG...there's The Cyncial Girl, Laurie Ruettimann.  At the Final Four, it was Leo DiCaprio in our suite (where he soon was whisked by Kid Rock to the suite next door) or Lil Wayne a few suites down.
• Networking - Like SHRM, the Final Four is an opportunity to catch up and talk with people you may have not seen the event the previous year.

Which brings to Chicago Jerry. 

Who is he?  I don't know.  Why is he called "Chicago Jerry?" Your guess is as good as mine

Does he deal in imports and exports?  Is he a superagent to the stars?  Is he a small businessman from Poughkeepsie who simply loves basketball?  I don't know.  However, much like Bill Brasky, we have come to believe Chicago Jerry "can eat anything, can tolerate any amount of drugs and alcohol, is superhumanly tough, possesses a variety of other superhuman powers, has cheated death on numerous occasions, has no regard for the well-being of others, and has caused the death and maiming of many people."  No one dares talk to him for fear of ruining his near mythic status.

 Since attending my first Final Four in 1999, one of the constants has always been the presence of Chicago Jerry.  In some years, he would be among the first people I'd see as I walked into the hotel lobby.  In other years, it might be a couple of days, but Jerry would inevitably turn up.  This year?  Jerry was absent.  Days had passed and no one had sighted Jerry.  Then, with mere hours to go before heading to the airport, we were merrily cruising down Canal Street and there was Jerry.

Another Final Four is in the books, and it simply wouldn't be the same without Chicago Jerry.  I raise my glass and say, "To Chicago Jerry."

The state of Wisconsin has seen some tumultuous times with the election of Scott Walker as Governor, and the subsequent effective end of collective bargaining for most state employees.

However, one of the more intriguing outcomes from the 2011-2013 budget bill is the University of Wisconsin is charged with redesigning its human resource system.  Titled the "Human Resource Design Project," a group, known as the Badger Working Group, comprises representatives of employee and governance groups, and is guided by the following principles:

• Be transparent and collaborative.
• Include regular consultation with the elected governance bodies of the faculty, staff and students; alternative, nonelected groups may not substitute for the formal governance processes.
• Include stakeholder consultation and participation.
• Maintain open communications with UW System, which also will be developing a new personnel system for all system employees except those at UW-Madison.
• Include an examination of other organizations, particularly higher education institutions, with the goal of identifying best practices for UW-Madison.

Robert Lavigna, UW-Madison's Director of Human Resources, talks about the new Human Resources Design Project in the video below:

This project has significant involvement from a wide variety of constituencies across the UW-campus.  According to Darrell Bazzell, University of Wisconsin-Madison vice chancellor for administration:

This project is organized into an advisory committee and 11 work teams that represent stakeholders from across the campus, including faculty and staff, labor organizations and students. This diversity is allowing a wide range of perspectives to be represented. More than 150 members of the campus community are on these work teams, drafting initial recommendations to reform our personnel system. Part of their responsibility is to share information about the teams' progress with their constituent groups.

The project has not been without its hiccups in its early stages as there was concern whether meetings were transparent enough to allow the many voices to be heard.

It will be interesting to see how this project unfolds.  The old proverb of a "A camel is a horse designed by a committee" comes to mind.

Do people really want to see how the HR sausage is made?

A suggested gift for a fifth anniversary is wood.  It represents strength and a solidified relationship; its strong and long-lasting.  One recommended way to celebrate a fifth anniversary is to purchase tickets to a show, movie, sports event, concert, theatre, etc.

Well, HRevolution will be celebrating its fifth iteration October 7th with a return engagement to Chicago (home of the 2nd HRevolution unconference).  Like wood, the HRevolution event has grown from a small kernel of an idea to become one of the must attend HR conferences of the year; one whose branches extend far beyond the one day happening.   Its the little acorn that became the oak.   It is not only a great way to be on the cutting edge of HR knowledge, but it also provides an excellent opportunity to grow your professional network.  

In addition, as with the previous incarnation, the HRevolution crew are once again partnering with the HR Technology Conference.   By purchasing a ticket to HREvolution, you can get a $600 discount to attend HR Tech, which begins October 8.

So, come celebrate our 5th anniversary by joining us on October 7.  Details can be found here.  And, for the first 25 attendees who sign up, you can get a $50 discount off the already small registration fee.

Hope to see you in Chicago!