Sick of the word ‘pivot’ yet? Why constant change is HR’s new normal
Let’s be honest: If we hear the word “pivot” one more time, we might collectively scream into the nearest ergonomic pillow. What started as a heroic badge of adaptability in 2020 has become a permanent fixture in every strategy slide, all-hands meeting and press release. Welcome to 2025: the year of the endless pivot. The economy? […]
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Your Needs, Our Evolution
FROM MARK Following last month’s IA retreat in the California desert, we cleared the sand from our eyes (and elsewhere) to focus on our 20th year of large-scale transformation. Having guided organizations through some of their most complex initiatives, we have been very intentional about not overstaying our welcome, instead focusing intently on knowledge transfer and […]
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4 steps to achieving transformative change in turbulent times
If you’re a senior leader, we fully acknowledge how difficult it is to do your job right now. You are navigating through extreme and unprecedented volatility and disruption. Shifting consumer behaviors, rapid technology changes, intense competition, economic uncertainty and geopolitical tensions have sadly become the new normal. The pace of change has only accelerated, with new […]
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new year, new challenges
From Mark, Welcome back from what I hope was a rejuvenating holiday break. If you’re like many of us, you returned to your desk with renewed energy and ambitious plans for 2025—only to find that the landscape has shifted yet again during our brief absence. The pace of change continues to accelerate, and with it […]
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Reflections on 2024
From Mark As we approach the end of 2024, it’s a time for reflection, gratitude, and looking forward to new opportunities. This year has brought both challenges and triumphs, but one thing we can all agree on is how much our furry companions have brightened our workdays. Whether they’ve been a source of comfort during […]
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Gratitude and Giving
From Mark As we gather around our tables to celebrate this season of Thanksgiving here in the US, we’re reminded that our greatest privilege lies not just in what we receive, but in what we can give. While life throws us curve balls from time to time, we at IA understand how incredibly lucky we […]
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the haunting signs of year-end burnout
From Mark, The final months of 2024 are upon us, and with shorter days and longer to-do lists, many organizations are facing a familiar challenge: end-of-year burnout. Like the autumn fog that settles in during October evenings, workplace exhaustion can creep up gradually, affecting teams before leadership has a chance to intervene. The relentless pace towards […]
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tales from HR Tech 2024
From Mark, In what I can only characterize as a transition year, the original HR Technology Conference & Exhibition took a final bow in Las Vegas last week, with the newly emerging “HR Tech” brand (replete with logo and identity changes) embracing the shortened moniker applied to this storied event for more than two decades. No matter the […]
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From fist pounding to fast friends – a tale of transformation
When I first started working on organizational transformations many years ago, I had the misguided notion that sharing my expertise as much as possible equated to value. That typically meant talking… a lot. One day, a leader finally told me to “shut the **** up.” She said it seven times in a row while pounding […]
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Balancing on the Transformation Tightrope
In the world of HR transformation, senior leaders often find themselves on a precarious tightrope. On one side, there’s the need to build organizational capacity, ensuring that teams have enough resources, infrastructure, and bandwidth to execute on the business’s strategic initiatives. On the other side, there is the ongoing need to cultivate capability, equipping teams […]
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