It’s fall and from where I am from, that means carnivals.  I’ve been to more small town homecomings than you can shake a stick at.  See, I even sound like I’m from the Midwest!

In all seriousness, today is the day for the Carnival of HR.  Anne Freedman of HR Executive Magazine online has outdone herself in pulling this together.  So, hop on over to their “The Leader Board” blog and check out all the great articles this month!

Here we are at another Friday and I think I like the idea of pulling together some great quick hits and bites of information.  So, here’s what’s happening this week:

• I’m excited to be a guest on the DriveThru HR radio show on BlogTalk Radio today at noon CST.  Co-hosts Bryan Wempen and William Tincup kicked off the new year with a revamped show that focuses on HR practitioners and the issues that affect their day-to-day.  But, the show today is not special because I’m on it.  It will be special because my two fellow HR Business partners, Cathie Meyers and Terrie Hart, will be joining me as guests on the show. We’re three HR pros who mix strategic guidance with the operational and tactical skills our leaders need.
• This week was HR Carnival week and host Mike Haberman did a fantastic job of grouping posts by personal growth vs. company growth.  If you haven’t checked out a carnival before, now’s the time because there really is some amazing writing being shared.  Grab your cup of coffee or Mountain Dew and click HERE to enjoy the good stuff.
• Now’s the time to register for a couple great events
  • There are only 33 tickets remaining to HRevolution in Atlanta on April 30th.  Be sure to give the event a look HERE and sign up today.  This will be THE HR event of the year!
  • HR Executive Forum in NYC on March 14- 16.  Use code RING11 when registering for the Forum and you’ll receive $130 off the early bird rate. Both the early bird rate and the promo code will expire 2/25.  Click HERE to register.  Hope to see you there!
• HR Executive Magazine is now taking nominations for 2011′s HR Rising Stars.  If you’re reading this blog you either work in HR or you are someone who has an HR department in your organization.  Take a moment to nominate an HR pro who has made things better.

image by fridaynite

Happy Thursday!  I planned to post something else this morning, but as I was reading through two new carnival posts first, I decided that what other people have written is far more interesting.  So, instead of staying here, click on one (or both) of the writing carnivals below.  You’re guaranteed to find a new writer to follow, a post on a topic you’ve been interested in, or even a  new person you’ll want to connect with.

Jane Perdue of the Get Your Leadership Big On! blog hosts the December 5th Leadership Carnival

Lance Haun of the Rehaul blog hosts the December 8th Carnival of HR

BIG thanks to Jane and Lance for pulling these carnivals together this week.  It takes a ton of time to do it justice and you both rocked!

I take the Carnival of HR pretty seriously.  I remember the first time I was asked to participate and as a new blogger, it was an honor.  There are carnivals that are serious and ones that are funny, ones that have no theme, and those that pick posts apart.  All in all, the best thing about the Carnival of HR is that there is something for everyone.  I hope that this edition has everything for everyone.  As we head into a holiday season and a time of reflection and thankfulness, I wanted to hear about moments that were turning points in peoples lives.  Earlier this week, I shared my moment that changed my path in A Road Less Twisted.

I then threw out a very personal challenge to any writer who wanted to participate in this edition.  They were asked to tell a story of a life changing moment and to let us inside an event that altered their path.  So, without further ado, I give you……

Robin Schooling-  Believe In Yourself A special look at how a grandfather was able to reach  through to a teenager when others failed.

Stephen Harrison- Equilibrium A look at two years of changes and how one man overcame them.

Joe Gerstandt- Turning Points and Lessons Learned Military service lessons not only benefit our country, they benefit the individual.

Ben Eubanks- Jobs in Human Resources Management (My HR Career #3)  Sometimes you have to really know what you want in order to make the right opportunity come to you.  Learn about Ben’s new job.  Congrats Ben!

Jennifer V. Miller- Know When to Get Off the Bus Living on a wing and a prayer for three months in Mexico.

Michael Haberman- Defining Moments: A Personal Story What happens when you’re on a rocket ship ride that is going nowhere?  Find out what Mike did.

Shauna Moerke- It’s All About Chemistry How a change in college coursework can set you on a path to success!

Michelle Berg- The HR Nightmare The call every HR professional dreads turns out to be a guide to a more honest career.

Doug Rogers- Cosmetology, Bad Relationships, and Grunge Bands? A chance meeting can lead to great things or having the life sucked out of you like a vampire.  Read this to find out which.

*This guest post is from writer Michelle Berg of Elevated HR Solutions.  Be sure to check out her site and show her some love for sharing her personal story of how an HR matter turned terribly wrong…

So it’s 1 am, July 1 (Canada Day) and I wake up groggy to my cell phone ringing.  Typically, I ignore the late night accidental phone calls, but for some reason, I decide to pick it up.

“Hello?”

“Oh Michelle, I’m so sorry to wake you,” she slurred.

“Who is this?” I could hear loud music in the background, people talking.

“Oh you mean you can’t tell by the voice? Then I’m your worst nightmare and I just wanted to let you know that you’re dead. You better sleep with one eye open, because payback is a bi$ch.”

I sat there, shaking somewhat. On one hand, I knew who it was. A woman I had to let go about four months before hand.  She had worked directly for me, and despite all the signs of a completely disengaged employee, I kept her, until she broke a confidentiality clause in front of several employees – regarding compensation and termination (an HR nightmare in itself).

At the time of the phone call, I was scared – but didn’t know what I should do.  I went to my management team the next work day and we decided to bring in the police.  That didn’t go so well for me (the police basically rolled their eyes at the situation) – and it was in that moment, that I decided to take the following week off to decide what my life was going to look like, because I had certainly had enough of this one.

As a member of senior management, of a low over-head but high revenue type company, I understood the challenges that would be presented in HR.  We were encouraged to work hard, but join in the fun and play hard too.  And after each night, I was literally paid to make the problems go away. And that I did – but only because I enjoyed the bonuses I seemed to receive along the way.  It’s not that we did anything illegal…but every day, I pushed any sense of morality away.  At one point, I even remember taking down my Certified Human Resources Professional diploma because when it stared back at me, it was haunting. I enjoyed living in denial (or was paid to live there anyway).

During my 12 year career, this was merely an escalation.  It didn’t matter which organization I was in – I found myself always in the drama.  I thought I could be the game changer in every organization I walked into – and for a while I was.  Until my inspirational and motivational discussions were perceived as nagging.  HR was blamed for hundreds of terminations (while not one was ever in my control), we were blamed for compensation increases (or lack thereof during the recession), we were blamed for terrible benefits programs, we were blamed for a lack of morale, heck we were blamed for turn over.  It didn’t matter what study I brought in, or specialists I engaged, or programs I developed – the indispensable linchpin I walked in as and respected for, always came to a crazy crash.  Sure – maybe it was me.  I’ve resigned myself to maybe I give up too easily.  Maybe I needed to be more creative. Maybe I needed to be less about the business and more about the people…

So I took all those ideas and thoughts and have opened up my own HR consulting firm that is geared towards small to medium sized businesses.  We have designed processes and programs to work with management to ensure simple, fast, customized solutions. I don’t have to be involved in the drama anymore.  I believe that manager’s need to manage and be responsible and accountable – and when they need a tool – I’m there to lend a helping hand.  Not only have I garnered huge success, businesses and management teams are empowered knowing someone has their back — and if they choose to take the advice I give - great.  If not, no problem.  In the end, I’m growing my team and building a company where my teammates will never live in fear, they are appreciated and they know what a difference they make to the organization.

In addition, I’m head of fundraising for a non-profit organization called Making Changes – an organization that provides resume writing and interviewing classes as well as professional attire for women to go to interviews with.  We serviced 1000 women last year on only $200,000 and we’re aiming to triple the funds and women reached this year.

I call that making up for lost time and massaging the soul.