Blazing Paddles - A Pickleball Podcast

Meet Jim Stroud, HR Influencer, podcaster, author, "Searchologist," techie, comic...this guy is one lute away from being a full blown Renaissance Man. In this episode of HR Hardball, we hear Jim's "origin story" (SPOLER Alert, there's a woman involved) into the crazy world of HR and his array of creative innovations over this 20+ year career .  Starting as an "In...

Sometimes an episode names itself. Meet Carol Bowser, J.D., owner and founder of Conflict Management Strategies . Carol, after practicing Employment Law for several years, decided that lawsuits don't often create the level of resolution and satisfaction for the participants. Not only do the employer and employee often become adversarial, the legal representation for both parties are often equ...

Okay Hardballers, this pushed me to the ends of my editorial bandwidth, but with the help of our eldest son Jack, I think we have put together a fun end-of-year recap episode for your enjoyment. Fresh off the news that our little pod made the top 50% of all podcasts via Buzzsprout, we wanted to offer our current listeners a quick trip down memory lane. And for you future listeners, this should giv...

How many times do you get a notification on LinkedIn only to find yet another solicitation from a consultant? Annoying at times, it's fair to wonder "does this ever work?"  Yep, sometimes it does. My apologies...it's because of these lapses in judgment that we're all forever doomed to this practice. But on this day, Deven Gillen of Storyy offered a glimpse at a product tha...

It can be a bad practice to judge a book by it's cover. No, I'm not talking about the actual book " Blooming; Finding Gifts in The Shit Of Life" , I'm talking about the book's dynamic author Carrington (Carrie) Smith Tabue. Professional, polished and photogenic (and a lawyer to boot!), you might think Carrie grew up in a life of privilege. That would be a huge mistake...

Yep, there's that "P word" again...I don't think any of us believe we have seen the complete fallout from two years of social isolation, lockdowns and mandates. Oh, and a novel coronavirus. The numbers aren't encouraging, friends. It's estimated that while 1 in every 4 people struggle with a diagnosable mental illness - only half of those seek help. Whether it's...

Are you a Veteran Champion? In a hiring environment where "work reluctance" has taken hold, now would be the perfect time to explore our military branches for talented individuals seeking a transition to civilian life. Meet Lt. Col. Kathy Gallowitz (Ret.), creator and driving force behind Vanguard Veteran and author of "Beyond Thank You For Your Service." Kathy's passion f...

It's been a minute, but we're back baby! Season 4 will kick-off on November 11th with a special Veteran's Day interview with retired Lt. Colonel Kathy Gallowitz. Thank you to all our listeners who reached out during our hiatus, sometimes life requires you to pivot your focus for a bit. #Hardballin #HR #podcast Looking for a fitness app specifically designed for Pickleheads? Download...

People will ask me occasionally, who is the audience for "HR Hardball, " is it just for HR professionals? You might be surprised to know that less than ⅓ of HRH subscribers define their role as an HR function. The rest are a mix of entrepreneurs, coaches, recent graduates, and (probably) people like me who are interested in interesting people regardless of their role. Which brings us to...

Listening to podcasts can be entertaining, educational, informational or entertaining ~ sometimes they are all of the above. Meet Amy Lynn Durham, the creative force behind " Create Magic at Work ," a comprehensive assessment, workbook and coaching principle with the goal of supporting leaders to nurture healthy workplaces. For this episode, you may want to keep a pen and pad handy, beca...

In the 100 or so episodes we've recorded here at Hardball Central, we have a handful of repeat guests - one of them is my inspiring friend Julie Winkle-Giulioni, the evangelist of employee development. Some people talk it, some people aspire to it, and then there are people like Julie who live it. Take a listen as me and the redhead converse with Jules about bad bosses, Millennials, mentorshi...

In the world of Human Resources, there's no shortage of available content if you're studying the importance of the candidate experience, the onboarding process, and employee engagement. Find the right people, assimilate them quickly and effectively, and constantly seek opportunities to improve or enhance the employee experience. Add to that the "Great Reshuffle" phenomenon, and...

What makes a successful entrepreneur? Can you teach this skill set or is it innate in some people that to work for anyone else is a life unexplored. But what happens when the entrepreneurial unicorn has to expand his or her endeavors to include additional people? Can you truly explain the experience to a prospective hire, and if so can you accurately determine if said prospect possesses the qualit...

Here's a scenario: You're 26 years old, your (large) Irish family is a known quantity in the Buffalo area where you grew up, you even work in a family-owned Irish Bar. Life is good, time to punch the clock and continue with the script. Unless you're Molly McGrath, that is.  Molly, at the tender age of 26 decided to take a one-year flyer and explore the potential for a different life...

Heat strokes, pickleball camps, rooftop jams, Hail-mageddon, COVID road trips, a new business venture, way too much politics, birthday parties and general revelry.  This is 2021, a year in review. #dink #pickleball #marriage Looking for a fitness app specifically designed for Pickleheads? Download the Aim7 app today. Use our url to get a 25% discount and try the app for a free trial before committ...

Tired, aren't you? Would it make you feel better to know you're not alone? Just a year ago we talked to Sarah Moe , Founder and CEO of Sleep Health Specialists about sleep deprivation and the toll it is taking on all of us. At the time we discovered the weird dichotomy of having more time at home (remote work, lockdowns, furloughs) with a  decreasing amount of sleep. Somehow we keep gett...

By now we’ve all seen the Supreme Court decision blocking the proposed OSHA ETS Vaccine/Testing mandate. Something HR professionals have been keenly watching for the last several months finally comes to pass. The outcome was (and should have been) predictable ~ the attempt of the Biden administration to use a workplace safety organization to regulate healthcare for roughly 80 million U.S. employee...

Do I dare say it? "Fake News"? It's a term forever tied to our 45th President but it's not a novel concept. There has been a growing distrust of the media that you can trace back to 1972 when you had military leaders actively accusing the venerable Walter Cronkite of biased journalism that undermined the American conflict in Vietnam.  Let's be honest, it goes back even fur...

There are "stories" and then there are STORIES. My friend Daniel Mangena has a one-of-a-kind story to share with HR Hardball. Dan has seen multiple highs, and the very lowest of the lows. This is a guy who at one point was studying on how to better execute a successful suicide (that comes around minute twenty.)  Now? Well, now Dan helps others realize the abundances in life of which they...

Entrepreneur, long-jumper, dad, husband, mentor and mentee. Get your ears on and listen to my interview with Darrian Mikell, CEO and co-founder of Qualifi. Anyone with an entrepreneurial background can relate to the hard work, commitment and risk involved with striking out on your own. Add to the mix three kids and a wife in nursing school and it's fair to think Darrian may have taken on more...

2020. A true generational occurrence. Companies were locked down. Employees were sent home. Businesses and jobs were now being defined as "essential" or "non-essential." Government over-reach continued lockdowns and restrictions even today, killing thousands of small businesses and greatly damaging thousands more. What I'm saying is this - while this may have very well bee...

It doesn't happen all at once. Instead, one day you wake up and realize that you have accumulated quite a few additional commitments in your professional life. It seems contrary to the narrative of an over-whelmed and sometimes burned out workforce, but there are many people (me included) who aren't thriving if they aren't juggling chainsaws. Meet Jen Hope, a Business and Executive...

Is that too much to ask? Could we all just agree that humanity is worth saving and that each of us has the power to make a positive impact by starting with the ourselves? Need a little inspiration? Hit it Michael .... Meet Debbie and Kate, two long-time collaborators in the pursuit of positive change and first-time authors. On this episode we talk high level about some of the key behaviors needed...

You know a couple years back I wrote an article called " The Lookdown Generation " to describe the experience we had with my then 16-year old son. Well, it turns out I wasn't the only one who noticed this phenomena. In episode 19 (Season 2), I speak with Julienne Ryan, author of the non-economically titled "Learned it in Queens Communications Playbook: Winning Against Digital D...

What a great idea...spend a couple of years speaking to leaders around the country and ask them to recall those seminal moments in their respective career which eventually turned into a career-changer. Meet my friend and leadership whisperer Andrea Butcher . On her podcast Being at [Work] , Andrea does just that. Going into year three, Andrea has 100 episodes that are a combination of interviews a...