My mentor and friend, Steve Morris Over the weekend, I learned that one of my longtime mentors — Steve Morris — passed away from cancer at the end of July. Not knowing this at the time, I emailed him in August to see if he had any availability to meet up for our semi-annual breakfast this fall.

For the Aspiring or Accidental HR Professional What resources have you found helpful in your People practice? Break out your Trapper Keeper, throw the Jansport strap over your shoulder, and sharpen your no.2 pencils. It’s back to school season! This post is full of resource recommendations for those looking to put a couple more HR arrows into their quiver.

Do you want, or need, to talk with someone about an HR challenge your cultural organization is facing? For the next few months, the three members of the Fractured Atlas People team — Nicola Carpenter, Jillian Wright, and me — will be available a few hours each week for anyone interested in picking our HR brains. We’re offering this free of charge as a way to share experience and expertise with cultural sector colleagues.

The Unwritten Employment Contract Here’s the link to this exciting video episode. Most of us in the cultural sector — and in the American workforce, for that matter — operate without a written employment contract. We apply for, and accept, jobs based on an understanding of the type of organization we’ll work for, its mission, the kind of work we’ll be expected to complete, and the conditions under which we’ll do the work: Dance company, the work of X choreographer, accounting, largely weekdays from 9 to 5.

The Magic of SCARF Image by herryway When was the last time you felt the Fight or Flight urge? Were you trapped on stage as a speaker droned on well past their allotted time? Was a donor giving you an earful about how you “screwed up their entire gala experience because they couldn’t have bottle service for their table”? Or, had you just received an email from your supervisor with those four dreaded words … We … need … to … talk.

Prefer this post in an audio format? Here you go. Change comes in an assortment of flavors, each impacting people in different ways. For the most part, any change initiative is less about the thing you’re changing and more about people’s reaction to the change. Don’t believe me? See Adam’s Equity Theory, Vroom’s Expectancy Theory, or Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory, for starters. The world in which we live today is constantly changing, and the rate of change feels more like it’s increasing exponentially rather than simply incrementally anymore. For organizations trying to remain relevant and effective in this environment, they’re either moving forward or falling behind.

We hear a lot these days about the importance of having great organizational culture. “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” is the infamous Peter Drucker refrain. But what exactly do we mean by “great company culture,” let alone company culture that changes the world and enables people to leave their dent on the universe?

by Tim Cynova, Chief Operating Officer at Fractured Atlas I used to work with someone who would always ask “Which would you rather” questions. Which would you rather: Wear a bathing suit in Antarctica, or a snow suit in the desert? Which would you rather as a musician: Be a one-hit wonder with a song that defines summer for a generation, or a member of a band with modest success for 10 years?

Communicating over space and time [Editor's Note 3/17/10: While the information below is still useful — particularly how channels are used — we also published this related and updated piece.] “Communication is key” is one of those business-isms, like “Culture eats strategy for breakfast,” that seem to appear in most of the articles I read about organizational culture. It’s not misplaced. Open, honest, and respectful communication is a key ingredient in high performing teams and organizations.

by Tim Cynova, Chief Operating Officer at Fractured Atlas Over the years at Fractured Atlas, we’ve invested a great deal of time, effort, and research into improving and honing our hiring process. In this episode of How We Work — created primarily for those staff members involved in our hiring process — we delve into the history, our philosophy, and the stages of the interview process.