Posts By Mark Stelzner

Coming Out of a Coma

As he last recalled driving to work that fateful day, the Dow was trading at ~13,500, gas was about $3.00/gallon and rising, Clinton was leading Obama and Guiliani had a “virtual lock” on the Republican ticket. He was turning up the volume on NPR’s Morning Edition when tires squealed, the airbag deployed and then ….stillness.Read… Read more »

I’ve Been Working on the Railroad

It hasn’t quite been “all the live-long day”, but lately I’ve been riding Amtrak up and down the East Coast as an alternative to flying. In general I find it comfortable, relaxing and a very pleasing way to travel. You can plug in your cellphone or laptop, stroll to the cafe car for a coffeeRead… Read more »

An HR Style Thanksgiving

I’m one of those guys who is a very big fan of Thanksgiving dinner. I like to help with the menu, the shopping, the preparation and the presentation. I enjoy the noise of a football game in the background and sneak peeks at the TV for a quick cheer and scream. And once the tableRead… Read more »

Sea Monkey or Seahorse: Which Are You in Times of Crisis?

Over the course of this week I had the opportunity to visit with a wide variety of executives. They ranged from leaders of multi-billion dollar enterprises to emerging entrepreneurs. What struck me most was the polarization of attitudes across two distinct camps, namely the “sea monkeys” versus the “seahorses”. Monkey Sea, Monkey Do Sea MonkeysRead… Read more »

What Employers Can Learn From the Principles of Olympism

In watching coverage of the games last evening, my wife and I were discussing the overwhelming complexity involved in managing and deploying the Olympics. With so many nations each carrying such unique agendas and goals, what overarching principles are applied to such a multifaceted assembly? What procedures are in place to ensure proper philosophical governanceRead… Read more »

How to Negotiate with an Irrational Leader

We’ve all been there at one time or another – the logical conversation that suddenly turns emotional. The irrational leader’s flame consumes everything in its path, the spoken word oxygen that feeds the fire into a frenzied tempest of damage and destruction. Dramatic enough for you? You get the point. And whether it involves negotiatingRead… Read more »