Google’s hiring philosophy begins with this simple but powerful insight: the best talent is not looking for a job.  

The odds of hiring a great performer on an inbound application are low.

This week we’re exploring Google’s impressive hiring and recruiting practices, as outlined in Laszlo Bock’s terrific book Work Rules!

Job boards like Indeed and Monster produce many applicants but almost no hires.  So, in 2008, Google stopped … continue reading

If we want to transform our teams or our organizations, improving our hiring practices is the single best way to do it, writes longtime Google Chief People Operations Officer Laszlo Bock.

It takes will and patience.  But it works.

Google intentionally front loads their investment in people by focusing on hiring right.  Period.  Hard stop.

Yesterday we looked at how Google spends money up front to identify and hire … continue reading

There are two strategies to assemble phenomenal talent in our organizations writes longtime Google Chief People Operations Officer Laszlo Bock:

1:  Find a way to hire the very best talent. Hire 90th percentile performers who will start performing right away.

2: Hire average performers and through training, coaching, hard work, and deep insight into motivation and human nature turn them into 90th percentile performers.  Lazslo refers to this as … continue reading

On the side of a bus is a big advertisement emblazoned with the word “Freedom!”

It’s an ad for a local casino.

Society is selling us the wrong form of happiness, Brian Johnson remarks in his year-long Optimize Mastery course.  

Brian quotes the philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti: “It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.” 

The science shows us too many of these quick pleasures … continue reading

Yesterday, we explored the idea of human flourishing by living with virtue.  Today we are going to take a deeper look into the concept of virtues.

In Brian Johnson’s year-long course Optimize Mastery course, he challenges us to consider universal virtues and to discover our unique virtues.      

One tool to help us discover our unique virtues or character strengths is to take a short survey on the viacharacter.org website.  

Brian … continue reading

Turns out ancient wisdom and practical science are more alike than we might realize.

Both Aristotle and Martin Seligman, the father of positive psychology, agree human beings are meant to flourish.  

Not only that, they also agree on how we can flourish.

By living a life of virtue.  

This idea is at the center of Brian Johnson’s year-long Optimize Mastery Course.  

Aristotle refers to this concept as eudaimonology (flourishing) … continue reading

“Be proactive” is habit number one of Steven Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

Brian Johnson takes it one step further.

According to Brian, it’s not enough to be proactive.

Our goal is to be anti-fragile.

This year I’m enrolled in Brian’s year-long Optimize Mastery online course and I am loving it.

Brian tells us we can go through life being fragile (handle with care), resilient (our ability … continue reading

Imagine…  the call from the doctor that no one wants.  

A serious illness. 

The diagnosis is not promising.

Yesterday, we explored the Drama Triangle and the victim mindset. When we play the victim, life happens to us. We feel powerless, overwhelmed or hopeless. Perhaps we lash out or seek to numb ourselves. The victim mindset reinforces the belief that we are not responsible for what is going on in our lives.

The good news is … continue reading

What is the difference between surviving and thriving?

David Emerald, author of The Power of Ted, points out that the default orientation of humanity has been that of the victim.  

“Living in a hostile and dangerous world, we human beings have honed the fight, flight or freeze reaction to our life experience.”

This mindset served us well in the harsh conditions early man faced.  

Fortunately, for most of … continue reading

Jim Carrey was struggling.  

It was 1985. Three years earlier he had made the trek from his home in Canada to Los Angeles. His career as a comedian was going nowhere. He was broke and depressed.  

One night while sitting in his old Toyota looking out over the Hollywood Hills, he took out his checkbook and wrote himself a check for $10 million. For “acting services rendered,” he wrote on the memo line.  … continue reading