A simple compliment - it might actually compliment your career!

Promotable and Fireproof

Your source for quick, actionable advice on maximizing your potential in the age of

fast change, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and uncertainty.

Read time: 3 min.

Steve Degnan here, Advisor Board Member

and former Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO).

Relationships, Reputation and Results

are what I see as the driving forces in becoming

Promotable and Fireproof.

Let’s dig in to some quick take advice to make this real.

I’m glad you’re here. Let’s go!

Learn more on SteveDegnan.com

Relationships: Be generous with compliments.

When I was a kid we loved visits to or from our Aunt Edith, who lived in Astoria, New York, but is not even slightly related to (old reference alert!) Edith Bunker of All in the Family fame.

Aunt Edith showered all of us with compliments, always telling us how good looking we were, how successful we would be, and so on. She was larger than life and lives on in family stories.

Find your inner Aunt Edith when working with colleagues and be generous with praise. If it’s hard for you, remember that behaviorist Pavlov would at least tell you that positive reinforcement helps drive repeated behaviors that you might like to see again!

Reputation: There are times to be guarded.

I have met several people in my career who had this reflexive “look over the shoulder” head turn when about to tell you something candid. I was always amused by it, but I started to understand why they did it as I got more senior. There really are times when you need to watch what you are saying and who you are saying it to. This may also be a sign of a culture with issues that you should factor into your career planning.

Results: Be artful with bureaucrats.

I do not always buy into the worship directed at both Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger, but I must admit Charlie nails it here. He talks about both culture AND bureaucracy getting in the way of achievement.

That is real. I can confirm based on 36 years of working in large organizations, from the factory floor to the C Level. The lowest common denominator will always be the goal for those goofy dodos who make their permanent homes in the branches of the trees we call big organizations.

Adopt a happy warrior mindset and cultivate a broad network you can use to sail around those who say “no” as a reflex. Here is a reading recommendation in case you want to go deep on the subject.

Your Quick Take Clip!

I can guarantee if you find a way to compliment your colleagues, if you know the right times to be guarded, and if you can navigate your way around the “dodos” in your workplace - you might just be able to avoid the workplace “BS.”

So be real, be authentic, be honest, do these things and do them well, and success will follow.

Avoid the BS.

#ThatsWhatSteveSaid

“The classic scenario I have witnessed repeatedly is having a centralized HR model in a non-centralized business structure. Find a compromise that allows discretion and HR strategy within the business units.”

Steve offers his insight as it regards the “trap” of having a centralized HR unit. He shares that the solution is not to abandon structure but to design it with enough flexibility that business units can exercise judgment within a shared framework—making the HR function a genuine resource for the business.