Last week I attended the annual (or, I think maybe even semi-annual) HRPAH and Sheridan College (or is it now Sheridan Institute of Advanced Learning and Technology?) joint networking event. Basically, an informal evening event that takes place over wine, cheese and crackers to allow local Halton chapter members to network with each other and with students. It’s hosted at Sheridan and sponsored mainly by the Halton HRPA chapter. As always, IMHO, this event was a huge success.

Personally, I caught up with some old acquaintances, connected with some new peers, and shared experiences with a large number of students in their second or final year. Additionally, although I am not hiring at my present company, it is a great opportunity for me to start connecting with up and coming HR talent for future entry level positions – especially those now in their second year!

And, I must say, that this years “crop” of students is very well spoken, well education, well dressed and genuinely interested in the HR profession. Almost every single student I spoke with was eager to hear about “real life” experiences and was seeking advice about how to best approach that first job, where to specialize or what skills they will really use in the workplace – or as I think I read it… “which classes do I really need to pay attention in, and which ones can I coast through”. But, I may have misinterpreted that notion. Either way, I told them to avoid John Hardisty like the plague! (Just kidding John – I told them they probably wouldn’t make it out alive if they didn’t keep up in your classes)

So, a couple of observations. My first is a bit of a pet peeve as it relates to modern networking events and a complete lack of effort – not just this one, but other recent events as well. Although I believe many of the students at this particular event are intelligent and appeared enthusiastic, they seemed to fall short when the rubber hit the road. To any student I spoke with, I left business cards and an open invite to connect and offered to be an ear or a resource even for classroom assignments and projects. I stressed the importance of building relationships NOW and fostering them for the future – not just pulling that business card out of a dark drawer in two years and making contact to only ask for a job. So, why a peeve? Well… how many e-mails or LinkedIn and Facebook invites do you think I got the next day, or even in the past couple days now that it has been almost a week?

Two!

Yes, that’s right. Two. Now, it could be me. I may have offended them, or left a bad impression. Honestly, maybe I did completely alienate on one or two of the very impressionable young students. But for the others, I’m not sure what’s up. Whether it’s apathy, laziness, busy-ness or something else going on in their lives. My advice for any up and coming HR professionals out there looking to connect and network - my door is always open and there’s always a coffee shop on the corner (at least in Southern Ontario anyways – I can see 3 from my office window right now). Take the opportunity to connect early and continue sharing knowledge and experiences.

And, until the next event – don’t disappoint. Maximize your effectiveness and build valuable relationships. Oh, and I will give honourable mention to John Freeman of Sheridan. Not only did he impress me with his honestly, intelligence, eagerness and a clear grasp on his goals in life – but he is also one of the few who took the time to connect with me last week! It was also great hearing from John about current course content and how cirriculum has changed since I took the program.

It’s amazing when different aspects of our lives collide. Not always major events, but sometimes just the little ones that make your stop and wonder if there is a bigger plan at play. And no, I’m not overly religous, so I don’t becessarily mean a plan by some supreme being, but maybe some big plan governed by the stars, the universe, time, little green men – whatever works for you.

I say this, because it is top of mind this morning. I subscribe to a daily e-mail that delivers inspirational quotes and messages. Sometimes they are actually quite uplifting and motivational, sometimes they are just heartwarming stories that remind me that I am human, and sometimes reading them just helps pass the time on my commute. Well, today there was a quote from an gentleman named Eric Hoffer (an American social writer, 1902-1983) – “In times of change, the learner will inherit the earth, while the learned are beautifully equipped for a world that no longer exists”.

A terribly simple statement. One that when you read it, you stop and think – well… yeah. But, as we go about our busy lives, how often do we ACTUALLY think about enriching ourselves. How often do we put aside the mundane and day to day activities at home or at work to do something that will better our futures and help make a difference for others?

I started out this post by mentioning how a couple of events have dovetailed. While, one was receiving the e-mail with the quote, one is simply the amount of change going on at work right now that directly affects my job, and the other is related to the professional certification process I am going through right now. I simply had one of those “a-ha” moments that made me think that I really do get it. That I am in fact being the learner and not the learned. That I am taking hold and making my future and helping guide the future of others, not just letting the world happen around me. The expertise I am gaining and applying is not simply going to benefit me in the near future, but will better the lives of employees around me. That feels good.

Think about what you are doing right now, personally or professionally, to make “you 2.0″, to reinvent yourself, or to reach a goal just one logical step at a time. I love the humour in the above quote – beautifully equipped for a world that no longer exists – it brings any number of visual situations to mind to paint that picture in my head and bring it to life. However, none of which I want to be in. Think about the learner in you, and what you can do to better yourself and enrich the lives of others. And, if you are an HR person reading this – all you have to do is look around you, and there will be an endless wealth of possibilties to bring about impactful change through informed action.

It’s a great day, isn’t it? It’s sunny out, the family is healthy, and the work day is just beginning. I’m a glass three quarters full kinda guy.

I just read an article about how Canadians are among some of the happiest people in the world. Believe it or not, there is a “World Database of Happiness” and we are somewhere up there in the top 15 countries. Makes you proud to be a Canadian, doesn’t it? Hmmm, I wonder if there is a “World Database of Nice-ness”? I’m sure we’d be up there too.

Check this out though. There’s a country called Bhutan, and they actually measure GHP – yes, thats right, Gross Happiness Product.

The remote Himalayan kingdom uses Gross Happiness Product, or GHP, as a measuring index. For example, the country has very little advertising because its government decided it wouldn’t make people any happier.

That’s pretty cool. Think about this in terms of your workplace or organization. How many of us measure all sorts of other things – pretending to get at the heart of the matter, of how wwe are performing as an organization to the expectations of our employees, our customers and our shareholders. In fact, I wrote some past comments on such metrics. Think instead about measuring your Organization GHP. Sure, keep tabs on those other things – but, wouldn’t it me great to have a measure that focusses specifically on your organizations Gross Happiness Product.

As you’re setting corporate strategy or putting in place policies and programs, right there in front of you is a balance and checkpoint to drive not only results for results sake, but for happiness of your employees, customers and shareholders. But, it gets more complex, because as we look at each of those groups – what incents a shareholder and makes him/her “happy” may be different from that of an employee. Or, what about an employee that is a shareholder?

Point is folks, as the world sometime seems to spiral down around us (with one of the biggest market declines in US history taking place this week after the demise of Wall Street staples Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch being announced), there are opportunities to build environments and cultures that are realistic, but that are positive experiences for employees. So, go back, take heed and think about how happy you are at work. How happy are your employees? And, how do you know? Perhaps its time that you start measuring your GHP.