There is a great amount of great writing out there to help make us better HR executives and leaders. Here is a summary of some of the better items I am reading:

WHAT ARE HR LEADERS THINKING ABOUT NOW?

Kris Dunn over at Fistful of Talent (Blogger and Twitter) writes this week about HR CLEANUP. As an HR Professional – things you have to clean up after the holidays. What really happened at those holiday Christmas parties?

Tim Sackett at Fistful of Talent (Blogger and Twitter) describes SUCCESSION AS AN ART: Tim comments on the Warren Buffet decision to have Howie, his son, become his successor. He talks about the need for not only competency of a future leader, but also trust. Article here: Why  Successions Can Be Sticky Business.

7 LEADERSHIP TRAITS

Tim also talks about an article he read on Scott Durschslag, the CEO at Expedia. He describes Durschslag’s 3 management traits:

1. Define a clear vision
2. Get the required investment
3. Put great people in charge – and then empower them.

In the comment section of the article, Steve Levy, from The Recruiting Inferno, a follower of Sackett, mentions an article written by IBM CEO Palmisano – on the four questions he asks of every IBM leader. That article “Even A giant Can Learn to Run” in the NY Times is very good.

They are four great questions! Perhaps even better than the management ideas at Expedia.

1. Why would someone spend their money with you — so what is unique about you?”
2. Why would somebody work for you?”
3. Why would society allow you to operate in their defined geography — their country?”
4. And why would somebody invest their money with you?”

DO LEADERS NEED TO BE SOCIAL?

Dawn Hrdlica-Burke over at HR Insomniac asks if “Leaders need to be social?” In her blog “Soc’s vs Greasers: HR C-Suite Snub Local HR Networks?” she concludes “Yes and he needs to do it better than anyone else.”

Jennifer McClure at Unbridled Talent (Blogger and Twitter )posted a blog in November that is a very helpful resource. She lists 10 Presentations – Using Social Media in HR and Recruiting including the SHRM “Social Media in the Workplace” findings from November. The presentations are useful data for today’s HR leaders.

2011 TECHNOLOGY STORIES plus 2012 PREDICTIONS

Matt Lafata from HRchitect (Blog / Twitter) in his weekly HR Happyhour webmingle blogcast hosted a discussion 2011 Year in Review as well as a look forward to Trends and What’s Ahead in 2012. It includes a list of important transactions and mergers for 2011, and is one of the best insight to HR Technology that I have read.

SUMMARY OF HR TECHNOLOGY STORIES for 2012:

• SumTotal buys GeoLearning, Accero and CyberShift.  The organization faces quite the challenge integrating its five learning platforms and Softscape
• Taleo buys Cytiva, and Jobpartners
• Peoplefluent buys Aquire
• SuccessFactors (SFSF) buys, is bought, and buys some more including Plateau, Jambok, Jobs2Web and then was acquired by SAP
• Technomedia (Talent management)  buys Hodes iQ (Talent Acquisition)
• Kenexa buys Batrus Hollweg (Assessment)

The webcast as well as the summary of the webcast lists important 2012 trends:

1. Human Capital Management Software will continue to consolidate – particularly in the ITM suite
2. ITM (Integrated Talent Management) is now recognized in the industry – and marketing will be even stronger on the concept
3. Mobile enablement of Integrated Talent Management with iPad apps, pilots and focus on HTML 5 will be big
4. ITM Suites – and the combining of suites will be much discussed by many organizations.
5. SaaS is now the preferred method for Integrated Talent Management deployment. It is better than using a “capital expense” method, instead opting for per person per month usage fees.
6. The linkage between Performance, Learning, Succession and Career Development is increasing in importance for ITM
7. Single solution recruiting platforms will grow in size and importance
8. Everyone is focusing on Talent Profile data including competencies