Author Archives: Jay Robb

I was comparing notes with a colleague on our family vacations to the Magic Kingdom (two thumbs up). We then started talking about the Disney Institute. At one of Institute’s stop-overs in Toronto, a Disney HR type asked the crowd to guess who was Disney’s most important employee. The brave souls who played Mickey andContinue reading “Disney’s MVPs”

Got the chance to be on a six-member selection committee last week. We interviewed six candidates in four-a-half hours. 10-minute presentations and a lightning round of Q and As. Great learning experience. Biggest lesson learned?  If you’ve landed on the shortlist for interviews, your prospective future employer is really doing one thing and one thingContinue reading “Kicking the tires”

Public speaking is one of those skills that can make or break a career — so keep it simple The Elements of Great Public Speaking. How to be Calm, Confident and Compelling By J. Lyman MacInnis Ten Speed Press, $14.95 I wrote the worst speech I ever heard. I penned the remarks for the incomingContinue reading “Book review: Make that speech brief, and give it passion”

Hot Spots: why some teams, workplaces and organizations buzz with energy — and others don’t By Lynda Gratton Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. $31.95 Consider yourself warned. Slam the Hamilton Roundtable on Poverty Reduction and I’m going to pull a Bob. Yes, I will throw my pen at all cynics and critics. And I have better aimContinue reading “Book review: Hot Spots at work”