My Grown-Up Christmas Wish: Reinvent and Reinvest

Jobs, jobs and more jobs. The lack thereof. The projected growth therein.

Last week I saw a picture in the Wall Street Journal. A man holding a sign that read:

NO REAL AMERICAN WOULD HELP DESTROY THIS STEEL MILL

The choice of words alone told me volumes and hurt my heart. The U.S. steel industry has been contracting for decades; many industries of late have contracted. Politico-speak aside, markets that aren't running at capacity can't be sustained. The globally competitive market has changed the face of what it means to do business in America.

But the beast of business can no longer pretend entitlement, this isn't the 1930's, people need to own their development, and there is no magical tree where jobs fall ripe and ready.

It takes investment in small to mid-sized business, to foster market growth where there is little to none, to help unstrap the ultra-bootstrapped business owners.

So they can hire at least one more employee and create job growth. (Ours didn't happen in November, but it will happen for Christmas.)

I completely agree with with John Hollon from Workforce Management and his assessment of last week's Obama Administration Job Summit.

It was a PR-schlock bust. The stimulus money to date that has been earmarked for public works projects seems to have made no dent at all. Plus that money only helps create jobs in the short-term and will only take off if private industry takes over.

There is no permanence, only transition. We must learn how to bounce back, not smack flat like a cartoon pancake.

For me, no real American would give up on themselves, their communities, their country.

Ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country.

Kennedy had it going on when he said this. Obama's call to service is on the money as well.

But it takes reinvention and reinvestment to get the job machine humming again. HR can be a big people part of that.

When HR plays nice with business and vice-versa, amazing things happen. In Mark's post yesterday he wrote:

At its core, I've always believed human resources is all about (a) hiring the right people, (b) keeping them motivated, engaged, and productive and (c) developing them. Everything else is details. (which, incidentally, is why HR vendors who can clearly communicate how their offerings support one or more of these core functions tend to have greater success).

There are dozens and dozens of new firms in the HR marketplace. They are the lifeblood of the body economic, that which fuels job growth.

Ask what you can do for your country.

One of my favorites holiday songs is "Grown-up Christmas List" as sung my Amy Grant (songwriters Linda Thompson and David Foster). I'm a cryer, so give me some tissue now.

I've added another sentimental line as my grown-up Christmas wish:

No more lives torn apart,
And wars would never start,
And time would heal all hearts
And everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end

[And everyone would reinvent and reinvest
And aspire to be their very best]

This is my grown-up Christmas list...

Post by Kevin W. Grossman (join me on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn - and now join HRmarketer on Twitter!)

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