My Anniversary

I attended the WorkHuman conference a few weeks ago in Arizona and connected with many friends and colleagues that I hadn’t seen in a while, and each of them asked how my work was going. This week marks my one year anniversary of running Lighthouse Research & Advisory, and it has been such a joy. Here is the link to my announcement last year, in case you’re a new reader.

I’m able to do the work that I love, whether it be writing, speaking/teaching, or research. I also have the flexibility to support clients in a way that other, larger analyst firms just can’t, and I keep hearing over and over how unique that is.

For those of you that are curious, my day to day is spent creating or uncovering research on a variety of topics. In the last month alone I’ve explored informal learning practices, global payroll and compliance for growth companies, and the impact of employee engagement on business performance. I then use that research to host webinars, write white papers, or create other research assets for my clients. At the end of the day, I’m creating things for you, the practitioners, that offer value and help you to get your work done more effectively. It’s just that the vendor community pays to have those resources developed for you.

Obviously I also run the We’re Only Human podcast, which kind of straddles both the work I do here at upstartHR as well as my work at Lighthouse. It has surprised me in the ten months that I’ve been running the podcast, but I get so much interaction and feedback from that medium and am constantly surprised by the positive reception. I’d be curious to know what you think about it and/or what you’d like to see me cover on the show.

At the same time, part of my research always has been (and will continue to be) in large part due to connectivity to the practitioner community. Each of you has a unique, valuable story to tell about your own business and HR practice. I am always interested in hearing those stories and learning from them. I’ve found that pretty much all practitioners think their stories are not that interesting or important, yet in every case I can find something unique or noteworthy about the situation in just a few short moments! Bottom line: your story IS important and interesting, and don’t ever think otherwise.

If you’d like to help, I occasionally send out research requests to gather information for new studies. Having responses from people like you is incredibly important to me. Additionally, don’t ever hesitate to ask questions about what I can cover here or to suggest topics that might be beneficial. I’m always open to ideas, and the truth is if you are thinking about it, there’s a good chance that a hundred others are that need the information as well!

So, with eight years of upstartHR and one year of Lighthouse Research behind me, I’m still going strong and feeling just as creative as the day I first started (if not more so). I can’t wait to bring you more insights, ideas, and information in the coming months. And you? Yeah, keep up the good work. :-) Thanks as always for being a part of this great community!